France's Societe Generale in talks with GCC governments on euro bond

Paris-based Societe Generale is in talks with GCC governments for potential issues of euro-denominated bonds, with the region’s first bond expected within the next 12-18 months, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing executives for the bank.

More debts are issued in the region as governments seek to diversify their sources of funding away from a reliance on oil revenues.

“Governments have to think about diversifying their funding sources in a context where all sovereigns of the region will probably have to tap the international bond markets on a regular basis,” said Richad Soundardjee, Societe Generale’s chief executive in the Middle East.

Societe Generale acted as a joint book runner on a bond issue worth EUR 1.7 billion by Ivory Coast and Senegal’s EUR 1 billion paper.