EMIRATE OF ABU DHABI kicked open the doors of the CEEMEA primary last week with a US$5bn three-tranche benchmark that included the first 50-year bond from a Gulf Cooperation Council issuer. The US$1.5bn 2.7% September 2070 was a landmark in terms of tenor, and it also came at negative new-issue premium. The bond was priced at a yield of 2.70%, while leads saw fair value at around 2.80%. One asset manager offered a lower estimate of roughly 2.70%. Prior to the issue of the 50-year, Abu Dhabi's longest outstanding was a 3.875% April 2050, bid at a yield of around 2.67% on Tuesday, indicating the emirate had to pay only a handful of basis points for the 20-year curve extension.
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