ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates does not plan to issue federal bonds before 2012, a Finance Ministry document showed. "The federal government will not issue sovereign bonds before 2012 and only if deemed necessary," Obaid Humaid Al-Tayer, minister of state for financial affairs, said in the latest ministry newsletter. "The UAE is currently working on launching a bond market parallel to the stock markets which will increase initial issuance on a federal level and local level." The UAE, the world's third largest oil exporter has been planning a federal bond issue for some time but a flurry of bonds from UAE companies have hit the international markets recently. The UAE capital Abu Dhabi is seen finding favor among investors as a safe haven due to unrest elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa region. The emirate is trying to curtail bond sales by state entities and centralize fundraising through the debt management office in a bid to crack down on undisciplined issuance. The ministry also said in a quarterly report published in the newsletter that total federal expenditure stood at AED8.70 billion ($2.37 billion) in the first quarter while revenue amounted to AED6.87 billion. The 2011 budget forecast AED41.04 billion in expenditure and AED38.04 billion in revenues.
