Gulf-based corporates have been growing more comfortable with the international capital markets, where they enjoy an increasingly good reputation. Saudi Aramco’s huge debut bond was the most striking recent example of this trend, but there have been others of meaningful size, and Morgan Stanley’s Middle East and north Africa (MENA) investment bankers are certainly having a busy year.
Morgan Stanley has been present in the Middle East since the 1970s, according to Sammy Kayello, the bank’s Dubai-based chairman and CEO for the MENA region. It opened an office in Dubai in 2006, and established a presence in Riyadh and Doha the following year.