On Tuesday, Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties said that it would guarantee a possible dollar-denominated bond issued by a special purpose vehicle, as the company moved closer to tapping the capital markets through a bond issue.

It was specified by ratings agency Standard & Poor's that an A-rating was provided by it to the Aldar benchmark bond, which would be issued by a special purpose vehicle called Atlantic Finance Ltd. On the contrary, a rating of A3 was assigned to it by Moody’s.
Price guidance for a five-year issue of 9 percent, with no guidance on size had been issued by Aldar, Abu Dhabi's largest real estate developer, said specialist finance publication IFR.

It has been learnt that this year, bonds have already been issued by the Abu Dhabi government and a raft of state-linked firms, since they aim at enhancing financial resources to meet an aggressive infrastructure programme and become more transparent for investors.

“Aldar's position stands in sharp contrast to Dubai's government-owned Nakheel, which has been battered by the property market crash in Dubai and is examining all options to repay its $3.5 billion sukuk issue due in December,” said a source.

If adhered to Moody’s then Aldar has a low default rate and benefits from a large number of Abu Dhabi government contracts.