Sovereign borrowing in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is expected to increase to $56bn in 2014.

According to a new report by US ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the anticipated growth is in line with global trends.

The 127 global sovereigns rated by S&P are expected to borrow an equivalent of $7.1 trillion from long-term commercial sources in 2014, the agency forecasts.

This marks an increase of 2.7 per cent on long-term commercial debt issuance, compared with 2013.

A large proportion of the borrowing is being raised to refinance maturing long-term debt.

Commercial debt owed by rated sovereigns will reach an equivalent of $44.7 trillion by the end of 2014, marking a year-on-year increase of 6.1 per cent. Short-term commercial debt is not expected to grow significantly, with outstanding debt remaining at a steady $5.3 trillion.

Within the Mena region, the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are due to refinance multibillion-dollar existing debt obligations this year.