Qatar National Bank (QNB), one of the largest banks in the region, completed a $1bn bond issue on 7 November after attracting offers of $3.4bn, indicating that appetite for Middle East debt remains high.

The bank priced the deal, which matures in 2018, at 3.375 per cent. Germany’s Deutsche Bank, the UK’s HSBC and Standard Chartered, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ, and QNB Capital arranged the deal. It brings the total that QNB has borrowed this year so far to almost $4bn. In February, the bank did another $1bn bond issue and in August it borrowed $1.8bn from other lenders.

Although QNB did not specify what it would use the proceeds for, it is becoming increasingly acquisitive. It is planning to buy France’s Societe Generale’s 77.2 per cent stake in Egypt’s National Societe Generale Bank.