DOHA, March 7 — Qatar has sold bonds worth US$12 billion (RM49 billion), the finance ministry said today, attracting strong demand despite an economic and diplomatic boycott by its former Gulf allies.

"The state of Qatar has achieved a successful return to the international financial markets with a total of three tranches — worth US$12 billion,” said a ministry statement carried by the official Qatar News Agency (QNA). 

The sale received orders of more than US$50 billion, it said.

Qatar has been economically and politically isolated by a Saudi-led bloc — including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — since June 2017 over claims it supports terrorist groups and seeks better ties with Saudi arch-rival Iran.

Doha denies the accusations and says its opponents are seeking regime change in Qatar.

In 2018, the gas-rich state raised US$12 billion in its first dollar bond sale in two years, eclipsing Saudi Arabia’s US$11 billion bond issue the same year. — AFP