Year to date total return on Barclays Bloomberg GCC Bond Index has been a loss of 2.12%, much in line with our expectations at the beginning of the year and almost entirely attributed to the rising benchmark UST yields. The recent sell off in EM bonds on the back of increasing risk aversion arising from strengthening dollar and increasing trade tensions has made valuation attractive on a historical basis. Though several risks continue to lurk on the horizon, we believe it may be time to begin looking at the GCC bonds favourably, particularly in light of following factors: