The bond would come less than two weeks after the launch of a $3 billion project bond by a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) which, having attracted orders in excess of $11 billion while it was being marketed, showed investors’ appetite for these issues. Such debt instruments are relatively new financing tools in the Middle East, where projects have traditionally been financed through bank loans because of banks’ high liquidity before oil prices dropped three years ago. Citigroup and HSBC are expected to lead the transaction, said the sources. The desalination plant, called Fujairah 1 Independent Water and Power Plant, is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) with a 60 percent stake and Sembcorp Gulf Holding Co, a unit of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries, with a 40 percent stake. HSBC declined to comment. ADWEA and Citi did not respond to requests for comment.

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