ABU DHABI, April 23 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi, capital of

the United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday launched $5 billion in

three-part bonds as it returned to the debt markets for the fist

time in three years, fixed income news service IFR said.

The emirate sold $1.75 billion in five-year bonds at 35

basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries (UST), a $1.5 billion

10-year tranche at 45 bps over UST and $1.75 billion in 30-year

paper at 90 bps over the same benchmark, IFR said.

Abu Dhabi, which holds more than 90% of the UAE's oil

reserves, had $37.8 billion in outstanding bonds as of Dec. 31

2023 and $6.8 billion in loans from local banks, according to an

investor presentation seen by Reuters.

Government debt as a percentage of nominal GDP stood at

an estimated 15.7% at the end of 2023.

Justin Alexander, director at Khalij Economics, said the

latest debt sale was unlikely to reflect a need for domestic

financing, given Abu Dhabi's strong fiscal position, although a

$3 billion bond matures in September.

"More likely this is about staying connected to the bond

market after a three-year absence," Alexander, also Gulf analyst

at GlobalSource Partners, said, adding it could provide indirect

financing for external investments by the emirate's sovereign

wealth funds such as ADQ.

Government-related entities had $113 billion in

borrowings at the end of last year, the investor presentation

said.

Abu Dhabi last tapped debt markets with a $2 billion,

seven-year bond in May 2021 followed by a further $3 billion

two-part issue the following September.

Like other oil exporters in the region, it has

accelerated efforts to diversify non-oil sectors such as

tourism, logistics, manufacturing and industry, as part of a

transition strategy to secure future economic growth.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC,

JPMorgan Securities, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered are

joint lead managers on the bond issue.

The emirate is rated "Aa2" by Moody's and "AA" by both S&P

and Fitch Ratings.

(Additional reporting by Yousef Saba and Federico Maccioni in

Dubai and Mohammad Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill,

Barbara Lewis and Ros Russell)