DOHA: Qatar has sold bonds worth $12 billion, the finance ministry said Thursday, 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 $12 billion,” said a ministry statement carried by the official Qatar News Agency (QNA). The sale received orders of more than $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 $12 billion in its first dollar bond sale in two years, eclipsing Saudi Arabia’s $11 billion bond issue the same year.