Dubai: Saudi Arabia laid out key elements of its borrowing plans for 2017 as the kingdom seeks to capitalise on investor demand for its debut sale this year to finance the budget deficit.
The world’s biggest oil exporter plans to raise between $10bn and $15bn from international bond markets, Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, secretary-general of the Finance Committee at the Royal Court, told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television. Authorities will sell about SAR70bn ($18.7bn) locally, he said.
Officials from Saudi Arabia have met with banks to discuss the potential sale of Shariah-compliant bonds in the first quarter, according to five people familiar with the matter. Saudi Arabia raised $17.5bn in October in the biggest ever emerging-market bond sale, attracting $67bn of bids, people familiar with the sale told Bloomberg at the time. Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan told Bloomberg News on Thursday the country will “most likely” tap debt markets in the first quarter. “We will issue sukuk, but we will issue other instruments at the same time,” he said, declining to give more details.
