Saudi to issue sukuk when market conditions allow, says DMO chief

Saudi Arabia is committed to the sukuk market and will issue Islamic bonds as soon as market conditions allow, Reuters reported, citing Fahad Al-Saif, president of Saudi Arabia’s Debt Management Office (DMO).

Al-Saif, who was speaking at a sukuk conference at the London Stock Exchange, also said Saudi Arabia had a ratio of 65 percent to 35 percent for local to international issuance, plus or minus 10 percent.

“We want to ensure we don’t oversupply a particular market,” he said. “We want to develop the local market but don’t want to crowd out the banks.”

The Kingdom started issuing debt in the international markets in 2016. It has issued $39 billion in bonds, including a $9 billion sukuk.

At home, the government has raised more than SAR 70 billion ($18.67 billion) through monthly local currency sukuk issues since last July.

The Kingdom also recently agreed on refinancing for a $10 billion international loan to raise $16 billion.