Saudi central bank adopts new bond issuance system

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Kingdom's central bank, has completed the development of a SAMA bills and Murabahas issuance system using Bloomberg's auction system.

The new issuance system will facilitate the participation of local and international banks operating in the Kingdom in the primary market for bills and Murabahas, one of the most common Islamic financing structures, Bloomberg said in a statement on Wednesday.

SAMA has concluded its first issuance using the new system, it added.

"The development of this platform is part of SAMA's role in implementing the program for strengthening governance, which corresponds to the Saudi Vision 2030,” said SAMA governor Ahmed Alkholifey.

He added that the improvement in liquidity management instrument issuances is an important step towards developing the pricing process of SAMA's bills and Murabahas.

Bloomberg's Auction System allows government agencies and financial institutions to perform their auction tenders electronically, with dealers who can track auctions and enter bids via the Bloomberg Terminal.