Saudi Arabia to tap international bond market this month: report

Saudi Arabia plans to tap international bond markets for the third consecutive year, after the Kingdom finalizes the refinancing of a major sovereign loan, Financial Times reported.

The Saudi finance ministry could mandate global lenders this month to sell a new bond, the newspaper reported citing unnamed bankers familiar with the matter.

The bond sale is expected after Saudi Arabia finalizes the refinancing of a $10 billion loan made in April 2016, which will be changed to a new five-year facility of about $15 billion-$16 billion at cheaper rates.

Banks joining the syndicated loan include HSBC, JPMorgan and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, book-runners in the original $10 billion loan, sources said.

New banks that did not take part in the 2016 loan will join lead arrangers, including Standard Chartered. 

Potential bankers were given a Feb. 28 deadline to submit offers for the refinancing, said a person involved in the deal.

In 2016, the Kingdom’s first international bond in several years raised $17.5 billion, the largest ever emerging-markets sale.