Saudi Arabia has raised nearly SAR 8 billion from its latest multi-tranche sukuk, which is denominated in the local currency.

The National Debt Management Centre has just announced the closure of the October 2024 offering under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program, with the total amount allocated reaching SAR 7.8 billion ($2.08 billion), a statement said.

The issuance was split into five tranches. The first tranche is valued at SAR 823 million and will mature in 2029.

The second tranche has a size of SAR 320 million and will mature in 2031, while the third and fourth, valued at SAR 2.18 billion and SAR 1.437 billion, will mature in 2034 and 2036, respectively.

The fifth tranche, with a size of SAR 3.07 billion, is set to mature in 2039.

The sukuk market saw a decline in global issuance volumes last year, following tighter liquidity conditions in Saudi Arabia and lower fiscal deficit in Indonesia.

However, the issuance is set to reach around $160 billion to $170 billion this year, from $168.4 billion at year-end 2023 and $179.4 billion in 2022, ratings agency S&P had forecast earlier.

From January to June this year, total issuance amounted to $91.9 billion. While the figure is slightly higher than a year ago’s $91.3 billion, this year has recorded a 23.8% growth in foreign currency issuances, which totalled $32.7 billion by the end of June, compared with $26.4 billion in the same period last year, S&P also reported in July.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) Seban.scaria@lseg.com