Saudi Arabia Raises $2 Billion in Islamic Bond Sale

Saudi Arabia Is Said to Start $2 Billion Islamic Bond Sale

13 Sep 2018, 10:22 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia raised $2 billion through the issuance of notes due January 2029, completing the kingdom’s external funding requirements for the year.

The world’s biggest oil exporter mandated BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Mizuho Bank and Samba Capital for the deal, according to a term sheet seen by Bloomberg. The kingdom’s offering priced at 127 basis points over midswaps, tightening from initial price guidance in the area of 145 basis points.

Saudi Arabia plans to borrow about $31 billion this year to bridge a budget deficit brought on by lower oil prices. In April, it raised $11 billion in a dollar bond sale and has raised a total of $50 billion since the end of 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In March, it increased a $10 billion syndicated loan by $6 billion.

The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund will sign an $11 billion loan this week, marking its first-ever borrowing, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Archana Narayanan in Dubai at anarayanan16@bloomberg.net;Allan Lopez in New York at alopez11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels