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The Finance Ministry has closed its August sukuk issuance, raising SAR 6 bn from fixed-income investors, up from SAR 3.2 bn last month, according to a National Debt Management Center (NDMC) statement (pdf). This is part of the government’s SAR-denominated sukuk program.
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This month saw yields on all of the offered tranches decline on a monthly basis. The issuance was structured in five tranches, including:
- A 5-year tranche valued at SAR 2.8 bn with a 4.7% yield;
- A 7-year tranche valued at SAR 2 bn with a 4.75% yield;
- A 10-year tranche valued at SAR 152 mn with a 4.86% yield;
- A 12-year tranche valued at SAR 415 mn with a 4.94% yield;
- A 15-year tranche valued at SAR 642 mn with a 5.03% yield.
SAR-denominated sukuk issuances in Saudi more than tripled y-o-y in 1H 2024, hitting USD 10 bn during the first six months of the year, S&P Global said last month. This growth comes despite local currency sukuk declining 8.8% y-o-y on a global scale, driven largely by Turkey, Pakistan, the UAE, and Malaysia taking lower issuances to market, according to S&P. We also led sukuk and bond issuances in the GCC in 1H 2024 where regional issuances (sovereign and corporate) grew 38% y-oy to USD 75.5 bn, with the Kingdom accounting for almost half of these issuances.
Not quite the slowdown Fitch Ratings was expecting: The ratings agency said in July that it expects sukuk sales by regional issuers to fall in the summer months before picking up in 4Q as governments continue to pursue diversified funding for projects and look to plug budget deficits.
A snapshot of gov’t debt obligations in 2024: The total remaining debt maturities in 2024 stand at c. SAR 21 bn, down from SAR 40 bn on the back of NDMC’s “successful execution of liability management transaction in 2023,” according to the center’s annual borrowing plan report for FY 2024 (pdf). The government’s total debt portfolio is expected to reach SAR 1.1 tn by year-end.
The macro picture: The budget’s deficit for this year is projected to reach SAR 79 bn, putting our financing needs at around SAR 86 bn. Up to 35% of those needs will be financed through domestic SAR-denominated instruments, while up to 40% is expected to be raised in international markets, and up to 50% through the government alternative funding (GAF) channel. GAF aims at financing the government’s capex and infrastructure projects.
From the private sector: Banque Saudi Fransi kicked off the offering for an additional Tier 1 SAR-denominated sukuk under its SAR 8 bn sukuk program last week.
