Saudi Arabia issued SAR 443 bln debt instruments in 2017: DMO

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance issued government debt instruments worth nearly SAR 443 billion until the end of 2017, of which domestic issues accounted for SAR 260 billion, Fahad Al-Saif, the head of the Debt Management Office (DMO), told Argaam in an exclusive on Sunday.

The SAR 204 billion worth of debt instruments, which started trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) today, represent most of tradable bonds and sukuk, as Murabaha sukuk cannot be traded.

The Ministry of Finance's strategy aims to create a market for individuals, to invest in the debt market through launching various initiatives to enhance retail savings, Al-Saif said.

Khalid Al Hussan, chief executive officer of Tadawul, said, "The market value of debt instruments account for almost 50 percent of the Saudi bourse's market capitalization."

He added that the debt instruments market is likely to grow and reach the normal size by the end of 2019.

"We hope to issue these instruments in initial public offerings rather than private placements," Al Hussan added.