Success of debut Euro bond offering confirms Saudi Arabia’s stand in global debt markets: Al-Jadaan

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan confirmed the successful offering of the Kingdom’s inaugural Euro denominated international bond in a statement issued yesterday.

The bond, as part of the Saudi government's International Programme for the issuance of debt instruments, illustrates the Kingdom's position as a leader in the region as well as an important player in international debt capital markets, the statement said.

“The bonds come as part of the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) role to secure Saudi Arabia’s financing needs at the best possible costs in the short, medium and long term, with risks in line with the Kingdom's financial policies,” Al-Jadaan noted.

“This will help achieve one of the strategic objectives of the Ministry in terms of the optimum use of state assets and innovative financing that contributes to the sustainability of the Kingdom's access to the various international markets at fair pricing,” he added.

Read: Saudi Arabia starts marketing debut euro debt sale

He further stated that the order book peaked at EUR 13.5 billion, which was 4.5 times oversubscribed.

“This highlights the strong demand of both existing and new investors in the European Union (EU), showing their high level of confidence in Saudi government securities. It allowed the DMO to tighten the pricing range to reach a yield of 0.78 percent in the eight years and 2.04 percent in the 20-year tranches,” he said.

The minister also added that one of the advantages of offering a Euro bond is to increase the diversity of investors, as some will invest in the euro currency exclusively. 

The Ministry of Finance announced the successful completion of the first offering of international bond denominated in the Euro currency, within the Saudi government's International Programme for the issuance of debt instruments.

The total issue was of EUR 3 billion (SAR 12.70 billion) divided into two tranches, including EUR 1 billion (SAR 4.2 billion) for the eight-year tranche maturing in 2027, and EUR 2 billion (SAR 8.4 billion) for 20-year tranche maturing in 2039.

The DMO has launched a non-deal road show visiting eight European cities, including London, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, The Hague, Zurich and Munich; and meeting 77 European investors during the nine-day trip.