Saudi may raise $10 bln in sovereign debt sales: Morgan Stanley

Saudi Arabia is likely to issue sovereign hard currency debt worth $10 billion this year, Reuters reported, citing a Morgan Stanley report.

Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are expected to come with large deals after a hiatus in 2018, it added. 

Overall, the debt issuance by developing nations is expected to rise by 15 percent year-on-year to $158 billion this year, but will remain below the record $674 billion sold in 2017.

Among sovereign issuers, oil exporters' share is set to rise again, accounting for just over half of 2019 issuance compared to around one third over 2013-2015.

"Easing oil prices in the later months of 2018 made many governments' oil price assumptions look optimistic," the report noted.

Last month, MUFG Bank predicted that GCC countries are likely to tap international bond markets in 2019 to raise an estimated $32.4 billion.