Saudi Arabia raised $9 billion (8.4 billion) in its first dollar-denominated Islamic bond sale, $1 billion (€940,000) more than what the government was said planning to issue initially.
The government sold a $4.5 billion (€4.2 billion) five-year sukuk tranche at 100 basis points over the mid-swap rate and an equally-sized 10-year tranche at a spread of 140 basis points to the benchmark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Domestic markets
Investors submitted more than $33 billion (€31 billion) in bids, people with knowledge of the offering said earlier. Investors placed orders in excess of $33 billion, the country’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia is tapping international and domestic markets to help finance a budget deficit that may reach $53 billion (€49.9 billion) this year.
The kingdom raised $17.5 billion in October in the biggest ever bond sale from an emerging-market nation, underlining the deepening strain on a nation that has eschewed international debt markets until now.
– (Bloomberg)
