Saudi Arabia increases $10bn bond to $16bn

04 March 2018
The 2016 facility has been renegotiated with new terms and a $6bn increase in size

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance has said all banks participating in its 2016 $10bn syndicated loan have agreed to news terms and a $6bn extension to the facility taking its size to $16bn.

The office said in a statement on 2 March that the increase in size was due to an exceptional response from the global banking market.

The DMO said that pricing for the revised facility will be set at a margin representing a 30 per cent reduction from levels set in 2016. It is finalising the documentation process for the transaction and intends to close the financing by mid-March.

Requests for proposals were sent to the 14 banks that participated in the 2016 transaction as well as other financial institutions that are positioning themselves to become relationship banks within the kingdom.

The DMO also said that in response to strong global demand for Shariah compliant issuances from the kingdom, a significant Islamic tranche will be introduced to the transaction.

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.