By Fatima Al-Kashef

Saudi Arabia has carried out an early purchase of a portion of its local government bonds maturing between 2026 and 2030 worth approximately 17.1 billion riyals ($4.6 billion), in parallel with the issuance of new bonds in the local market worth approximately 17.2 billion riyals maturing between 2031 and 2041, according to a statement issued by the National Debt Management Center on Monday evening.

The operation is part of an approach Saudi Arabia has followed since 2020 to proactively manage debt obligations, thereby reducing refinancing risks and spreading obligations over longer time periods.

More details

(According to data from the National Debt Management Center + other official data)

- The new bonds were distributed across five tranches, the largest of which is worth 10.55 billion riyals maturing in 2036, representing about 61% of the total issuance, in addition to tranches maturing in 2031, 2033, 2039 and 2041.

- Prior to the implementation of the current operation, the total outstanding local bonds amounted to approximately SAR 268 billion (USD 71.5 billion) as of June 2026, with the largest upcoming maturities concentrated in 2036 and 2039, valued at SAR 48.8 billion and SAR 49.5 billion respectively.

- This new early purchase operation is the seventh one that Saudi Arabia has carried out in the local market since these operations began in 2020, after the value of the previous six operations combined exceeded 252 billion riyals.

Saudi Arabia’s financing needs during 2026 are estimated at about 217 billion riyals, including an expected budget deficit of 165 billion riyals, and debt obligations of about 52 billion riyals.

(Prepared by: Fatima Al-Kashef, Edited by: Yasmin Saleh, Contact: zawya.arabic@lseg.com)

#Economic News