Saudi Arabia: Primary debt issuances of bonds and sukuk across the Gulf Cooperation Council region rose 55.1 percent in 2024 to $147.9 billion, according to an analysis.

In its latest report, Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz, said that Saudi-based issuances led the GCC region last, raising $79.5 billion through 79 offerings, representing a rise of 51.4 percent in value compared to 2023. 

The study added that the Kingdom contributed to 53.7 percent of the overall primary debt issuances in the GCC. 

Saudi Arabia’s debt market has expanded significantly in recent years, drawing investor demand for debt instruments due to rising interest rates.

In February, the Kingdom raised €2.25 billion ($2.36 billion) through a euro-denominated bond sale, including its inaugural green tranche, as part of its Global Medium-Term Note Issuance Program.

The Kingdom’s National Debt Management Center completed its riyal-denominated sukuk issuance for February at SR3.07 billion ($818 million). 

The nation also raised sukuk worth SR3.72 billion in January, SR11.59 billion in December and SR3.41 billion in November. 

The financial organization added that the total value of primary issuances in the GCC region during the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at $21.2 billion, representing a rise of 33.33 percent compared to the same period in 2023. 

Regional outlook

According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s Arab neighbor UAE held second in primary debt issuances of bonds and sukuk in 2024, raising $38.5 billion through 109 issues, marking an increase of 28.1 percent compared to 2023. 

Markaz added that the UAE also accounted for 26 percent of the overall primary debt issuances in the GCC region. 

Qatari entities were the third largest issuers in terms of value, with $15.8 billion administered through 74 offerings, representing 10.7 percent of the total in the region. 

Bahrain followed by raising $6.9 billion through 10 issuances in 2024, marking a rise of 29.1 percent compared to the previous year. 

Kuwaiti entities raised $3.9 billion in 2024 through 9 issuances, an annual growth of 358.6 percent.

Omani recorded the lowest value of issuances during the year, with $3.4 billion raised through 15 offerings, representing 2.3 percent of the market. 

Issuances by type

GCC corporate primary issuances increased by 45.5 percent year on year in 2024, reaching $79.7 billion, according to the report. 

Corporate offerings accounted for 53.9 percent of the total in 2024, continuing the trend from 2023, when they made up 57.5 percent of the market.

Government-related corporate entities raised a total of 17.4 billion last year, representing 21.7 percent of all corporate issuances. 

The study added that total GCC sovereign primary issuances increased by 68.2 percent annually in 2024 to reach $68.2 billion. 

Sovereign issuances also accounted for 46.1 percent of the total market size in the GCC region during 2024. 

In December, a report released by Kamco Invest also highlighted the growth of the debt market in the region, underlining that Saudi Arabia is expected to witness the greatest share of bond and sukuk maturities in GCC, reaching $168 billion from 2025 to 2029. 

Kamco Invest also noted that the maturities in the Kingdom will be led by bonds and sukuk issuances by the government, which is expected to reach $110.2 billion during the period. 

Conventional issuances in GCC increased by 79.4 percent year-on-year in 2024 to reach $78.9 billion, according to the analysis.

Markaz added that sukuk offerings increased by 34.4 percent year-on-year in 2024, resulting in a total value of $69 billion. 

“As for issuer preferences, 2024 saw an increased appetite for conventional bond issuances in the GCC, representing 53.3 percent of total issuances for the year, compared to 46.1 percent in 2023,” said Markaz in its release. 

Issuances by sectors

The analysis revealed that government issuances led the market in 2024, raising $68.2 billion through 46 issuances, representing 46.1 percent of the total. 

The financial sector followed with $51.3 billion raised through 203 offerings, accounting for 24.7 percent of the overall market size. 

In the energy sector, $20.3 billion was raised through 28 issuances, while the remaining sectors represented a small portion of the market at just 5.51 percent. 

Maturity, size, and currency profile

According to the report, primary issuances with a tenure of less than five years accounted for 36.5 percent of the GCC debt capital markets in 2024, valued at 54 billion through 215 issuances. 

Primary issuances with five to 10-year tenors followed, raising $51.3 billion through 43 offerings, accounting for 34.7 percent of the total. 

Issuances with 10 to 30 years represented 22.2 percent of the market in 2024, with their value hitting $32.8 billion through 20 offerings. 

In terms of size, issuances worth $1 billion or greater raised the largest amount, totaling 69.3 billion in 2024, through 43 offerings. It also represented 46.9 percent of the total amount issued in the GCC last year.

On the other hand, issuances sized between $500 million and $1 billion raised $50.5 billion through 59 transactions. 

“The highest number of issuances was under $100 million issue size, where there were 129 issuances that raised a total amount of $7.2 billion during 2024,” added Markaz. 

The release added that US dollar-denominated sukuk issuances led the GCC bonds and sukuk primary market in 2024, raising a total of $99.7 billion through 190 issuances, also representing 66.9 percent of the total value in the region.

The second largest issued currency was the Saudi riyal, which raised a total of $33.9 billion through 21 issuances. 

In December, a report issued by Fitch Ratings said that the debt capital market in the GCC region hit the $1 trillion outstanding mark by the end of November. 

In February, another report by Fitch added that Saidi Arabia is expected to play a crucial role in driving US dollar debt and sukuk issuance in 2025 and 2026, as the Kingdom’s financial institutions and corporations increasingly turn to international debt markets to diversify funding sources, with banks alone anticipated to issue over $30 billion in dollar-denominated debt this year.

Fitch said that banks in Saudi Arabia have significantly expanded their international DCM activities since 2020, aligning with their growth strategies and foreign currency requirements. Additionally, corporations are diversifying their funding sources, moving beyond traditional bank loans. 

Last month, the agency, in a separate report, projected that the Kingdom’s debt capital market is expected to hit $500 billion by the end of 2025, fueled by the nation’s economic diversification efforts under Vision 2030.