We will raise fixed income financing to 90%.

The CEO of the National Center for Debt Management in Saudi Arabia, Hani Al-Madini, said that the debt portfolio of Saudi Arabia needs between 3 to 5 years before it is affected by the rise in interest rates.

He added, in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, that 85% of the financing is of fixed interest, and this percentage will be raised to 90% this year.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Saudi Minister of Finance, Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, approved the annual borrowing plan for the year 2023, after it was approved by the Board of Directors of the National Center for Debt Management during its recent meeting.

The plan included the most prominent developments in public debt and debt market initiatives for the year 2022, the financing plan in 2023 and its guidelines, in addition to the 2023 calendar of sukuk issuances within the Kingdom’s local sukuk program in Saudi riyals.

“The local market is one of the main tributaries of government funding, and there has been investment over the years to develop the government market in cooperation with the relevant authorities,” according to Al-Madani.

He explained that there is cooperation with the Capital Market Authority and the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia in the process of deepening the local debt market to meet government financing needs, in addition to the market being a tributary channel for other exporters, both from the public and private sectors.

He pointed out that last year witnessed the exploitation of the local market, in addition to entering the international markets in the fourth quarter of the year, after the completion of a financing transaction worth $5 billion.

Al-Madani pointed out that Saudi Arabia opened the year 2023 by obtaining financing worth $10 billion from international markets, taking advantage of the remarkable improvement in global markets compared to the beginning of 2022.

He continued, “We seize opportunities and balance external and internal borrowing, and we also follow a policy of proactive financing and early bond purchase with the aim of refinancing.”