S. Arabia to borrow $23 bln in ’24 – statement

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia forecasts its financial needs in 2024 to stand at $22.93 billion under an annual borrowing plan, the Saudi National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said in a statement on Thursday.

The plan includes public debt developments, debt markets initiatives for 2023, and the 2024 funding plan and its guidelines, in addition to the calendar of domestic Sukuk issuances under the Local Saudi Sukuk Issuance Programme in Saudi Riyal.

The Kingdom is expected to benefit from the available opportunities depending on market conditions to proactively execute additional funding activities to repay debt principal for the coming years and to finance some strategic project.

The 2024 budget aims to strengthen the government’s financial position by keeping government reserves at safe levels in order to deal with external shocks, according to the budget statement.