Saudi Arabia is expected to issue more bonds after its multibillion-dollar international offering this month to manage its liabilities, the country’s finance minister has confirmed.

A few weeks ago, the kingdom issued $12 billion in bonds to meet its financing needs. The bond sale was Saudi Arabia’s largest since 2017.

“We need to manage our liabilities not only for this year, but for the years to come,” Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum.

“We will tap the markets as the opportunities arise.”

The official said Saudi Arabia will use the $12 billion deal to fund its fiscal deficit and some projects in logistics, water treatment and renewable energy.

Early this month, the Saudi Minister of Finance approved the kingdom’s borrowing plan to cover this year’s financing needs of SAR86 billion ($23 billion).

The financing will be used to settle debt maturities and fund the projected deficit of the 2024 budget, the National Debt Management Centre (NDMC) said.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) 
(seban.scaria@lseg.com)