Saudi Arabias National Debt Management Center appoints acting CEO

Al-Medaini, a former head of the investment division at Saudi British Bank, takes over from Fahad Al-Saif, who recently joined the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Al-Medaini, who has also worked as a dealer at Samba Financial Group, joined the National Debt Management Center in September 2019 as head of portfolio management and was appointed acting deputy CEO in March. The center was set up in 2015 following the decline in oil prices as part of efforts to help the government tap into the global debt markets.

Last month, the center closed the June 2021 issuance for the government’s Saudi riyal-denominated sukuk, valued at SR8.265 billion ($2.2 billion). The sukuk — or Islamic bonds — were divided into three tranches. The first amounted to SR2.755 billion and will mature in 2028, the second tranche of SR4.650 billion will mature in 2031, and the third of SR860 million in 2035.

Saudi Arabia has been increasingly more active in the sukuk markets. ACWA Power and Aramco have both had successful issuance in recent weeks.

Khalid Al-Bihlal, head of S&P Global Ratings KSA, told Arab News that Saudi Arabia’s debt capital market was expected to continue to grow. “A gradual deepening of the local capital markets would likely increase their transparency and could reinforce corporate governance practices in Saudi Arabia in coming years,” he said.