The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to sustain record breaking bond issuance into 2026 as macro scale projects advance and weak oil prices hold.
The PIF, KSA’s SWF, issued $2B of bonds on the London Stock Exchange this week. In turn, this brings the total number of bonds to $22B in the month of January.
Banks, corporations, and the PIF are issuing bonds in a rapid push ahead of 2030.
Foreign Ownership Changes
Bond issuance arrives as KSA changes foreign ownership rules, across real estate, alcohol, and foreign equity ownership.
From 1 February, KSA will abolish rules that limit foreign equity ownership. The rule will lift the weight of the stock market, unlocking capital headroom to allocate to infrastructure projects.
Hedge Fund Participation
Foreigner investors are increasingly active in KSA.
Outside investors now make-up over one-third of investment into the Kingdom; a large uptick on the 8% of trading from foreign investment in 2020.
Vision 2030 & Macroeconomic Pressures
Diversification brings ongoing pressures on the Kingdom to meet strict targets, involving the NEOM project, the New Murabba and broader Red Sea tourism, in an unfavourable commodity market for the oil-rich state.
Brent continues to trade at USD $65 per barrel – slightly up from those levels seen in December 2025 – where brent traded below $65 per barrel.
Upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi on Ukraine will determine the future price of Brent despite the broader oversupply in the market. A permanent end to the war could lift oil prices, in the medium term, which would be positive news for the Kingdom’s fiscal position ahead of 2026.
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