Saudi Arabia increased SR7.86 billion ($2.09 billion) from a domestic sukuk issuance in February, more than three times January’s sale, as the Kingdom speeds up funding with Shariah-compliant debt.
The National Debt Management Center stated in a release that the issuance was divided into five tranches with a maturity value between 2031 and 2041.
The biggest tranche is SR3.19 billion that will mature in 2041, and smaller tranches, such as SR1.17 billion due in 2031, SR1.38 billion maturing in 2033, SR1.59 billion expiring in 2036, and SR510 million due in 2039.
The issuance in February was 248 percent higher than in January, when the government had increased SR2.26 billion, which reflects increased activity in the local debt market in Saudi Arabia as authorities strive to increase sources of funds.
The release reported, “The National Debt Management Center announces the closure of February 2026 issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program with a total size of SR7.868 billion.”
Sukuk are Islamic financial instruments that provide investors asset-backed returns without interest payments, in line with Shariah principles that block conventional interest-based lending.
Over the past few years, the debt market in the Kingdom has seen a rapid expansion amidst the growing popularity of fixed-income products, as the increasing global interest rates are redefining the financial environment.
A report issued by Fitch Ratings in January indicated that the debt capital market of Saudi Arabia will hit a high of $600 billion of outstanding issuance by the year 2026, becoming the largest in the issuance of the US dollar debt and sukuk among the emerging markets.
The report stated that the exceptional Saudi debt exceeded $520 billion in 2025, an annual increase of 21 percent, with sukuk accounting for roughly 62 percent of the total.
However, the overall growth in the Saudi Arabian sukuk market can be seen through its gradual momentum trend as both domestic and international investors are looking to diversify and find stable returns.
The Kingdom’s dollar debt issuance increased by 49 percent in 2025 to approximately $100 billion, of which sukuk growth outpaced bonds.
Saudi Arabia was the largest dollar-debt issuer in 2025, with an 18 percent share, and the largest environmental, social, and governance dollar-debt issuer, with over a 26 percent share in emerging markets excluding China.
