RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has raised $4.53 billion from a local Islamic bond issue that was three times oversubscribed, it said on Tuesday as it battles a budget deficit caused by low oil revenues.

The finance ministry said orders exceeded 52bn riyals ($13.6bn) for its first issue of domestic sukuk bonds worth 17 billion riyals.

It said the new bonds would be divided into three tranches, with mat­ur­­ities ranging from five to ten years.

“The strong demand for local bonds reflects the confidence of investors in the kingdom’s issuing and confirms the strength of the Saudi economy’s foundations,” the ministry said in a statement. In April Saudi Arabia raised $9bn in its first global Islamic bond issue, a move analysts said could ease pressure on its foreign reserves.

But the largest Arab economy is suffering from a sharp slide in oil revenues since crude prices plummeted in mid-2014, forcing Riyadh to cut subsidies and delay projects.

The kingdom forecast a budget deficit of $53bn this financial year, down slightly from last year’s shortfall.

Economic growth in Saudi Arabia is expe­cted to hit just 0.1 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, down from the 0.3pc it projected in April.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2017