Saudi Arabia selling two-tranche dollar sukuk

Saudi Arabia returned to the debt markets on Monday for the second time this year, offering dollar Islamic bonds with tenors of six and 10 years, a bank document showed on Monday.

Initial guidance for the six-year sukuk was around 110 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries (UST) and around 135 bps over UST for the 10-year, the document on the sale showed.

Citi, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered are global coordinators. Aljazira Capital, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are also on the deal.

The world's top oil exporter last tapped the public debt markets in January, raising $10 billion with three-tranche conventional bonds.

High oil prices helped Saudi Arabia tilt to its first fiscal surplus since 2013 last year. It has said it expects a consecutive, albeit narrower, surplus in 2023, clouded by global economic concerns and an uncertain oil price outlook.

"They are cutting oil production and a recession in the US is likely — so this issue is a good example of prudent debt management," said Dino Kronfol, chief investment officer of global sukuk and Mena fixed income at Franklin Templeton.

Saudi Arabia said it would trim oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May, part of a surprise 1.16 mbpd cut announced by Opec+.

• Business