SAUDI ARABIAN MARKET
Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
• Saudi Arabia postponed the reopening date for air, land, and sea ports to May 17, according to the Ministry of Interior. Travel restrictions had previously been scheduled to lift on March 31. The reason for the change was reportedly a delay in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Saudi Arabia’s first international debt issuance of 2021 was more than four times oversubscribed with a total order size exceeding SAR83 billion ($22 billion). The U.S. dollar-denominated issuance will total SAR18.8 billion ($5 billion) with two tranches: SAR10.3 billion ($2.8 billion) maturing in 2033 and SAR8.4 billion ($2.3 billion) maturing in 2061. Last year, the Kingdom raised SAR ($12 billion) via two international bond sales.
• Saudi Arabia’s economy will grow 2.6 percent in 2021 and 4 percent in 2022, according to the IMF’s latest forecast. The Fund lowered its GDP estimate for 2020 from a 5.4 percent contraction to a 3.7 percent contraction, but also lowered its 2021 forecast from 3.1 percent to 2.6 percent growth. The Ministry of Finance forecasts a 3.2 percent growth rate in 2021.
