Weekly Market Brief – 1/21/2022

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi holdings of U.S. Treasuries declined 1.3 percent to reach SAR431 billion ($115 billion) in November, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Kingdom ranked as the 17^th largest sovereign holder of U.S. debt.

• The Saudi government closed a SAR2.8 billion ($755 million) riyal-denominated sukuk, its first issuance of 2022. The first tranche was valued at SAR1.3 billion ($333 million), maturing in 2030, while the second tranche was valued at SAR1.6 billion ($424 million), maturing in 2034. The government issued approximately SAR75 billion ($20 billion) in sukuk last year.

• The real estate price index for Saudi Arabia inched up by 0.9 percent YoY in Q4, driven by an increase in residential land prices (+1.7 percent). Commercial and agricultural real estate prices declined by 0.7 percent YoY and 0.2 percent YoY, respectively.