Saudi Arabia Raises $49Bn in H1 Debt Issuance, Leads GCC Market: Markaz

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia raised $49.34 billion through 58 bond and sukuk issuances in the first half of 2026, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, accounting for nearly half of Gulf debt issuance, a new analysis showed. 

The Kingdom represented 48 percent of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s primary debt market during the six-month period, as total regional issuance reached $102.69 billion across 161 deals, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz.  

The findings underscore Saudi Arabia’s continued dominance of the region’s debt capital markets, which have expanded in recent years as governments and companies increasingly tap bond and sukuk markets to finance economic diversification projects and infrastructure investments. 

“As for issuance preferences, the first half saw an increased appetite for conventional issuances in the GCC, representing 71.7 percent of total issuances for the first half of the year. This is consistent with issuance trends observed in the first half of 2025, during which conventional bonds accounted for the majority of issuances,” said Markaz. 

It added: “Conventional issuances increased by 33.3 percent in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025, reaching $73.63 billion. Sukuk issuances, meanwhile, decreased by 29.5 percent in the first half to $29.06 billion.” 

Wider regional context 

The UAE ranked second with $25.45 billion from 58 issuances, or 24.8 percent of the market, though this was 6.8 percent lower than in the first half of 2025. 

Qatar followed with $12.4 billion from 18 issuances, up 32.3 percent year on year and representing 12.1 percent of the total. 

Kuwait recorded the strongest percentage growth, with issuances surging 128.6 percent to $8.67 billion through 14 deals. 

Bahrain’s issuances fell 32.8 percent to $4.03 billion through five deals, while Oman raised $1.82 billion through six issuances. 

Two deals from the Arab Energy Fund added $1 billion. 

Sovereign vs. Corporate 

Corporate primary issuance rose 8.4 percent to $66.67 billion, accounting for 64.9 percent of the total, compared with 63.8 percent in the first half of the previous year. 

Government-related corporate entities issued $20.37 billion through 15 deals, an 81.4 percent increase from $11.22 billion a year earlier. 

Sovereign primary issuances grew more modestly, by 3.1 percent to $36.01 billion, representing 35.1 percent of the total. 

Sector segmentation 

By sector, financial institutions led with $41.70 billion through 104 issuances, accounting for 40.6 percent of the total value, followed by the government sector at $36.01 billion through 29 deals, or 35.1 percent. 

The energy sector ranked third with $13.72 billion from 11 issuances, representing 13.4 percent. The remaining sectors accounted for 11 percent. 

Issuances with tenors of less than five years represented the largest share by value at $43.36 billion through 97 deals, accounting for 42.2 percent. 

Issuances with maturities of five to 10 years raised $29.50 billion, or 28.7 percent, while those with maturities of 10 to 30 years totaled $19.47 billion, or 19 percent. Perpetual issuances rose to $10.36 billion through 21 deals. No deals exceeded 30 years. 

Deal sizes ranged from $4.1 million to $4.3 billion. Issuances of $1 billion or more accounted for the largest share of value at $63.55 billion through 35 deals, or 61.9 percent. 

The $500 million-to-$1 billion category raised $26.55 billion through 41 deals, while the highest number of transactions, at 43, came in the under-$100 million category, raising a combined $1.28 billion. 

Currency profile 

US dollar-denominated issuances continued to dominate, raising $83.42 billion through 100 issuances, accounting for 81.2 percent of the total. 

Saudi riyal issuances followed at $7.46 billion through 10 deals, with Kuwaiti dinar issuances totaling $5.67 billion through 12 deals. 

Among currencies grouped under “Other,” which totaled $3.7 billion, the British pound represented 0.8 percent of total issuances, with a total value of $785 million through four issuances.