S Arabia races through financial toolkit to raise funds

Dubai

SAUDI Arabia's plans to bolster its finances are taking on a new sense of urgency as lower oil prices put the economy under more strain than at any other time in the past decade.

In recent weeks, the kingdom raised a US$10 billion loan, clamped down on currency speculators and informed banks of plans to raise as much as US$15 billion in its first international bond sale, people with knowledge of the matter said. It's also said to be contemplating IOUs to pay contractor bills and hired HSBC Holdings plc banker Fahad Al Saif to set up a new debt office.