Saudi Arabia picks hybrid structure for debut dollar sukuk

Dubai

SAUDI Arabia has chosen a hybrid structure for its debut international sukuk, the prospectus for the offer showed, a format widely used in the Saudi local debt market, but not the most popular for sovereign issues.

The Islamic bond, expected to go up to US$10 billion, will be the country's second international debt sale after a US$17.5 billion conventional bond in October last year. That bond issue, the largest ever sold across emerging markets, was part of an effort to diversify Saudi Arabia's funding sources to plug a budget deficit caused by lower oil prices.