Saudi sovereign wealth fund plans sterling-denominated notes offering

SAUDI Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has hired banks for a sterling-denominated dual-tranche note offering, fixed income news service IFR reported on Monday (Jun 3).

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages more than US$700 billion in assets, mandated Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC and JPMorgan as joint global coordinators to arrange investor meetings starting Jun 3, the IFR said.

The sovereign wealth fund plans to sell the senior unsecured sterling-denominated dual-tranche note offering with maturity of five-years and 15-years under the GACI First Investment Company’s Euro Medium Term Note programme.

The PIF is the chosen vehicle of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, to drive an economic agenda aimed at cutting the country’s reliance on oil. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter.

Last month, Saudi Arabia raised US$5 billion in three-part Islamic bonds, or Sukuk, amid strong investor demand for the kingdom’s debt. REUTERS