NDMC Board of Directors, chaired by H.E the Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, endorsed the 2022 annual borrowing plan during its last meeting. The plan highlighted the expectation of debt levels stability in accordance with the government's general budget statement for the fiscal year 2022. In addition, the plan also highlighted that the NDMC will continue to proactively monitor the market taking into consideration interest rate movements and will be seizing opportunities that will enhance the characteristics of the Kingdom's debt portfolio.
As per 2022 official budget statement, public debt is estimated to remain at approximately SAR 938bn by 2022 year-end. Hence, the funding requirement for 2022 will mainly focus on debt refinancing which amounts to approximately SAR 43bn. Based on market conditions throughout 2022 and while maintaining the current debt strategy, the government might consider additional tactical funding activities through the available funding channels, either domestically or internationally including debt capital markets and/or government alternative financing to fund opportunities that will promote economic growth such as capital expenditures and infrastructure financing.
Last December, the NDMC announced the completion of the 2021 borrowing plan, with total financing of SAR 125 bn. Total domestic issuances reached to 60.5%, while total international activities reached 39.5%. The borrowing plan included several funding channels, of which the issuance of EUR denominated bond amounting to EUR 1.5 bn, the largest negative yield issuance ever to be executed out of EU with 3.3 times coverage ratio, equivalent to EUR 5 bn. Additionally, the NDMC executed an exchange transaction of Sukuk and bonds maturing in 2022, with total size exceeding SAR 33 bn.