Riyadh raises $13bn to fund infrastructure projects

Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center (NDMC) has secured $13 billion through a seven-year syndicated loan to help finance power, water, and public utilities projects.

The transaction forms part of the kingdom’s medium-term debt strategy, which seeks to diversify funding sources and meet financing needs over the medium to long term,  the NDMC said in a statement.

“This transaction aims to leverage market opportunities to execute alternative government financing activities that contribute to economic growth, including the financing of development and infrastructure projects aligned with Vision 2030,” the statement added.

No other details on the loan were shared.

In January 2025 Saudi Arabia raised $12 billion from a three-tranche bond to meet its funding needs. In the same month finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan approved the 2025 borrowing plan, which estimated funding of SAR139 billion ($37 billion) to cover the potential budget deficit.

Saudi Arabia can afford to borrow $25 billion in new funds on international capital markets in 2026 since its public debt-to-GDP ratio is 38 percent, far lower than Britain’s 100 percent and the US’s 127 percent, Matein Khalid, an investor in global financial markets and board adviser to leading family offices in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, wrote in AGBI.

In December 2025, Saudi Arabia expected its budget deficit to narrow in 2026 as the kingdom scales back massive spending plans amid weaker oil revenue and foreign investment.

Expenditure is projected at SAR1.31 trillion in 2026, lower than an estimated SAR1.34 trillion this year. Revenue is forecast at SAR1.15 trillion, up slightly on the estimated SAR1.09 trillion for 2025.

Domestic and external borrowing through public and private channels is expected to continue to finance the budget deficit and repay the principal projected for 2026 as well as the medium term, the budget statement said.