Saudi Arabia kicks off three-part dollar bond offering

Saudi Arabia started the sale of a three-part dollar bond as the kingdom seeks to take advantage of lower borrowing costs, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The world’s largest oil exporter has opened books for the issue with an initial price guidance of about 110 basis points over US treasuries for the seven-year offering, roughly 135 basis points for a 12-year security and 180 basis points for a 35-year bond, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorised to speak about it.

Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered Plc are global coordinators and joint lead managers.

BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and NCB Capital are also passive joint lead managers.

The kingdom last sold bonds in October when it raised a $2.5bn sukuk.

Fahad Al-Saif, head of debt management office at the kingdom’s finance ministry, said in December the country may tap global debt markets to help bridge its budget deficit.