DUBAI: Saudi Arabia said it plans to issue 118 billion riyals ($31.5 billion) in debt this year.
This has been aimed at helping finance the national budget deficit, the country’s Debt Management Office (DMO) said.
Media reports say the country has borrowed extensively over the past few years to refill state coffers exhausted by a drop in oil prices.
Reports said at the end of 2018, Saudi Arabia had around $150 billion in outstanding government debt of which 54 percent was in local currency and the rest denominated in U.S. dollars.
The country issued $7.5 billion in international bonds in January.
By the end of 2019, Saudi Arabia has planned to have around $181 billion in outstanding debt, media reports said. (Agencies)
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