Saudi Arabia Dethrones China as Top Emerging-Market Borrower
- Kingdom accelerates global borrowing to drive Vision 2030
- Chinese international-bond sales 68% below five-year average
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Saudi Arabia has displaced China as the most prolific issuer of international debt among emerging markets, breaking Beijing’s 12-year run at the top.
Data for new-bond sales by both governments and corporates this year reveal the kingdom is borrowing at a record pace as global debt investors begin to back Crown Prince’s Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan. Chinese borrowers, on the other hand, are witnessing a buying frenzy in local-currency bonds and have slowed international issuance to one of the slowest paces in recent years.