UPDATE 1-Oman sells $1.5 billion sukuk as Khashoggi crisis raises funding costs | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Oman sells $1.5 billion sukuk as Khashoggi crisis raises funding costs | Reuters:

Oman sold $1.5 billion in sukuk, or Islamic bonds, on Wednesday but the generous investor returns it had to offer showed that the crisis over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is raising funding costs across the Gulf region, fund managers said.

The bond issue is Oman’s second public debt issuance this year, as the sultanate borrows internationally to finance a budget deficit caused by a slump in oil prices over the past few years. It follows a $6.5 billion conventional bond issue in January, the country’s largest ever debt sale.

Oman’s new debt issue came amid rising investor concerns over the deterioration of Saudi Arabia’s international relations after the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.