Moody's assigns new ratings to #Saudi domestic sukuk issuance programme | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Moody's assigns new ratings to Saudi domestic sukuk issuance programme | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Moody’s has assigned a provisional (P)A1 senior unsecured medium-term note (MTN) global scale rating (GSR) and Aaa.sa senior unsecured national scale rating (NSR) to the Government of Saudi Arabia's domestic SAR-denominated sukuk issuance program.

At the same time, Moody’s has concurrently assigned an A1/Aaa.sa senior unsecured GSR/NSR to the most recent sukuk instrument issued under the programme.

The government of Saudi Arabia's A1 GSR is underpinned by the government's robust, albeit deteriorating, balance sheet and supported by substantial external liquidity buffers, it said in a press release.

The release added that the instruments issued by the government under the programme warrant the strongest Aaa.sa rating by virtue of the sovereign's large footprint in the economy and its capacity to control and/or influence economic, political, and social matters; and, its large financial buffers, including foreign reserves in the central bank and a robust, albeit deteriorating, balance sheet