By Innovation-sa on July 31, 2018 in News
The Finance Ministry’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has begun selling local currency government bonds through a new “primary dealer” programme which is designed to increase demand for the debt and widen the range of investors holding it.
The Ministry announced that the first edition of the Primary Dealers Program for Susuk distribution has taken place under the program, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Alinma Bank, Bank Aljazira, Samba Financial Group, The National Commercial Bank, and The Saudi British Bank were appointed as primary dealers and are involved in buying the susuk directly from the government and then immediately making a market in them by quoting two-way prices to other investors.
The primary dealers represent a Public-Private Partnership based on experience, professionalism and advanced capabilities, to develop the Debt Capital Markets of Saudi Arabia. They also contribute to the expansion of investor base in their capacity in the primary market.
“Market-making will play an active role in stimulating the financial markets as a whole and significantly increasing the liquidity in the secondary market”, said the ministry.
The Primary Dealers Program comes in line with the strategies of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) which aims to enable financial institutions to increase the growth of the private sector through the development of financial markets.
Saudi Gazette – 27 July 2018