Saudi Arabia opens November ‘Sah’ sukuk offering with 4.71% return

Launched under the Financial Sector Development Program, a crucial initiative of the Vision 2030 agenda, Sah aims to raise the national savings rate to 10 percent by 2030, up from about 6 percent currently. File
Short Url
Updated 02 November 2025
Follow

Saudi Arabia opens November ‘Sah’ sukuk offering with 4.71% return

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has opened subscriptions for its November issuance of the government-backed “Sah” savings sukuk, providing investors with an annual interest rate of 4.71 percent, marginally lower than the 4.83 percent offered in October. 

The November issuance window opened at 10 a.m. Saudi time on Nov.2, and will close at 3 p.m. on Nov.4, the National Debt Management Center said in a post on X. 

Part of the 2025 issuance calendar managed by the NDMC, the sukuk reflects the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to promote financial inclusion and encourage personal savings among its citizens.

Launched under the Financial Sector Development Program, a crucial initiative of the Vision 2030 agenda, Sah aims to raise the national savings rate to 10 percent by 2030, up from about 6 percent currently. 

According to the X post, the minimum subscription for the sukuk is SR1,000 ($266.56), while the maximum is capped at SR200,000 per investor.

The sukuk carries a one-year maturity and offers fixed returns paid at redemption.

Subscription for this sukuk is open to Saudi nationals above the age of 18 through approved digital platforms, including SNB Capital, Aljazira Capital, Alinma Investment, SAB Invest, and Al-Rajhi Capital. 

Sukuk are Shariah-compliant financial instruments that offer investors partial ownership in an issuer’s underlying assets, making them a popular alternative to conventional bonds.

In October, NDMC announced that it raised SR7.54 billion through its riyal-denominated sukuk program. 

According to a press statement, the October issuance was divided into four tranches, with the first one valued at SR538 million set to mature in 2029. 

The second, worth SR493 million, is set to mature in 2032, followed by a third tranche of SR2.45 billion due in 2036. The fourth, which is the largest tranche, totaling SR4.06 billion, will mature in 2039.

Saudi Arabia’s debt market has witnessed robust growth in recent years, attracting strong investor interest in fixed-income instruments amid a global environment of rising interest rates.

In October, Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz, said that Saudi Arabia dominated the Gulf Cooperation Council region’s primary debt market in the third quarter of 2025, raising $20.32 billion through 36 issuances, representing a 62.7 percent year-on-year increase in value. 

In April, S&P Global said that Saudi Arabia’s expanding non-oil sector and steady sukuk issuance volumes are likely to support the growth of the global Islamic finance industry.


Saudi POS transactions see 20% surge to hit $4bn: SAMA

Updated 05 December 2025
Follow

Saudi POS transactions see 20% surge to hit $4bn: SAMA

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s total point-of-sale transactions surged by 20.4 percent in the week ending Nov. 29, to reach SR15.1 billion ($4 billion).

According to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank, the number of POS transactions represented a 9.1 percent week-on-week increase to 240.25 million compared to 220.15 million the week before.

Most categories saw positive change across the period, with spending on laundry services registering the biggest uptick at 36 percent to SR65.1 million. Recreation followed, with a 35.3 percent increase to SR255.99 million. 

Expenditure on apparel and clothing saw an increase of 34.6 percent, followed by a 27.8 percent increase in spending on telecommunication. Jewelry outlays rose 5.6 percent to SR354.45 million.

Data revealed decreases across only three sectors, led by education, which saw the largest dip at 40.4 percent to reach SR62.26 million. 

Spending on airlines in Saudi Arabia fell by 25.2 percent, coinciding with major global flight disruptions. This followed an urgent Airbus recall of 6,000 A320-family aircraft after solar radiation was linked to potential flight-control data corruption. Saudi carriers moved swiftly to implement the mandatory fixes.

Flyadeal completed all updates and rebooked affected passengers, while flynas updated 20 aircraft with no schedule impact. Their rapid response contained the disruption, allowing operations to return to normal quickly.

Expenditure on food and beverages saw a 28.4 percent increase to SR2.31 billion, claiming the largest share of the POS. Spending on restaurants and cafes followed with an uptick of 22.3 percent to SR1.90 billion.

The Kingdom’s key urban centers mirrored the national decline. Riyadh, which accounted for the largest share of total POS spending, saw a 14.1 percent surge to SR5.08 billion, up from SR4.46 billion the previous week. The number of transactions in the capital reached 75.2 million, up 4.4 percent week-on-week.

In Jeddah, transaction values increased by 18.1 percent to SR2.03 billion, while Dammam reported a 14 percent surge to SR708.08 million.

POS data, tracked weekly by SAMA, provides an indicator of consumer spending trends and the ongoing growth of digital payments in Saudi Arabia. 

The data also highlights the expanding reach of POS infrastructure, extending beyond major retail hubs to smaller cities and service sectors, supporting broader digital inclusion initiatives. 

The growth of digital payment technologies aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, promoting electronic transactions and contributing to the nation’s broader digital economy.