RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is expected to account for the largest share of fixed-income maturities in the Gulf Cooperation Council over the next five years, with $167.4 billion of bonds and sukuk due between 2026 and 2030, a new analysis showed.
In its latest report, Kamco Invest said the Kingdom will lead the region ahead of the UAE, where maturities are forecast at $157.4 billion, and Qatar at $89 billion, reflecting the scale of debt issuance used to finance economic diversification and infrastructure projects across the Gulf.
This comes as the Kingdom raised $49.34 billion through 58 bond and sukuk issuances in the first half of 2026, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier and accounting for nearly half of Gulf debt issuance, according to the latest Markaz report.
Saudi Arabia’s debt market has recorded robust growth in recent years, attracting strong investor interest in fixed-income instruments amid a global environment of elevated interest rates.
In its latest report, Kamco Invest stated: “Both bond and sukuk maturities are expected to remain elevated starting from 2027 until 2031 and then gradually taper for the rest of the tenor. The higher maturities during the next five years reflects a number of short-term (less than 5-year maturity) issuances by governments and corporates.”
It added: “A majority of these maturities are denominated in USD at 64.5 percent, followed by local currency issuances in SR and QAR at 9.2 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.”
Wider regional context
Oman is expected to see the smallest fixed-income maturities over the next five years, at $22.3 billion, while fixed-income maturities in Kuwait and Bahrain are expected to total $31.5 billion and $23.7 billion, respectively.
Overall, GCC governments are expected to see elevated levels of maturities, especially for bond issuances made following the pandemic.
Citing data from Bloomberg, Kamco Invest said GCC sovereign maturities stand at $236.6 billion over the next five years, while corporate maturities stand slightly higher at $254.8 billion.
Sectoral breakdown
According to Kamco Invest, the banking and financial services sector is expected to account for $187.4 billion in maturities over the next five years, representing around 73.5 percent of total corporate maturities and 38.1 percent of total GCC maturities through 2030.
The energy sector comes next, with maturities of $23.4 billion, or 9.2 percent of GCC corporate maturities, followed by the real estate and utilities sectors at $15.6 billion and $13.1 billion, respectively.
Banks in the UAE have the largest maturities over the next five years, at $88.9 billion, followed by Qatari banks with maturities of $32.9 billion through 2030.
Real estate maturities are concentrated mainly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, at $11.4 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively, through 2030.
