Saudi PIF Completes $7 bln Inaugural Murabaha Credit Facility

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
TT

Saudi PIF Completes $7 bln Inaugural Murabaha Credit Facility

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed on Monday a $7 billion inaugural murabaha credit facility.
In a statement, PIF said the credit facility is supported by a syndicate of 20 international and regional financial institutions.
PIF head of the Global Capital Finance Division and head of Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division Fahad AlSaif said: “This inaugural murabaha credit facility demonstrates the flexibility and depth of PIF’s financing strategy and use of diversified funding sources, as we continue to drive transformative investments, globally and in Saudi Arabia”, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
This financing complements PIF’s successful sukuk issuances over the past two years, the statement added. It also underpins PIF’s strong financial position, as well as its best-practice approach to debt financing.
PIF is rated Aa3 by Moody’s with stable outlook and A+ by Fitch with stable outlook. PIF has four main sources of funding: capital injections from government, government asset transfers, retained earnings from investments, and loans and debt instruments.



Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
TT

Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese government bonds extended their three-month-long rally on Thursday as the crisis-ravaged country's parliament voted in a new head of state for the first time since 2022.

Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president. It came after the failure of 12 previous attempts to pick a president and boosts hopes that Lebanon might finally be able to start addressing its dire economic woes.

The country's battered bonds have almost trebled in value since September, when the regional conflict with Israel weakened Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, long viewed as an obstacle to overcoming its political paralysis.

According to Reuters, most of Lebanon's international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, rallied after Aoun's victory was announced to stand 1.3 to 1.7 cents higher on the day and at just over 16 cents on the dollar.

They have risen almost every day since late December, although they remain some of the lowest-priced government bonds in the world, reflecting the scale of Lebanon's difficulties.

With its economy and financial system still reeling from a collapse in 2019, Lebanon is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the conflict, which the World Bank estimates to have cost the country $8.5 billion.

Hasnain Malik, an analyst at financial research firm Tellimer said Aoun's victory was "the first necessary step on a very long road to recovery".

Malik said Aoun now needs to appoint a prime minister and assemble a cabinet that can retain the support of parliament, resuscitate long-delayed reforms and help Lebanon secure international financial support.

The 61-year old Aoun fell short of the required support in Thursday's first round of parliamentary voting and only succeeded in a second round, reportedly after a meeting with Hezbollah and Amal party MPs.

"That presents significant ongoing risk to any new PM and cabinet, which need to maintain the confidence of a majority of parliament," Malik said.