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Saudi Arabia Prepares to Launch Individual Savings Sukuk

The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Prepares to Launch Individual Savings Sukuk

The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ministry of Finance and the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) are seeking to develop and launch individual savings Sukuk to motivate individuals to design better plans for the future and seek strategic partnerships with the private sector.

The two entities signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SNB Capital to strengthen their collaboration.

The Ministry and NDMC aim to boost the concept of saving across the Kingdom by driving the expansion of savings products for individuals as part of the ongoing work under the Financial Sector Development Program to Promote and Enable Financial Planning.

The memorandum was signed by the Chairman of the Steering Committee Abdulaziz al-Furaih from the Ministry of Finance, the CEO of NDMC Hani al-Medaini, and the Executive Chairman and Board Member of SNB Capital Rashid Sharif.

Furaih explained that the memorandum reflects the Ministry and the Center's drive to develop the first government-supported savings product towards achieving Vision 2030 targets through pursuing the financial sector development program's goals.

It aims to increase the number of individuals who regularly make savings, increase the supply of saving products, and raise awareness of the importance of saving and its benefits in planning future objectives.

Medaini explained that the memorandum represents an invitation to the private sector to cooperate and participate in developing and launching several savings tools for specific purposes and benefiting different categories of individuals, whether through banks, fund managers, or fintech companies.

For his part, Sharif asserted that the MoU enables SNB Capital, along with the Ministry and the Center, to offer government-supported savings products and solutions that meet the needs of citizens and residents.

"This partnership reflects our keenness to share our experiences and collaborate to develop and launch new saving products to support further economic diversification, saving, financing, and investing," he said.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Economic Forum discussed the study of "the importance of unifying and coherent sectors in legislation to issue taxes, fees, and zakat and standardizing the issuance reference."

The discussion is part of the executive sessions of the forum that will be held next November under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The Chairman of the Council, Khaled al-Rajhi, stressed the study's importance by defining the types of fees and taxes and their values, double taxation, and the possibility of unifying the reference.

The head of the advisory team implementing the study, Mohammad al-Abbas, pointed out that it aims to identify the concepts of fees and taxes, their issuance reference, and collection channels.

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Oil Prices Rise Further as Israel-Iran Extends into Fourth Day

A fire blazes in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A fire blazes in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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20
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Oil Prices Rise Further as Israel-Iran Extends into Fourth Day

A fire blazes in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A fire blazes in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Oil prices extended gains Monday as Israel and Iran pounded each other with missiles for a fourth day and threatened further attacks, stoking fears of a lengthy conflict that could reignite inflation.

Gold prices also rose back towards a record high thanks to a rush into safe havens, but while most equity markets dropped further into the red the losses were limited on hopes that the conflict does not spread through the Middle East.

Investors were also gearing up for key central bank meetings this week, with a particular eye on the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan, as well as talks with Washington aimed at avoiding Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs, said AFP.

Israel's surprise strike against Iranian military and nuclear sites on Friday -- killing top commanders and scientists -- sent crude prices soaring as much as 13 percent at one point on fears about supplies from the region.

Analysts also warned that the spike could send inflation surging globally again, dealing a blow to long-running efforts by governments and central banks to get it under control and fanning concerns about the impact on already fragile economies.

"The knock-on impact of higher energy prices is that they will slow growth and cause headline inflation to rise," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

"While central banks would prefer to overlook a temporary spike in energy prices, if they remain elevated for a long period, it may feed through into higher core inflation as businesses pass on higher transport and production costs.

"This would hamper central banks' ability to cut interest rates to cushion the anticipated growth slowdown from President Trump's tariffs, which adds another variable for the Fed to consider when it meets to discuss interest rates this week."

Both main oil contracts were up more than one percent in early Asian trade.

Fed, BoJ in focus

But Morningstar director of equity research Allen Good said: "Oil markets remain amply supplied with OPEC set on increasing production and demand soft. US production growth has been slowing, but could rebound in the face of sustained higher prices.

"Meanwhile, a larger war is unlikely. The Trump administration has already stated it remains committed to talks with Iran.

"Ultimately, fundamentals will dictate price, and they do not suggest much higher prices are necessary. Although the global risk premium could rise, keeping prices moderately higher than where they've been much of the year."

Stocks in Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta all fell but Tokyo was boosted by a weaker yen, while Shanghai, Seoul and Manila also edged up.

Gold, a go-to asset in times of uncertainty and volatility, rose to around $3,450 an ounce and close to its all-time high of $3,500.

Also in focus is the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies, which kicked off Sunday, where the Middle East crisis will be discussed along with trade in light of Trump's tariff blitz.

Investors are also awaiting bank policy meetings, with the Fed and BoJ the standouts.

Both are expected to stand pat for now but traders will be keeping a close watch on their statements for an idea about the plans for interest rates, with US officials under pressure from Trump to cut.

The Fed meeting "will naturally get the greatest degree of market focus", said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.

"While the market sees no chance of a rate cut at this meeting, we do get a new set of economic and Fed funds projections" and where decision-makers stand on their outlook for future movements, he added.

"The Fed should remain sufficiently constrained by the many uncertainties to offer anything truly market-moving and the statement should stress that policy is in a sound place for now."

In corporate news, Nippon Steel rose more than three percent after Trump on Friday signed an executive order approving its $14.9 billion merger with US Steel, bringing an end to the long-running saga.