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Saudi Sukuk, Bonds Gain New Route to Liquidity

An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
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Saudi Sukuk, Bonds Gain New Route to Liquidity

An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)
An investor walks past the Tadawul logo at the Saudi stock exchange. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia is bringing trade execution, clearing and settlement into a connected electronic workflow for its riyal-denominated sukuk and bond market, a step aimed at making secondary trading more efficient.

The change could make existing liquidity easier to find, improve price discovery and cut manual processing. It follows an approach seen in international markets, where electronic trading has developed alongside integrated local post-trade systems.

Tradeweb’s alternative trading system, previously available to international investors in Saudi Arabia, now also offers an electronic route for domestic investors and dealers.

The US-based company said GIB Capital and Saudi Awwal Bank executed the first domestic trade on the system.

Trade details were sent to the Securities Clearing Center Company, known as Muqassa, for post-trade processing and then to the Securities Depository Center Company, known as Edaa, for settlement.

Tradeweb is licensed by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to operate the system for sukuk and debt instruments.

Under the new process, a domestic investor can request and compare quotes electronically from eligible dealers. Once a trade is executed, its details go to Muqassa, which sends settlement instructions to Edaa. Participation is limited to professional investors and domestic dealers who meet the relevant registration and account requirements.

Previously, domestic execution and settlement followed separate processes, which could require trade details to be transferred or entered into different systems.

The connected electronic record should reduce repeated data entry and manual intervention, while making trades easier to trace and audit. The trades remain bilateral, and existing local settlement arrangements still apply.

Electronic trading does not create liquidity in itself, Enrico Bruni, Tradeweb’s Managing Director and Co-head of Global Markets, told Asharq Al-Awsat. It does, he said, make existing liquidity easier to find and access.

A standardized, traceable request-for-quote process lets investors compare prices from eligible dealers. Bruni said wider use among clients and dealers could, over time, improve price discovery and deepen the secondary market.

Enrico Bruni, Tradeweb’s Managing Director and Co-head of Global Markets. (Tradeweb)

From international to domestic trading

Tradeweb launched the alternative trading system in Saudi Arabia in October 2025, initially allowing international investors to trade riyal-denominated sukuk and debt instruments electronically. Early trades involved international institutions, including BlackRock, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs.

The domestic route gives institutions and dealers in Saudi Arabia an electronic trading channel while keeping post-trade processing and settlement within local infrastructure. A transaction can now start with an electronic request for quotes and proceed through local clearing and settlement.

The platform is still at an early stage. Bruni did not provide specific trading-volume figures since its launch, saying activity first focused on access for international investors before trading between domestic participants was added.

A growing need for price discovery

The process arrives as Saudi Arabia’s riyal debt market expands and international participation increases.

Saudi government debt instruments are expected to enter J.P. Morgan’s emerging-market government bond index in stages from January 2027, widening the pool of investors who track the index or invest in its securities.

That broader international investor base, alongside growing domestic participation, could increase demand for efficient access to dealer liquidity and clearer price discovery as the secondary market develops.

Scope for expansion

Bruni said electronic trading could eventually extend beyond government sukuk and riyal-denominated debt instruments to corporate bonds, repurchase agreements and derivatives. Any addition would depend on client demand, available liquidity and regulatory approval.

Tradeweb said the current infrastructure could support other products and trading methods while preserving Saudi market account structures, settlement arrangements and trading practices.

Over the next two to three years, Bruni said, success would be measured less by a particular trading volume than by regular use among more domestic and international investors, a larger network of liquidity providers and a wider range of traded instruments.

For now, the change is chiefly operational: it connects execution with local clearing and settlement and makes dealer liquidity easier to access.

As participation grows, that could help develop secondary trading in riyal-denominated sukuk and bonds.

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Business

ECB Says Will Have to Act Again if 2nd-round Inflation Effects Appear

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde (CL) and Gabriel Makhlouf (CR), Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland during the family photo at the Informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland 18 September 2026. EPA/BRYAN MEADE
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde (CL) and Gabriel Makhlouf (CR), Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland during the family photo at the Informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland 18 September 2026. EPA/BRYAN MEADE
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ECB Says Will Have to Act Again if 2nd-round Inflation Effects Appear

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde (CL) and Gabriel Makhlouf (CR), Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland during the family photo at the Informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland 18 September 2026. EPA/BRYAN MEADE
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde (CL) and Gabriel Makhlouf (CR), Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland during the family photo at the Informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland 18 September 2026. EPA/BRYAN MEADE

European Central Bank will have to raise interest rates again if high energy prices feed through to other areas but so far there is no sign of such second-round inflation effects, ECB policymaker ⁠Gabriel Makhlouf said on ⁠Wednesday.

"Although inflation is above our target, we're not seeing the sorts of second round effects ⁠that start feeding through to prices," Makhlouf, Ireland's central bank chief, told national broadcaster RTE in an interview.

"If that happens (energy prices remain high and feed into other areas), we will have to take ⁠action ⁠again to meet our target."

Makhlouf cautioned earlier this month following the ECB's second interest rate hike this year that raising interest rates "a great deal more" risked damaging economic growth.

Also Wednesday, the ECB said the European Union could close a third of its productivity gap with the United States if it had as many large companies, adding its voice to calls for reforms that make it easier for businesses to scale up.

European policymakers are trying to tackle the EU's economic underperformance relative to the United States, which is home to many of the world's largest companies and is leading the race to develop artificial intelligence.

EU workers produce ⁠20% less output ⁠per hour than their US counterparts, according to academic studies. They were almost on an even keel in 1995.

ECB staff found that if Europe had the same distribution of large and small firms as the United States – without changing how productive each ⁠type of company is – the productivity gap would shrink by roughly one-third.

Large firms are significantly more productive than smaller ones. Companies with at least 250 employees generate an average of €86,800 in value added per worker annually, while firms with fewer than 10 employees produce less than half that amount.

The ECB said Europe's weaker productivity performance also reflects lower innovation, fragmented regulation and less developed capital markets, all of which ⁠make it ⁠harder for companies to grow and compete internationally.

The central bank backed the proposed "EU Inc" framework, an EU-wide corporate law regime aimed at reducing barriers to cross-border business activity.

Modelled loosely on Delaware's corporate framework in the United States, EU Inc would create a single legal structure operating across the bloc, bypassing a patchwork of 27 national company law systems and dozens of corporate forms.

"EU Inc. has the potential to support the Single Market, by strengthening competition, innovation and productivity growth," the ECB said.

Business

Surveys: Europe's Economy Surprisingly Resilient amid War-Driven Energy Shock

A view of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 23 September 2026. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
A view of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 23 September 2026. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
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Surveys: Europe's Economy Surprisingly Resilient amid War-Driven Energy Shock

A view of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 23 September 2026. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
A view of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, 23 September 2026. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Europe's economy is showing unexpected signs of health even as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine drive up energy costs for firms and households, key business surveys showed on Wednesday.

Business activity across the euro zone accelerated in September at its fastest rate in over three years, S&P Global said, with solid growth registered across both the manufacturing and service sectors.

The S&P Global Flash Euro Zone Composite PMI Output Index — where readings above 50.0 signal an expansion in activity — jumped to 53.1 in September from August's 52.0, defying expectations in a Reuters poll ⁠for a dip ⁠to 51.7. The highest forecast in the poll was for 52.6.

"All in all, today’s PMI readings are almost too good to be true," said Carsten Brzeski at ING.

"A euro zone economy that remains completely unharmed by an energy price shock and supply chain disruptions is a welcome surprise. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be a mirage."

S&P said the latest rise in output was broad based across geographies covered by its data.

Business activity in Germany, Europe's largest ⁠economy, expanded solidly in September despite firms facing increased inflationary pressures while in France it grew at its fastest pace in just over two years, driven by a rebound in services demand.

But in Britain, outside the European Union, growth cooled this month as inflation pressure built, its PMI showed, an awkward backdrop for finance minister John Healey ahead of his first budget next month.

Overall new orders in the currency union surged at their fastest pace in over four years supported by a further rise in exports — which include intra-euro zone trade.

The bloc's services PMI bounced to its highest in nearly a year and was well ahead of estimates for a fall, while the manufacturing index held steady.

A gauge of output - ⁠which feeds into ⁠the composite PMI - nudged higher.

To meet the rise in demand firms took on more staff but faced a jump in input costs due to elevated energy prices stemming from the US war with Iran. They were able to pass some of this on to customers.

"September’s big improvement in the euro zone’s composite PMI supports our view that despite the weakness in the official activity data in July, GDP will increase in Q3," said Jack Allen-Reynolds at Capital Economics. "The output price PMIs rose too, but there is still no sign of 'second-round' effects on wages."

Earlier this month the European Central Bank raised interest rates for the second time this year to quell an energy-driven inflation rise and warned price pressures could prove lasting.

Markets are pricing three more ECB rate hikes by the end of June 2027.

"Today's PMI readings make it more difficult for even the ECB's most dovish policymakers to rule out another rate hike," said ING's Brzeski.

Business

What Do Saudi SMEs Need to Grow?

What Do Saudi SMEs Need to Grow?
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What Do Saudi SMEs Need to Grow?

What Do Saudi SMEs Need to Grow?

Financing alone is no longer enough to propel Saudi Arabia’s small and medium-sized enterprises into their next phase of growth, as their needs increasingly extend to accessing markets and contracts, securing operating liquidity, reducing business costs and boosting productivity, competitiveness and their ability to expand.

Financing available to the sector has nevertheless continued to grow. Cumulative credit facilities extended to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises reached about SAR 467 billion ($124.5 billion) by the end of 2025, up 33% year on year.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s National Strategy for Entrepreneurship and SMEs is seeking to address challenges beyond the financing gap by improving access to markets, procurement and supply chains, reducing the cost of doing business and strengthening companies’ capacity for sustainable growth.

In the latest financing initiative, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, known as Monsha’at, signed a cooperation agreement with STC Bank in September 2026 for a financing portfolio of up to SAR 5 billion ($1.33 billion) for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The portfolio includes short-, medium- and long-term facilities covering working capital, operating needs, purchases of assets and equipment, and financing for contracts, projects and supply chains.

Businesses also require more than long-term financing. The Social Development Bank’s Working Capital product offers financing ranging from SAR 150,000 ($40,000) to SAR 10 million ($2.67 million), with repayment periods of up to 12 months, to cover day-to-day operating costs and strengthen cash-flow management.

The bank distinguishes between working-capital financing for operating costs and capital-expansion financing for assets and expansion.

From financing to growth

Rayan bin Ibrahim Alfayez, Monsha’at’s deputy governor for enterprise services, said the 13 initiatives under the National Strategy for Entrepreneurship and SMEs are designed to directly address priority challenges facing business growth and create a more efficient environment that supports expansion and sustainability while strengthening competitiveness in the coming period.

Alfayez explained that one initiative aimed at expanding opportunities for businesses focuses on empowering SMEs and startups in industrial cities and special economic zones. It seeks to help them capitalize on opportunities available in those areas and provide support and incentives suited to the nature of their businesses, supporting their growth and strengthening their presence in industrial and economic activities and value chains.

He added that the strategy also includes an initiative to increase SMEs’ share of procurement by large companies, broadening their access to opportunities and contracts, strengthening their participation in supply chains and helping build sustainable commercial relationships that support business growth and expansion.

Alfayez noted that another initiative aimed at reducing the cost of doing business addresses one of the challenges affecting enterprise growth by examining fees and requirements in coordination with the relevant authorities and developing mechanisms to support fees based on carefully considered criteria. The initiative is intended to ease the financial burdens associated with doing business and create a more favorable environment for companies’ growth and sustainability.

He said the initiatives work together to address a range of factors linked to business growth, from the operating environment to opportunities, markets and value chains, strengthening SMEs’ ability to grow and expand while increasing their competitiveness and contribution to the national economy.

Markets after financing

Financial and economic adviser Hussein Al-Attas told Asharq Al-Awsat that the increase in financing directed toward SMEs reflected clear progress in Saudi Arabia’s financing ecosystem, but the challenge was no longer financing alone. Rather, it was an enterprise’s ability to turn that financing into sustainable growth.

Al-Attas explained that an enterprise needs three interconnected elements: appropriate financing, access to markets, and operational and competitive capacity.

He said a company may secure financing, but in the next stage it needs contracts and sales opportunities that allow it to increase revenue, alongside managerial and technological development to boost productivity and the ability to manage cash flows and expand without allowing growth to become a financial burden.

Al-Attas added that access to markets and contracts represents the link most closely associated with an enterprise’s transition from survival to growth. Financing gives a business the capacity to act, while contracts and markets turn that capacity into revenue and cash flow.

He further stated that greater SME participation in government procurement and the supply chains of large companies, along with opening export channels, could have a direct impact on their ability to expand, alongside efforts to reduce the cost of doing business and raise productivity.

The next phase requires moving from the concept of “financing the enterprise” to “financing the enterprise’s growth,” he underlined, meaning that financing should be linked to markets, contracts, technology, productivity and expansion.

Strategy broadens its scope

The focus on markets forms part of the wider National Strategy for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, which includes 13 initiatives addressing sector challenges in access to markets and opportunities, financing, the business environment, innovation, data and expansion.

The strategy also aims to raise SMEs’ contribution to gross domestic product to 35% by 2030 and create more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Some initiatives seek to turn market access from a broad objective into direct contracting opportunities by qualifying enterprises and connecting them with the supply chains of large companies and projects.

This approach is reflected in Monsha’at’s Jadeer service, which aims to improve businesses’ readiness, qualify them to enter supply chains and enable them to benefit from procurement opportunities.

The equation for SME growth therefore does not stop at increasing available financing. It also depends on businesses’ ability to use that financing first to fund operations, then gain access to demand and contracts, improve productivity and reduce costs before moving into expansion and investment.

This reflects a shift from addressing the financing gap to addressing the growth gap: liquidity gives an enterprise the ability to continue operating and move forward, while access to markets and operational efficiency determine its ability to turn financing into revenue and sustainable growth.