DUBAI, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s finance minister has approved the kingdom’s 2026 borrowing plan, with financing needs of about 217 billion riyals ($57.86 billion), the finance ministry said on Saturday, as the Gulf country pushes ahead with its economic diversification plans.
The amount is intended to cover a projected budget deficit for the 2026 fiscal year of around $44 billion, as well as the repayment of principal due in 2026, amounting to about $13.87 billion, it added.
The world’s top oil exporter is more than halfway through its Vision 2030 plan that calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in government investment to cut its economic dependence on hydrocarbon revenue.
According to the budget, 2026 will mark the start of the “third phase” of the plan where the focus shifts from launching economic reforms to maximising their impact, as Riyadh deploys its $925 billion sovereign wealth fund away from delayed massive real estate projects toward sectors including logistics and religious tourism.
The domestic debt market is expected to contribute 20% to 30% of total borrowing for 2026, with the international debt market contributing between 25% and 30%, according to the kingdom’s National Debt Management Center (NDMC).
In its 2026 annual borrowing plan, the NDMC said that the private market is expected to contribute to up to 50% of the funding mix, including through instruments such as project infrastructure financing and export credit agencies.
($1 = 3.7502 riyals)
(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba, Hatem Maher and Federico Maccioni)
