Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia aims to issue bonds worth $5 billion (SAR 18.75 billion) in a bid to cover financing needs, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plan.

The kingdom is expected to hire banks for the bond sale as early as this month, the sources told the international news agency, noting that no final decision of the timing has been made.

If market conditions worsen, the country may postpone the offering, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity added.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance expected the public debt to widen to SAR 937 billion ($249.87 billion) by the end of 2021, compared to SAR 854 billion ($227.73 billion) by the end of 2020.