Saudi Arabia Engaged HSBC Banker to Manage Bond Sale

Fahad Al Saif has become the 2nd HSBC banker to be appointed to a government role in recent months

It was reported Tuesday that Saudi Arabia has engaged HSBC Holdings banker Fahad Al Saif to start a debt management office responsible for the Kingdom’s 1st international bond sale.

Sources told HeffX-LTN that Mr. Al Saif recently joined the Ministry of Finance on an open-ended secondment from Saudi British Bank, in which HSBC owns a 40% stake, where he was general manager of global banking and markets.

He is also a board member of HSBC Saudi Arabia Ltd.

The move would make Mr. Al Saif the 2nd HSBC banker to be appointed to a government role in recent months.

The bank’s CEO for the Middle East Mohammad Al Tuwaijri was appointed deputy economy and planning minister in May as part of a shakeup of the kingdom’s economy announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Earlier this month, the Kingdom sent invitations to banks to arrange a bond sale. Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh indicated last month the country could issue a bond sale as early as September.

SABB and HSBC confirmed Al Saif’s secondment to the Ministry of Finance, saying he remained an HSBC Saudi Arabia employee but was “relinquished” of all management and board responsibilities to avoid conflicts of interest.

Saudi Arabia’s planned tapping of the international bond market follows several high profile sales from Gulf governments this year. Last week, Qatar sold $9-B in Eurobonds in the Middle East’s largest ever bond sale.

Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH senior money manager Sergey Dergachev said that Saudi Arabia would “have to offer a very generous premium” for its planned bond issue, following the Qatar sale.

  bank, banker, bond, debt, government, Gulf, HSBC, Kingdom, management, sale, Saudi Arabia

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Paul Ebeling

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of “The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report” on the US Major Market Indices™, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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