RIYADH: Saudi Arabia dominated the Gulf Cooperation Council’s fixed-income market in the first quarter of 2026, raising $32.54 billion through 42 issuances, marking a year-on-year rise of 3.1 percent, according to an analysis.
In its latest report, Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz, noted that the Kingdom accounted for 59.1 percent of the total GCC issuance volume, underscoring growing investor appetite for its debt market.
The entire GCC region witnessed $55.04 billion in primary issuances through 95 deals during the first quarter, representing a 5.64 percent rise compared to the same period a year earlier.
The debt market in the region — particularly in Saudi Arabia — has grown substantially in recent years, fueled by economic diversification initiatives that have boosted investor appetite for fixed-income instruments.
“As for issuance preferences, the first quarter of 2026 saw an increased appetite for conventional issuances in the GCC, representing 65.2 percent of total issuances. This is in line with issuance preferences from the first quarter of 2025, where more conventional bonds were issued,” said Markaz.
Saudi Arabia was followed by the UAE in second place, with issuances amounting to $13.57 billion across 36 offerings.
Qatar ranked third with issuances totaling $4.2 billion in the first quarter, followed by Bahrain at $2.1 billion, Kuwait at $1.98 billion, and Oman at $650 million.
In a report in December, Kamco Invest said GCC debt maturities are set to remain elevated over the next five years, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with the former’s maturities projected at $174.5 billion between 2026 and 2030, compared with $171.8 billion for the latter.
With regard to issuance types, corporate issuers led activity, raising $34.58 billion, or 62.8 percent of total issuance, marking a 5.7 percent year-on-year increase. Sovereign issuance totaled $20.46 billion, accounting for a 37.2 percent share and rising 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Markaz’s latest report.
Government-related corporate entities saw a sharp drop, issuing only $2.65 billion in the first three months of this year, representing a 60.9 percent decline from the year-ago period.
The government sector led bond and sukuk activity in the first quarter, raising $20.46 billion through 12 issuances — or 37.2 percent of the total.
The financial sector followed with $19.45 billion from 64 issuances, representing 35.3 percent of the market.
The energy industry raised $5.52 billion through six issuances in the first quarter of this year.
According to Markaz, primary issuances with tenors of less than five years accounted for 41.8 percent of the GCC debt capital markets in the first quarter, with a total value of $23.01 billion across 58 issuances.
Primary issuances with tenors of five to 10 years followed, raising $17.24 billion through 21 issuances, representing 31.3 percent of total issuances.
Offerings with maturities of 10 to 30 years made up 16.4 percent of the market in the first three months of the year, with five issuances valued at $9 billion.
“One issuance came in with a maturity greater than 30 years with a value of $1 billion, while perpetual issuances saw an increase in both the size and number of issuances when compared to the first quarter of 2025, with a total value of $4.79 billion through 10 issuances,” added Markaz.
US dollar-denominated instruments continued to lead issuances, at $46.78 billion, or 85 percent of the total volume. Saudi riyal issuances followed with $4.04 billion.
