RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center announced the closure of the riyal-denominated sukuk program issuance for June with the total bid amount received at SR2.5 billion ($667 million). The total amount allocated was SR7.43 billion with the sukuk issuance divided into tranches — the first has a size of SR622 million maturing in 2030. The second tranche was valued at SR1.84 billion million maturing in 2035, the NDMC said in a statement Also called an Islamic bond, sukuk is a debt product issued according to Shariah or Islamic laws. “This issuance confirms the NDMC"s statement in the mid of February of this year that NDMC will continue, in accordance with the approved Annual Borrowing Plan, to consider additional funding activities subject to market conditions and through available funding channels locally or internationally,” NDMC’s website stated. This is to ensure the Kingdom"s continuous presence in debt markets and manage the debt repayments for the coming years while considering market movements and the government debt portfolio risk management, the statement added. According to an S&P Global report released in January, global sukuk issuances are expected to continue declining in 2023 to about $150 billion compared to $155.8 billion in 2022 and $170.4 billion in 2021.