In the first half of 2025, Saudi Arabia retained its place as the top issuer in the loan markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council, raising $ 47.93 billion through Bond and Sukuk. While this figure shows a decline of about 20 percent from the same period last year, the state has still commanded more than half the total released in the region. A new report of the Kuwait Financial Center “Marks” provides a detailed view of the fixed income landscape of GCC, which highlights shifting preferences, currency trends and sector-wise activity.
Saudi Arabia at the forefront – but the decline in release
According to a comprehensive report by the Kuwait Financial Center (Markes), Saudi Arabia raised $ 47.93 billion from the release of 71 bonds and Sukuk during the first six months of 2025. This was 52.1 percent of the total debt activity in GCC, which confirms the state’s major role in the primary debt market of the region. However, this volume represents a 19.8 percent decrease compared to $ 59.73 billion raised during the same period in 2024.Despite the drop, Saudi Arabia maintained a significant lead over its regional colleagues. It is mentioned here how other GCC countries performed in the first half of 2025, based on the total amount and market share:Saudi Arabia,
- 71 raised $ 47.93 billion through release
- Total GCC is 52.1% of issuing loan
- H1 below $ 59.73 billion in 2024 (-19.8% year-by-year)
United Arab Emirates (UAE),
- 69 released by releasing $ 24.03 billion
- Representing 26.1% of the regional total
- Marks an increase of 22.2% from last year
Queue,
- 58 collected $ 10 billion to issue
- 10.9% captured to issue total GCC
Bahrain,
- 7 collected $ 5.62 billion from release
- 6.1% of the regional clan
- 49.7% increase from year to year reflected
Kuwat,
- $ 3.39 billion issued through 4 transactions
- Total GCC is responsible for total 3.7%
- I saw an increase of 48% year after year
Oman,
- 6 recorded $ 1.08 billion from release
- The lowest market share at 1.2%
In the region, the release of GCC-Wide loan in H1 2025 released a total of $ 92.04 billion in a total of $ 92.04 billion, which was 5.5 percent from H1 2024 to 5.5 percent. It reflects the combined efforts of the regional total sovereign, corporates and financial institutions that are to tap in capital markets amidst changing macroeconomic conditions. In its December review, Fitch Rating stated that the total outstanding loan in GCC overtook $ 1 trillion, a milestone that reflects mature debt ecosystem in the Gulf.
Issue of issuing priorities – emergence of traditional loan
Markaz highlighted a change in the trends of releasing within GCC in early 2025. Traditional bonds created 56.1 percent of the total debt devices, marked a reversal from H1 2024, where Sukak (Sharia-Anupal Husbandry Bond) held a majority share. In terms of value:
- The release of traditional loans increased from 7.8 percent to $ 51.61 billion from year to year.
- In contrast, the release of Sukuk, declined by 18.2 percent, the amount of $ 40.43 billion.
For reference, Sukuk is Islamic financial certificate that provides partial ownership in an asset pool and structured to follow Islamic law, which serves as an alternative to interest-bearing bonds. The growing appeal of traditional bonds in 2025 appears to develop more flexibility in the investor’s hunger and the conditions of issuing. The GCC loan continues to diversify both market format and funding sources.
Currency landscape – USD dominates, Rial follows
The US dollar remained a favorite currency in the GCC primary market. In the first half of 2025:
- The USD-dinominated issued reached $ 73.1 billion in 146 deals, represented 79.4 percent of the total issuance quantity.
- The Saudi Rial was the second most useful currency, with $ 7 billion released eight.
- The amount of grouped currencies under “other” was $ 2 billion, of which Hong Kong dollars contributed $ 682 million from releasing 20, accounting for the total 0.74 percent of the region.
A separate fitch rating report of April showed that all the emerging-markets issued in GCC country Q1 2025 were responsible for more than 35 percent of the US dollar loan, except for about 25 percent in 2024, except China. These figures underline the continuous international appeal to issue GCC sovereign and corporate, especially among dollars-based investors.
Sector and Issue Breakdown – Corporates Lead Activity
H1 2025 increased corporate issuance, which increased year-by-year 67.7 percent to reach $ 60.20 billion. This represents 65.4 percent of the area’s total debt activity. Conversely:
- The government -related institutions released $ 11.2 billion in 11 deals, increasing by 1.8 percent from the previous year.
- The entire region fell by a total of $ 31.85 billion to 48.2 percent.
In terms of regional distribution:
- The financial sector led $ 40.1 billion through the release of 167, increased by 43.6 percent of all activities.
- Government institutions followed $ 31.9 billion from releasing 25.
- The energy sector recorded $ 8.6 billion out of nine deals, accounting for 9.4 percent of the total.
- The remaining areas included 12.5 percent of the total issuance simultaneously.
The size of issuing in GCC ranged from $ 2 million to $ 5 billion, which reflects separate capital needs and issuer profiles in public and private institutions.
