Saudi wealth fund PIF offers indicative pricing for 10-year Islamic bonds, orders exceed $7 billion

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PIF taps debt market for the first time in 2026

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Indicative pricing for 10-year sukuk set at 120 basis points over U.S. Treasuries

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Orders from investors exceed $7 billion

(Adds orders in paragraph 2, ?issuances in 6)

DUBAI/BANGALORE Jan 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is returning ?to the debt markets for the first time this year ?with dollar-denominated 10-year Islamic bonds, or sukuk, ?according to ?a bank document reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday.

The indicative price for the ?benchmark-sized issue was set at about ?120 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, it showed, with investors placing orders exceeding $7 billion for ?the sukuk.

The nearly $1 trillion ?PIF ?is leading Saudi Arabia's drive to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbon revenues with investment in sectors such ?as tourism, logistics and mining.

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday it expects Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, to remain among the largest emerging-market U.S. dollar debt and sukuk issuers in 2026 "despite global and regional shocks."

It ?forecast ?GCC debt capital markets to exceed $1.25 trillion this year, driven by diversification plans, refinancing needs, funding deficits ?and project pipelines.

Saudi borrowers got off to a strong start in 2026 with around $20 billion in issuances, including a $11.5 billion four-part bond and issuances by corporates such as Riyad Bank and telecoms group STC.

The PIF bonds are expected to launch ?on Wednesday, with Citi, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered (SCBFF) as global coordinators.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni in Dubai and Amna Mariyam in Bangalore; Additional reporting ?by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum)