Moody’s, a ratings agency, has opened an office in Riyadh to enlarge its presence in Saudi Arabia’s debt capital markets.
Moody’s has appointed Mahmoud Totonji as the general manager and head of relationship management for the country.
According to Moody’s president Robert Fauber, the office opening underscores the rating agency’s “commitment to contributing to the broader dialogue on GCC markets” and builds on two decades of experience in the region.
Moody’s began rating Saudi sovereign bonds in January 1996 and currently rates $50 billion of government debt. Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up its ambitions to become a key market for Islamic finance, completing the world’s largest ever inaugural sukuk issuance at $9 billion in April 2017.
“Given the kingdom’s increasing presence in the debt capital markets and its plans for further expansion under Saudi Vision 2030, we look forward to continuing to provide insightful, transparent and predictive credit ratings,” said Totonji.
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