Moody's Investors Service has established an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, expanding the company’s global outreach and deepening its role in the kingdom’s debt capital markets.

Moody’s first rated the Government of Saudi Arabia in January 1996 and rates $50 billion of Saudi government debt securities.

Moody’s has also appointed Mahmoud Totonji as general manager and head of Relationship Management, for Saudi Arabia.

“Establishing a new office in the Saudi capital underscores our deep commitment to contributing to the broader dialogue on GCC capital markets and builds on our two decades of experience in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region,” said Robert Fauber, president of Moody's Investors Service.

“Given the Kingdom's increasing prominence 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.

Totonji’s knowledge of business in Saudi Arabia and his experience working with diverse issuers, will be responsible for developing new business relationships and extending existing customer relationships in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
 
Totonji comes to his new role with more than 15 years’ experience providing strategic financial and operational leadership in the investment and banking industries. He has established and restructured a plethora of banking and financial entities in the GCC region, including Barclays Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Al-Azizia Investment Company, Middle East Financial Investment Company (MEFIC) and a Private Wealth Management Office.

Saudi Arabia is also a key market for Islamic Finance, an area in which Moody's is recognised as a global thought leader through ratings, research and speaking engagements at leading conferences and events globally. The Kingdom completed the world's largest ever inaugural Sukuk issuance at $9 billion in April 2017, a transaction rated A1 by Moody's. – TradeArabia News Service