Moody's Investors Service today (May 8) announced that it has officially started its operations in the Saudi Arabia.

"The launch of Moody's Saudi operations reinforces its ongoing commitment to the development of the debt capital market as the kingdom focuses its efforts to diversify the economy as part of the country's Vision 2030,'' said Robert Fauber, the president of Moody's Investors Service.

Moody's had received a Commencement Letter on Sunday, allowing it to conduct rating activities in the kingdom from the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

Saudi Arabia is 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.

Last week, Moody's had announced the appointment of Mahmoud Totonji as the general manager and head of Relationship Management, for Saudi Arabia.

With his knowledge of business in Saudi Arabia and his experience working with diverse issuers, Totonji will be responsible for developing new business relationships and extending existing customer relationships in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

The kingdom completed the world's largest ever inaugural Sukuk issuance at $9 billion in April 2017,
a transaction rated A1 by Moody's.

Moody's currently rates 140 issuers and 92 debt programs across the Middle East, including leading coverage in rating Islamic financial institutions and Sukuk.-TradeArabia News Service