Revealed: Saudi Arabia owns $117 billion of U.S. debt

One of the biggest mysteries in global finance was just revealed: How much U.S. debt Saudi Arabia owns.

Saudi Arabia stockpiled $116.8 billion of U.S. Treasuries as of March, the Treasury Department announced on Monday, ending four decades of keeping the figure secret.

That makes Saudi Arabia the 13th largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, though well behind the $1 trillion-plus owned by China and Japan each. The Saudi figure was first reported by Bloomberg News based on a Freedom of Information Act request.

Unlike with most other major owners of U.S. debt, the Treasury Department kept Saudi Arabia's precise holdings secret since the 1970s. Saudi's holdings were lumped together with that of other oil exporting nations, including Venezuela and Iraq.

But that policy ended on Monday as the Treasury Department disclosed precise holdings by specific countries that were previously grouped together. A Treasury official told CNNMoney the move was made following a review aimed at trying to provide more "comprehensive and transparent" data.

Saudi Arabia is burning through its cash pile so now it's borrowing to survive

Saudi Arabia is set to launch its first international bond to help shore up the country's finances in the wake of persistently low oil prices, says the Financial Times.

The FT, citing unnamed sources, said that Saudi Arabia is talking to international banks to start arranging a sovereign debt issue.

The size of the bond was not specified in the report.
The bond isn't the first round of borrowing for Saudi Arabia this year, as the country burns through its cash pile.
In April Saudi Arabia raised $10 billion loan from JPMorgan, HSBC and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in the form of a five-year loan, which was over-subscribed.
This loan is estimated to ramp up Saudi Arabia's debt levels from 7% of GDP in 2015 to 50% of GDP by 2020.
Saudi Arabia is desperate for more cash because it is still heavily dependent on oil to bring in revenue.