Saudi Arabia will see more Islamic bond (sukuk) and conventional debt issuance this year, the oil-rich kingdom's finance minister said on Tuesday.

'I see more sukuks and bonds being issued in future including from government agencies that have the ability to generate income and operate commercially,' Ibrahim Alassaf said,  speaking at a conference in the capital of Riyadh.

Asked if that meant this year he said: 'Why not.'

A number of Saudi entities have priced issued local currency sukuk this year as interest in the country's debt market grows on the back of high investor liquidity and a desire to diversify funding sources away from bank loans.

The largest of these was a 15-billion riyals ($4 billion) trade from the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) in January.-Reuters