Dubai — Saudi Arabia’s first international bond may be delayed by a US vote on legislation that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Arab country, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A Senate vote to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the legislation on Wednesday could cause some investors to balk at the issue, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. The country is planning to sell at least $10 billion (Dh36.73 billion) of bonds next month, four people said.

Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East, has worked behind the scenes to fight the legislation. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said last week that the Saudi government has warned that enacting the bill would cause a “significant change” in the US-Saudi relationship. House Speaker Paul Ryan says there is enough support in his chamber to overturn the veto, while Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid also said on Tuesday that the veto will probably be overturned.

Saudi Arabia plans to use proceeds from the international bond sale to help fund an economic transformation plan and plug a budget shortfall caused by the slump in oil prices. Under Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the world’s biggest oil exporter has taken steps to rein in a budget shortfall that ballooned to 16 per cent of gross domestic product last year, the highest among the world’s biggest 20 economies.

Tapping market

“It is simply a matter of when, not if, KSA decides to tap the international debt capital markets,” said Chavan Bhogaita, head of market insight and strategy at National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC. “This doesn’t change the fact that Saudi Arabia needs to raise a substantial amount of cash through the bond markets.”

Banks managing the sale will watch any market reaction before making a decision and no contingency plans are in place in case of an override vote, another person said.

Saudi Arabian officials haven’t made a decision yet on the timing of the bond and amount they plan to raise, Finance Minister Ebrahim Al-Assaf said in a statement to Bloomberg.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks were Saudi citizens. Long-classified portions of a congressional inquiry into the attacks that were released in July found that the hijackers may have had assistance from Saudis connected to their government. The Saudi government has denied culpability.

Officials in the kingdom told US lawmakers and others in government that enactment of the law could lead them to sell off the kingdom’s US Treasury debt and other American assets, which total $750 billion, according to the New York Times. The Saudi government held $117 billion in US. Treasury debt in March, according to figures obtained by Bloomberg. The kingdom may have additional holdings not included in the data on deposit with the New York Federal Reserve Bank, in entities in third countries, or through positions in derivatives.