SAUDI SHRINKAGE: Samba Bank predicts that Saudi Arabia's economy will contract by 1.2 percent in 2009. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's economy is forecast to shrink by 1.2 percent in 2009, despite a stronger market for oil and expanded government investment, according to a new report by Riyadh-based Samba Bank.

The recovery of oil prices to above $60 a barrel and a forecast 24 percent hike in government spending is not enough to offset a sharp slowdown in private sector activity, the bank said in its mid-year report on the economy of the world’s leading oil exporter.

“Public sector investment has been vigorous in both the oil and non-oil sectors; private investment, in contrast, remains weak, hemmed in by extremely tight credit conditions and poor export prospects,” Samba said in a report published by Saudi Gazette on Tuesday.

It forecast GDP would contract by 1.2 percent after 4.5 percent growth last year. Growth would resume in 2010 hitting 4.4 percent, the bank added.

It pointed to a continuing weakness in markets for petrochemicals and refined products, the country’s leading exports after oil and natural gas, with prices for polyethylene still at half the highs of mid-2008, the paper added.

Comments (20)

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Ethiopia?????
Posted by Nasir, singapore, Singapore on 17 October 2009 at 13:20 UAE time

'The man was born and raised in Ethiopia' i think Chris needs to get his facts right :) bcos Ethiopia doesnt make Al Amoudi into billionaire! Let alone millionaire :)

MBI Al Jaber
Posted by Ronnie, LOndon, UK on 22 September 2009 at 14:16 UAE time

Way off the mark - you really have to do your homework better as corporatioinssuch as MBI are not very transparent and the so called profitable operations of Ajwa in SAudi are not operating in their core activities of rice and oil for many years with employees not being paid for months. Ask them instead of publishing anything said . As for the European real estates and hotels are you seriously saying that MBI with a leveraged portfolio did not suffer from the downturn ? The Gosaibi and Maan al sanei fiasco is a reminder to take what these self lauded billionaires say with a pinch of salt . JUst revisit what you said about al Sanai Saad GRoup yourselves.Your magazine's credibility is at stake here .

add to the list
Posted by ali, riyadh, saudi arabia on 14 September 2009 at 18:42 UAE time

what about "Omar Kasem Alesayi 's family

Saudi Rich List
Posted by barrett hays, san antonio, USA on 13 September 2009 at 19:19 UAE time

The list as compiled is very accurate. The individual and families that make up the list are well known and respected in the West. It is a source of pride that so many people have turned resourcefulness, hardwork, generosity and character into sizeable fortunes. This is wonderful, and well deserved. May the exploits of these individuals and families continue for one hundred thousand years!

What is rich
Posted by Nazeem, Jubail, Saudi Arabia on 10 September 2009 at 12:21 UAE time

Rich is not only having money, but there should be also included, civilization, wisdom, hospitality, etc

But How many the Top 100 of the world
Posted by Kishore Abid Abdulla, Chennai, India on 8 September 2009 at 15:11 UAE time

i See that lot of saudi guys in the rich list.But except for Prince talal I dont see anybody in the worlds 25 richest men, why is that.Even a poor country like India has 7-8 people in the Top 25.Does that mean even if you have lot of resources and people who have control over those resources making a lot of money, still they are not as reach as the self made people from India, Asia or America

millionaires
Posted by Ilyas G on 4 September 2009 at 13:04 UAE time

One thing is for sure. There is enough money in the country and wealth belonging to the country for every saudi to be well off, educated, free health care and housing plus a fat pension, and generally happy. I have not been there, is this the case ? are the people happy ?

Accuracy
Posted by Mohammed Al-Bakri, Jed, KSA on 3 September 2009 at 21:40 UAE time

Way off the mark.

Qeustionable list!
Posted by Hamad Alwashmi, Riyadh, Saudi on 2 September 2009 at 17:15 UAE time

as far as I know, there are many rich people in Saudi who do not like to disclose their wealth to media and/or they don't give exact numbers about it. very famous names and families are excluded from this list, where is Aljeraisi, Abdulaziz Alothaim, Alsaif family, and the list goes on and on
Moreover, I'm not sure weather the calculation of the assets is based on the current market price or not? as we all know some people such as Saleh Alrajhi have increased their wealth significantly though real estate. for example, Alrajhi has one piece of land that is worth more than $500 million nowadays and who knows how much he paid for it!

if we add the total and have collected ZAKAT2.5%
Posted by صالح بن حنيتم الغامدي, Dhahran, KSA on 2 September 2009 at 11:17 UAE time

Just imagine if all these billons was added and 2.5% out of it were given to needy people, poor people etc, do you think we will still find poor people around us?

'The man was born and raised in Ethiopia.
Posted by christian on 2 September 2009 at 01:07 UAE time

Al Amoudi become a man that he is today becouse of Ethiopia, He has done a lot of things which are good for the country and also whhic is not good, however this man has become a billionair becouse of the most beautyful country in the world ETHIOPIA.

God bless Ethiopia,

Chris

Show all comments

Thanks Alhamudin
Posted by Elias, London, UK on 1 September 2009 at 13:14 UAE time

The man is a God sent messenger to change the shattered image of his motherland as a land of man made famine, and he is working hard on that. He has done so much for ethiopia and he will continue to do so regardless of what every hater says. god bless him.

Mr. Maan Sanea
Posted by Michael on 31 August 2009 at 21:14 UAE time

Nothing much surprising about the list....othe then ...I wonder WHY MR. MAAN SANEA IS NOT IN THE LIST AND its automatically taken off the list just cos of some financial issues which most of the 50 on the list are having....i mentioned that why Mr. MAAN SANEA CHAIRMAN Of SAAD GROUP is not on the list!!!!!!!! on what "" FACTS" and bases SAAD GROUP IS NOT ON THE LIST~~~~Thats a example on how unprofessional such list is .... and as u see no exact statistics are shown nor baseline of how things are calculated.

Saudi rich list
Posted by Jens Cramer, Naples, Florida, USA on 31 August 2009 at 18:01 UAE time

At least it seems so that this work is well done. Congratulation. It give us a glimpse into these market.

The list is utter nonsense! Figures are MUCH higher in many cases!
Posted by Kiram Tuyedahanet, Tehran, Iran on 31 August 2009 at 15:01 UAE time

This list isn't worth the paper it's printed on!
The Jufalis, e.g., are worth at least 12 Bilion, currently and many others, such as the Radjhis are not too far off....

rich list
Posted by w.loarch, detroit, usa on 31 August 2009 at 11:57 UAE time

Mohammad Al Ali Al Abdullatif has only $ 374. 567 !!!!!

And you forgot Said Ali Al Yumani with 324. 4567 Billion and 55 Cent!

Information accurecy
Posted by Warda, Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia on 31 August 2009 at 10:40 UAE time

ArabianBusiness refer in the Saleh Al Rajhi section to Forbes Magazine that Saleh "owns one of the largest poultry processing plants in Middle East "!!! If ArabianBusiness did their due delegence to calculate the wealth of Saleh Al Rajhi, they would have found that this Poultry farm is not for him but for his brother Sulaiman!!
How much real effort was done by ArabianBusiness to get the real wealth of those people when they do not know if it is Saleh or Sulaiman that owns the largest poultry farm!!!!!!!????????

There are more
Posted by aslam, Dubai, UAE on 31 August 2009 at 09:12 UAE time

Its seems these 50's are too small from the stars in the sky!
There are lot more standing behind. To reach such height they must have definately worked hard in the extreme weathers and have choose straight way to come up.

Great Stuff
Posted by Sridhar Kadambi, Mississauga, Canada on 31 August 2009 at 02:33 UAE time

It is nice to see this list after such an extensive exercise that Arabian Business has conducted with regard to research and investigation. As a person who has lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years and (actually) enjoyed every bit of it, and also in UAE for 5 years, I love to keep in touch with what is going on in that part of the world, and you guys seem to be really doing a great job at that! Keep up the good work, guys, and GBU!

The changes
Posted by Mamdooh Al-Radadi, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 30 August 2009 at 17:25 UAE time

It's always intriguing and uplifting to see the end results of a hard years work on your list.

The list is starting to take a new shape in terms of who is on it and what he has got in it! We were used to see certain names and eventually got bored, now we see some new ones entering slowly yet steadily from below, some of the wealth( in billions) was swept away after the last world crisis, but these people know what they are doing and continue to battle for their mark.
Prince Alwaleed in my opinion will be there for many years to come due to his vast investment wallet which is spread over many sectors, giving him adequate momentum and serving at the same time as a soft cushion in down time.

Great to see and know, as i said before this is a great way to dream bigger than your average dreams, keep up the good work.

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