Saudia Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, hopes for stronger economic growth in 2010, finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said.
“The economy is in still in a good state, it still grows, it grows well and we expect it, God willing, to grow stronger next year,” he told state-owned news channel al-Ekhbariya late on Monday.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday that gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.15 percent in real terms in 2009 with non-oil GDP gaining 3 percent.
The Kingdom forecasts its fiscal deficit to rise to 70 billion riyals ($18.7 billion) for 2010, as it raises investments to stimulate the biggest Arab economy. Expenditures are estimated at 540 billion riyals.
Banque Saudi Fransi estimated Saudi Arabia’s annual public spending is likely top 1 trillion riyals ($267 billion) in 2020.
“This is a very big burden that must be approached with caution if Saudi Arabia wants to avoid entering another cycle of fiscal deficits,” the Riyadh-based bank said in a report.
Saudi Arabia plans to spend more than $400 billion over the next five years to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, airports, roads and power plants, benefitting from the huge reserves it accumulated during a six-year boom in oil prices. (Reuters)
Follow us on
