Saudi officials revealed the Kingdom’s 2016 budget at a press conference today in Riyadh, a budgeted spend of 840 billion riyals ($224 billion) and forecasted revenue at 513 billion ($137 billion).
The budget plan aims to reduce the fiscal deficit while raising revenues from sources other than oil. King Salman said that Saudi Arabia’s economy “has all that it needs to face the current economic challenges, the priority will be for the completion of projects in previous budgets.”
Saudi Arabian stocks advanced after the government’s announced budget deficit for 2015 was better than economists expected, according to Bloomberg.
Reuters reports that the government also plans to adjust subsidies for water, electricity and petroleum products over the next five years, citing the Ministry of Finance. One economist on the Shura Council predicted a breakeven price of oil at $45 for 2016.
This is the first budget announcement since King Salman’s ascension to the throne.
