Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance told reporters in Riyadh on Sunday the Kingdom would accelerate state spending next year in what he hopes will be a clear message to the private sector that the government is determined to support economic growth, according to reports.
Saudi Arabia may spend SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) more than originally planned in 2019 as oil prices enable the Kingdom to reinvest in growth, Bloomberg reports, an increase of 7 percent. Public spending is expected to reach 1.106 trillion riyals ($295 billion) in 2019.
The Kingdom is also on track to eliminate its budget deficit by 2023, according to Arab News.
The data were revealed in what is reportedly the first-ever pre-budget statement of its kind.
audi Arabia may spend SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) more than originally planned in 2019.
“I hope that the private sector sees in the contents of this statement a clear message of the government’s determination to support economic growth,” Al-Jadaan told reporters in Riyadh. “We wanted to make sure that the economy grows and the private sector is enabled and therefore creates jobs for our youth.”
Al-Jadaan said initiatives to develop non-oil revenues, more efficient spending, and an improvement in the targeting of subsidies had helped to narrow the deficit in the first half of 2018.
