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Saudi Trade Balance Records a Monthly Surplus of $7.7 Bn

The Saudi trade balance continues to set record figures. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi trade balance continues to set record figures. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Trade Balance Records a Monthly Surplus of $7.7 Bn

The Saudi trade balance continues to set record figures. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi trade balance continues to set record figures. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi trade balance achieved a surplus of $7.7 billion in May, for the 36th consecutive month, as merchandise exports declined to $25.8 billion, compared to imports worth $18.1 billion.

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) revealed that non-oil exports, including re-exports, increased 23.9 percent compared to April 2023.

The International Trade in Services survey for May 2023 showed a drop in merchandise exports by 32.1 percent from the same month in 2022, amounting $25.8 billion, down from $38.1 billion.

The GASTAT believed the drop is due to the 37.7 percent decline in oil exports to $19.2 billion, compared to $30.8 billion in May last year.

The report added that the share of oil in total exports for May decreased to 74.1 percent, compared to 80.8 in the same month in 2022.

According to the survey, non-oil exports in May declined 8.7 percent yearly to $6.6 billion. On the other hand, non-oil trade, excluding re-exports, dropped by 19.2 percent.

Compared to April 2023, merchandise exports decreased 6.7 percent, amounting to $1.8 billion.

The data revealed that the Kingdom’s merchandise imports increased 20.9 percent in May to $18 billion, compared to the same month in 2022 when imports touched $14.9 billion.

GASTAT added that Saudi imports in May rose $2.6 billion or 16.9 percent compared to April 2023.

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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.