The General Authority for Statistics announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 8.8 percent in the third quarter of 2022.
This growth was driven by the rise of oil-related activity by 14.2 percent, and non-oil activities by 6 percent, while government activities recorded a growth of 2.5 percent on an annual basis.
In the quarterly comparison, the seasonally adjusted real GDP grew by 2.1 percent on a quarterly basis, as oil activities grew by 4.5 percent, government activities by 1.5 percent, while non-oil activities decreased by 0.5 percent, on a quarterly basis.
The General Authority for Statistics noted that GDP at current prices amounted to 1.036 trillion riyals ($275.53 billion) in the third quarter, with crude petroleum and natural gas activities contributing 35.2 percent, followed by government service activities, at a rate of 14.1 percent, then manufacturing activities, with the exception of oil refining, with a contribution of 7.8 percent.
In this context, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan said that non-oil revenues contributed to covering 40 percent of the volume of government expenditures until the end of 2021, thanks to the new fiscal policy that seeks to curb dependence on volatile oil revenues.
Speaking during the Budget 2023 Forum, which kicked off on Sunday in Riyadh, the minister said: “There were great challenges, as the deficit 5 years ago amounted to 15 percent of the budget’s financial domestic product.”
“We had to withdraw SR1 trillion from reserves, and borrow an additional SR1 trillion from the markets, to cover the deficit,” he noted
He added that Saudi Arabia has achieved the goal of the Fiscal Balance Program, which is considered one of the most important economic reform programs within Vision 2030.
“Let us now move to the Financial Sustainability Program, which is based on financial planning, whether in terms of revenues or expenditures, for a period of three years, and in some sectors for ten years,” he said.
According to the minister, work achieved during the past years helped improve services and raise their efficiency.
He stressed that Saudi Arabia took proactive steps to set a ceiling on energy prices, while Saudi Aramco was supported with tens of billions to avoid exporting inflation to the Saudi economy.
According to Al-Jadaan, the government has pumped 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) to provide support for beneficiaries of social security, the Citizen Account, and livestock breeders, stressing that abundance was more important than rising prices during the inflation stage.
The Saudi minister underlined the need to empower the private sector, by promoting structural reforms and changing regulations, as well as providing a legislative environment that contributes to the development of the sector.
For his part, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, explained that the Saudi budget supported the implementation and achievement of Vision 2030. He stressed that one of the factors of success was long-term economic planning, coupled with the adequate financial strategies.
Al-Ibrahim touched on the role of development funds, which he said contributed to economic mobility and diversification and empowered the private sector.
The Minister of Economy and Planning added that the private sector was the government’s first strategic partner, and the most important axis in diversifying the sources of growth.
He explained that the private sector’s contribution to the Kingdom has now reached 43 percent, with the target of 65 percent by the end of 2030.
In a dialogue session entitled, “The Impact of Enabling Investment on Economic Growth,” Eng. Khaled Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, stated that the Saudi economy, despite the various world challenges, has achieved the highest growth among the Group of Twenty, reaching 10.3 percent in the first three quarters of the year.
He noted that the global economic total debt rate was increasing and exceeded 100 percent in many leading economies, while the Kingdom’s debt rate registered a decline of 25 percent.
