Saudi Arabia's government revenues hit SAR223.26 billion (USD59.5 billion) for the third quarter — an increase of 57 percent compared to the same period last year. Revenues in the first nine months increased by nearly 47 percent to SAR663.1 billion (USD176.8 billion) compared to the same period in 2017.
The Saudi finance ministry has published the quarterly report of the state budget performance of the third quarter of 2018 on its website.
The non-oil revenues in the first nine months of the year hit SAR211.05 billion (USD56.28 billion) — a year-on-year increase of 48 percent. Oil revenue rose 63 percent to SAR153.95 billion (USD41 billion) during the third quarter, compared to the same period last year.
Although the deficit has fallen, government expenditure increased by 25 percent in the first nine months of the year, reaching SAR712.09 billion (USD189.9 billion).
“The improvement in fiscal performance is reflected by the decrease in the deficit with positive oil and non-oil growth, compared to the same period in 2017, and the planned budget,” Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a statement.
“Regardless of the Q3 positive indicators, challenges in the public finances still exist and require us to maintain our efforts to move forward with our reforms," he added.
“The announced Q3 2018 fiscal figures reflect the improved performance of the public finances during this year,” said Jadaan.
“While clearly assisted by improvements in the oil price internationally, these figures also show the fruits of the successful implementation of many initiatives to develop non-oil revenues and improve spending efficiency,” he added.
These developments coincide with a time when Moody’s Investors Service revealed that Saudi Arabia’s economic growth is set to rise to 2.5 percent by the end of this year and 2.7 percent in 2019. Moody’s has given the kingdom an A1 ‘stable’ rating.
