The Governor of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Fahad Al-Mubarak, expected a growing recovery amid the ongoing vaccination campaign against the coronavirus and the easing of precautionary measures in the Kingdom and the world, which will positively affect global demand for oil, travel and tourism.
In a statement on Wednesday, Al-Mubarak commented on the 57th annual report of the Central Bank for 2020, saying that the Saudi economy has improved noticeably after the COVID-19 pandemic eased, supported generally by the growth of the non-oil sector and specifically by the private sector.
“The results of the first quarter of 2021 indicate a speedy recovery in the economy, as the non-oil GDP (real) grew by 2.9 percent, the private sector by 4.4 percent, and the final consumption of the private sector by 1.3 percent. The national unemployment rate also improved, falling down to 11.7 percent from 12.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2020,” the statement said.
As for micro, small and medium enterprises that remain impacted from the precautionary measures implemented to counter the pandemic, Al-Mubarak emphasized that SAMA took several actions and launched a number of programs to support SMEs and promote economic growth.
“Additionally, in 2020, money supply grew by 8.3 percent to SAR 2,149.3 billion. Despite the circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saudi banking sector remained resilient and stable, owing to the actions and measures undertaken collectively by SAMA and Saudi banks,” according to the statement.
Al-Mubarak said that the Saudi economy has witnessed many reforms that have contributed to changing the economic structure, making it more diversified and based on the Kingdom’s comparative advantages, whether in terms of natural resources, geographical location, human capabilities, infrastructure and technology.
