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Saudi Arabia Encourages Business Owners to Visit India, Expand Investments

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha meets with officials from Japan on the sidelines of the ministerial digital economy working group of the G20. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha meets with officials from Japan on the sidelines of the ministerial digital economy working group of the G20. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Encourages Business Owners to Visit India, Expand Investments

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha meets with officials from Japan on the sidelines of the ministerial digital economy working group of the G20. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha meets with officials from Japan on the sidelines of the ministerial digital economy working group of the G20. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia is mobilizing a group of business owners for an upcoming visit to India, accompanied by a high-level government delegation, to participate in the G20 summit next month.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached $42.8 billion over the past year. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner after the United States, China and the UAE, and a major source of energy. New Delhi imports about 18.4 percent of its crude oil needs and 22 percent of its liquefied petroleum gas from Riyadh.

According to information available to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Saudi government has encouraged private sector entities to attend the Saudi-Indian Investment Forum, which is scheduled to be held on Sept. 11.

The forum will review investment partnerships between the two countries and will witness bilateral meetings and the signing of a number of economic agreements.

Saudi ministers are currently participating in the ministerial meetings of the G20 in India, ahead of the presidential summit that will be held next month, with the participation of all leaders and presidents of the group.

Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan, accompanied by Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel, recently participated in a joint meeting of finance and health ministers of the G20 countries.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha headed a delegation representing the digital economy, innovation and space system in the Kingdom to participate in the meeting of the G20 Ministerial Working Group on the Digital Economy.

CEO of SABIC Abdulrahman bin Saleh Al-Fageeh will lead the Kingdom’s business delegation to the upcoming G20 Business 20 summit, which will be held in New Delhi, on Aug. 25-27.

Al-Fageeh stated that the event is an important opportunity for the business community in the Kingdom, underlining the need to address critical global challenges shaping the future of business and economies.

He also stressed the importance of communicating with business leaders from all over the world in order to highlight the business environment in the Kingdom as a promising investment destination.

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Public Finance of GCC Countries Witnesses Significant Financial Surplus

The Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) logo
The Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) logo
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Public Finance of GCC Countries Witnesses Significant Financial Surplus

The Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) logo
The Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) logo

Data issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) indicate that the financial risks of the GCC countries will be low in the short term amid forecasts of stable or declining interest rates locally and globally.

The reports issued by Credit rating agencies also signaled an improvement in the sovereign bond rating of the GCC countries in 2023. It is also expected that the credit attractiveness of GCC countries will increase, which would allow for the rescheduling of their public debts at lower financial costs.

According to the estimates of the GCC-Stat, the public debt of the GCC countries is expected to stabilize at 28% of the GCC countries’ GDP during the years 2024 and 2025. The financial budget reform plans, which are based on improving the efficiency of public spending and programs to stimulate growth in non-oil sectors, would contribute to achieving a balance between maintaining the economic growth rate and the sustainability of public spending.

The data issued by the GCC-Stat also reveal that the public debt of the GCC countries has doubled over the past ten years to reach about $628 billion in 2023, after it was $144 billion in 2014. The volume of debt as a percentage of the GCC Countries’ GDP increased to reach its peak in 2020 at 40.3%, before declining in the following years to reach about 29.8% in 2023.

The total public finances in the GCC countries also recorded a significant deficit during 2014-2021. The highest deficit value was registered in 2015, with an amount of about $158 billion, which accounts for 11.1% of the total GCC Countries’ GDP. In 2020, a deficit of $128 billion was recorded, which represents 8.8% of the total GDP.

The public finances of the GCC countries witnessed a significant financial surplus in 2022 estimated at $134 billion, representing 6.1% of the gross domestic product, followed by a surplus of $2 billion in 2023.

The total public revenues in the GCC developed significantly during the period 2021-2023 to record about $641 billion in 2023. Oil revenues accounted for 62% of public revenues, compared to $723 billion in 2022, of which oil revenues accounted for 67%.

Total public spending in the GCC countries reached its highest levels in 2023, recording about $639 billion. Current spending accounted for 85% of the total public spending, compared to 15% for investment spending in the GCC countries.