Saudi GDP to grow by over 2% in 2018: Al-Jadaan

Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by over 2 percent this year, Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, told Saudi TV on Wednesday.

The government will continue to support nationals through the Citizen’s Account, which was launched to mitigate the impact of subsidy cuts and new taxes on the low-and-middle income brackets.

The new scheme was based on studying average consumption of power, fuel, and basic commodities. It also took into account higher commercial costs, including labor costs.

The Kingdom is working on controlling prices, so that the program’s support can be sufficient for citizens amid price hikes.

About 50 percent of the citizens registered in the new scheme received full allowance for higher prices of power, fuel and basic commodities. The remaining households got variant support based on income and family size, Al-Jadaan said.

A quarterly review of the Citizen’s Account might signal higher allowances, based on the economic impact and higher costs.

Meanwhile, Al-Jadaan said that gasoline costs would drop if global oil prices saw a steep decline. Prices of Octane 91, which is used by 80 percent of consumers in the Kingdom, is still 30 percent cheaper, when compared to global prices.

Al-Jadaan added that the Kingdom’s economic, fiscal, social and administrative reforms come as part of the broader Saudi Vision 2030 to boost revenue sources and diversify the world’s top crude exporter away from oil.