Changing financial policies on 1-year budget surplus ‘unwise’: Al-Jadaan

Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan 

Saudi Arabia used a large stock of reserves, or SAR 1 trillion, to bridge the budget deficit over the past years, said Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan.  He added that the Kingdom borrowed nearly SAR 985 billion, which partially went to financing the private sector.  

Al-Jadaan indicated that it wouldn’t be wise to change the policies in a hurry, after efficiently managing a sum of SAR 2 trillion over a period of financially challenging nine years and recording a budget surplus for one year. However, the Kingdom should ensure having a strong economic base and greater reserves to reconsider the fiscal policy. 

Budget spending supports the citizen, the state and the Saudi economy as a whole, which reflected on the way the government addressed the latest crises.  

The state budget for 2023 was backed by oil revenue for 2022, and the structural reforms, implemented over the past five years, played a key role in eliminating the government revenue volatility.  

Non-oil revenue accounted for 8.9% of 2016 gross domestic product (GDP) and will reach 16.9% of 2022 GDP, said Al-Jadaan at a press conference to announce Saudi Budget 2023. 

Oil revenue represented nearly 90% of the Saudi budget in 2015 and 2016, but has now decreased to 65%. 

The role of non-oil revenue is growing, as every economic growth is accompanied by an increase in non-oil revenue. 

The Saudi government launched several initiatives to boost government expenditure and direct more allocations to strategic priorities, including the economy and private sector growth, Al-Jadaan said, adding that more than 270,000 new entities were established in 2022.  

Saudi Budget