São Paulo – Saudi Arabia expects to see SAR 833 billion in revenue next year, as per the pre-budget statement made public this Thursday (31) by Finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan. The sum is equivalent to USD 222 billion, Arab News reported.
The amount is down 10% from 2019’s SAR 917 billion forecast, which is tantamount to USD 244.3 billion at current conversion rates. As a result, the budget deficit is seen widening by 43% from SAR 131 billion (USD 34.9 billion) this year to SAR 187 billion (USD 49.8 billion) in 2020.
According to minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with its radical Vision 2030 reform program to drive economic growth and prevent overreliance in the oil industry.
Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is seen going up 0.9% this year and 2.3% in 2020. Al-Jadaan said the 2020 budget “will continue to raise the efficiency of public finance management to maintain fiscal sustainability and maximize return on expenditure.”
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
