Saudi Arabia on Wednesday approved its general budget for the 2024 fiscal year, which forecasts a deficit of 79 billion Saudi riyals ($21.1 billion), state news agency SPA reported.
The Arab world’s largest economy estimated total revenues at 1.17 trillion riyals next year, while total expenditure was projected at 1.25 trillion riyals, SPA said.
The kingdom’s cabinet, chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, reviewed and approved the state’s general budget for the next fiscal year.
He “directed the ministers and officials to actively commit to implementing the development and social programmes and projects included in the budget”, SPA reported.
The 2024 national budget aims to boost growth in the non-oil economy by increasing spending and investment in infrastructure, local industry and services, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, as reported by SPA.
He said the government is also working to boost its reserves and maintain a sustainable level of public debt.
The budget’s higher spending for next year aims to boost growth, Prince Mohammed said.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s finance ministry said on Wednesday that total revenues would reach 1.19 trillion riyals in 2023, with oil revenues expected to remain at 752 billion riyals.
The ministry forecast total expenditure at 1.27 trillion riyals for this year, and expected the non-oil gross domestic product growth to be 5.9 per cent.
Saudi Arabia’s economy, which grew by 8.7 per cent last year, the highest annual growth rate among the world’s 20 biggest economies, is expected to expand by 0.8 per cent in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The kingdom, which benefitted from the rally in crude prices last year amid the Ukraine war, has cut oil output in an attempt to stabilise the market.
The country’s economy contracted by 4.5 per cent annually in the third quarter, dragged down by oil production caps.
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