Saudi Q3 2017 budget shows progress in performance

Saudi Minister of Finance Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan announced on Sunday the third quarter report for the performance of the state general budget for the Kingdom for the fiscal year 2017 (1438/1439H), Saudi Press Agency reported.

The figures in the report indicate noticeable progress in the performance of the state budget for this quarter. It included more improvement in revenues, rise in public spending efficiency, decreasing deficit, while maintaining the standard of basic services provided to the citizens, as one of the priorities of government spending.

The issuance of the Q3 report confirms the commitment of the Kingdom’s government to transparency and financial declaration, as it is one of the major factors that are in conformity with the Kingdom Vision 2030 and its goals. This is apart from shedding light on the progress made in achieving the goals set within the financial balance program within the Kingdom Vision 2030.

The report results show a rise in revenues compared to the results of the third quarter in 2016, aside from an 80 percent rise in nonoil revenues during the same period. The report shows that the Kingdom’s government is continuing rationalization of spending that will be beneficial positively for the citizens.

The larger part of government spending has been directed to the education sector for the first nine months of 2017. The recent state budget figures indicate that the Kingdom’s government is still on the right track in order to reach its long-term goals, by achieving a balanced financial performance.

The financial indices for the 2017 Q3 state general budget performance were as follows:

• The total revenues in Q3 totaled SR142.1 billion, achieving an 11 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, the nonoil revenues amounted to SR47.8 billion, registering an 80 percent increase compared to 2016. This confirms the feasibility of the economic reforms.

• The total Q3 expenditure totaled SR190.9 billion, showing a 5 percent increase compared to the 2016 Q3. Meanwhile, the Q3 deficit reached SR48.7 billion.

• The public debt by the end of the Q3 for 2017 fiscal year reached SR375.8 billion, paid by the issuance of successful sukook.

In the same connection, the state general budget performance indices for the first nine months of 2017 came as follows:

• The revenues in the first nine months of the current year reached SRSR450.1 billion, registering a 23 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, expenditures reached SR571.6 billion, registering a slight rise of 4 percent compared to 2016. This spending represented 64 percent of the total annual spending.

• The sectors of social importance like education, health and municipal services received 44 percent of the budget spending during this period. This indicates that the government is giving priority to matters of concern to the citizen.

In the light of these results, the Minister of Finance said: “The announced figures for the budget performance reflect our continuing progress towards achieving the long term economic reform plans such that it guarantees achieving a financial performance characterized by being balanced and continuing on the right track towards achieving the expectations for the 2017 general budget.”

Al-Jadaan added: “Despite the economic challenges that are still existent, the economic reforms and measures that came in the program for achieving financial balance within the Kingdom Vision 2030 have proved their efficacy. They have contributed to generating more nonoil revenues. We are making progress in building a stronger and more diverse economy.”

He further said: “We are very happy these days due to the optimism contained in the IMF report, whether toward its forecasts on boosting growth in the medium term. This indicates the existence of great confidence in the direction we are taking or towards the long-term financial and economic expectations, and the international investors’ great interest in the Kingdom. This shows that we have succeeded once again in benefiting from the international securities market. This reflects the increasing confidence in the Kingdom’s economy and the strong bases for this economy. This also shows that there was clear interest by investors due to the magnitude of participation in the “Future Investment Initiative”, which was organized by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).”

He said the announcement of the 2017 Q3 report for the budget performance “confirms our commitment in the long term to increase transparency and financial declaration. We know this is a matter of great importance for maintaining everybody’s confidence.”