Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia estimated public revenue in 2023 budget at SR1,123 trillion, and expenditures at SR1,114 trillion, with an expected surplus of SR 9 billion, the Ministry of Finance said in its 2023 pre-budget statement announced on Friday.

The estimated surpluses represents about 0.2% of the total GDP. The ministry said it will continue the work to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of spending and fiscal control, and to continue strengthening the Kingdom's fiscal position, implementing economic and fiscal reforms, achieving the goals of Vision 2030, its programs, initiatives and major projects, as well as promoting the growth of local investment by building partnerships with the private sector and qualifying it to include all regions of the Kingdom.

“The pre-budget statement for 2023 reflects progress in implementing programs and projects that support economic growth and diversification, improving public services, and enhancing programs for welfare and social protection systems, while preserving the gains made during previous years in public finance,” the ministry said. growth to achieve the fiscal and economic objectives for 2023.

The indicators show continuous progress in most economic activities, and this growth is expected to continue in the medium term.

Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, pointed to the development of the public finance structure in the Kingdom over the past years, as the government succeeded in achieving the main objective of fiscal reforms in its first phase within the Fiscal Balance Program, which aimed to control high rates of deficit to reach fiscal balance in the medium term.

“The second phase of fiscal reform was launched under the name of the Fiscal Sustainability Program, which aims in the medium and long term to maintain sustainable fiscal indicators, through spending levels that are stable and directed to strategic spending that supports structural change in the economy to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and within a framework that ensures the maintenance of sustainable levels of public debt and government reserves.”

He added that despite the fears and crises the world is witnessing and the accompanying challenges and their impact on the global economic slowdown affected by the increasing inflationary pressures resulting from the repercussions of the pandemic and geopolitical tensions that cast a negative shadow on global supply chains, the strength and durability of the Saudi economy enabled the Kingdom to confront these crises.

“The decline in growth rates during the pandemic was limited compared to other countries in the world during 2020, followed by a positive growth of 3.2% during 2021, and high growth rates during the first half of 2022, which is the highest in more than ten years, with the expectation of continuing to achieve positive growth rates in various economic activities, as a reflection of many structural reforms and sectoral strategies within the Kingdom's Vision 2030,” he said.

He stressed that the government attaches great importance to enhancing the social support and protection system to protect citizens from local and global repercussions.

Al-Jadaan pointed out that the positive expectations of the Saudi economy for 2023 are an extension of the positive developments in actual performance during the first half of 2022, as the estimates of economic growth rates in the Kingdom for the year 2023 and the medium term were reviewed, indicating that the initial estimates indicate the growth of real GDP by 3.1%, supported by the growth of the GDP of non-oil activities.

He said: “The government took measures to support and enhance economic activity, and reduce cost of living through policies and measures to contain global inflation rates by setting a ceiling for gasoline prices, in addition to ensuring the abundance of food products in local markets, and increasing contributions for social protection programs, which created certainty and reassurance among the citizens.”

The minister explained that the remarkable and expected recovery in the Kingdom's economy and the continuation of the implementation of the initiatives and structural reforms during the past years will lead to an improvement in economic activity and ensure its sustainability in the medium term.

He expected according to the pre-budget statement, that the total revenues for 2023 will be about SR1,123 billion, reaching about SR1,205 billion in 2025, while it is estimated that the total expenditures for 2023 will be about SR1,114 billion, reaching about SR1,134 billion in 2025.

He said that the surpluses will be directed to enhance government reserves and support national funds, considering the possibility of accelerating the implementation of some strategic programs and projects of economic and social dimensions, in accordance with fiscal sustainability.