His Excellency the Minister of Finance, Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, today opened the “Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019” conference and its accompanying exhibition, organized by Euromoney International in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, The two-day event is taking place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, attended by a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers and heads of sectors within the financial system, as well as officials and experts in the financial and economic sectors at both the local and international levels.
In his opening remarks at the conference, His Excellency emphasized that this conference comes three years after the positive progress resulting from the comprehensive reforms the Kingdom is undergoing to achieve the objectives of “Saudi Vision 2030” and underscores the government’s commitment to achieving the Vision’s goals, which will lead to a comprehensive economic transformation and a major shift in the structure and performance of the Kingdom’s economy, in the private sector’s contribution, in the accelerated adoption of technology across many fields, and in the improvement of services provided in the financial sector, He explained that the Kingdom’s fiscal policies focus on striking a balance between maintaining fiscal stability and promoting economic growth, while supporting the phase of economic and social transformation the Kingdom is undergoing in accordance with Vision 2030. Al-Jadaan noted that the 2019 budget and the preceding 2018 budget included numerous new initiatives to support economic activity, stimulate and develop the private sector, and provide social support to citizens, and progress in implementing major projects and other investment initiatives, thereby bolstering aggregate demand in the economy, in addition to increased spending on essential services such as housing, transportation, health, education, and other social protection programs, noting that government spending supporting economic and social development increased last year, with total spending—comprising both operational and capital expenditures—growing by approximately 16.11% in 2018, The rate of increase during the first half of the current year, 2019, reached approximately 6.31% (TP3T). At the same time, non-oil revenues rose by approximately 15.21% (TP3T) in 2018, while the increase continued during the first half of the year at a rate of 14.41% as a result of improved economic activity and the continued implementation of reforms and initiatives aimed at developing revenues and diversifying their sources.
His Excellency the Minister of Finance noted that the financial results for the first half of the current fiscal year showed that the budget deficit amounted to approximately 5.7 billion riyals, compared to a deficit of 41.7 billion riyals in the same period of the previous year, emphasizing that the government continues to work on regulating public finance performance to maintain fiscal sustainability and improve the quality of public finance management, particularly with regard to enhancing spending efficiency, This includes implementing the new government procurement and competitive bidding system, strengthening the principles of financial disclosure and transparency, and adhering to the International Monetary Fund’s data dissemination standards.

His Excellency confirmed the improvement in economic performance indicators and private sector participation, as indicated by real GDP growth rates, which reached approximately 1.71% in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 1.41% in the first quarter of 2018, Real non-oil sector growth also reached 2.11%, driven by private sector growth of 2.31% compared to 1.71% in the same quarter of last year, Foreign direct investment inflows also rose by 23.81% in the first quarter of this year, with increased investment opportunities available to the private sector, as total credit facilities provided to small and medium-sized enterprises by banks and finance companies in the first half of 2019 reached approximately 113 billion riyals, an increase of 11.61% compared to the same period of the previous year; in addition to improved banking performance, with total assets and liabilities of commercial banks during the second quarter of 2019 reaching 2.4 trillion riyals, marking a 31% increase, equivalent to 69.1 billion riyals, compared to a 0.04% increase in the same quarter of the previous year.
Al-Jadaan noted that the inclusion of the Saudi market in major international indices (FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones, and MSCI EM), contributed to attracting foreign capital inflows of up to 76 billion riyals, thereby broadening the investor base in the financial market and improving its liquidity levels. Additionally, 18 new licenses were issued to international financial companies operating in the Kingdom, noting the Kingdom’s significant progress in the Minority Shareholder Protection Index, where it ranked seventh globally, and its IMD World Competitiveness Rankings for the current year, where it advanced 13 places from last year to rank 26th.
His Excellency noted that demand for investment in domestic and international debt issuances more than tripled during the first half of the year, with the first euro-denominated issuance exceeding the expected subscription by more than four times, The face value of government sukuk was also reduced to 1,000 riyals to diversify the investor base and promote trading and individual savings. During the current year, government sukuk with a maturity of up to 30 years were issued for the first time, The Public Debt Management Office at the Ministry of Finance also received several awards, including the “Best Issuer of Debt Instruments in Emerging Markets” award and the “Best Issuer of Sovereign Debt Instruments in the Middle East for 2019.” These awards reflect international recognition of the transparency with which the state’s public finances are managed, while indicating the growing confidence in the Saudi economy, which is progressing in line with development and strategic projects..