Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan underlined the importance of supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises, in parallel with the implementation of structural transformations that support long-term growth.
During a press conference that followed the approval of the Saudi budget for 2022, the minister pointed to the launch of the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank and the continuation of the sponsorship program and funds to support emerging sectors.
He also touched on the pivotal role of the national investment strategy, which aims to pump 12 trillion riyals (USD3.2 trillion) into the national economy until 2030, in order to support the growth of the national economy as one of the objectives of the Kingdom’s vision, and raise the contribution of the private sector in the gross domestic product to 65 percent.
Al-Jadaan continued that the indicators of the performance of economic activities witnessed a remarkable growth until the third quarter of this year, pointing to the ongoing recovery, with the community immunity reaching more than 70 percent.
He added that the estimates of the real non-oil GDP up to the third quarter of 2021 indicate a growth at a high rate of 5.4 percent, driven by the high performance of the private sector, which recorded a growth of 7 percent.
The main consumption indicators also recorded positive growth rates, with point-of-sale sales and e-commerce achieving growth from the beginning of the year to October, at a rate of 35.8 percent and 94.1 percent, respectively.
