Saudi Arabia's economic growth is expected to reach 2% in 2019 on the back of the kingdom's mega spending budget SAR 1.1 trillion, a new report by Jadwa Investment, a Saudi closed joint stock company operating, said.
The report stressed the ability of the Saudi economy to withstand negative side effects of economic measures taken in 2018.
"The mild decline in yearly growth is entirely due to lower oil sector GDP as the Kingdom complies with the OPEC+ production agreement. That said, we still see oil sector growth being helped along by a rise in gas output and the opening of the Jazan refinery," it added.
The kingdom recently approved an SAR 11.5 billion scheme that would help private sector firms with expat fees.
“During 2019, we expect to see a consolidation of efforts in striving towards the goals of the Vision 2030 as well as the targets set under the National Transformation Programme (NTP),” Jadwa projected.
Non-oil sector is slated to grow by 2.3 percent, up from 2.1 percent last year, benefiting from an expansionary fiscal policy and a number of targeted support measures such as payments under the Citizen’s Account, annual allowances for public sector workers being reinstated and scheme to allocate SAR 11.5 billion to help eligible companies with expat fees.
"During 2019, we expect to see a consolidation of efforts in striving towards the goals of the Vision 2030, as well as the targets set under the National Transformation Program," Jadwa said, adding the effort will be supported by the largest ever budgeted expenditure of SAR 1.1 trillion.
Meanwhile, the consultancy expects 2019 to be a tumultuous year globally, citing a number of developments that have the potential to derail economic growth including risk related to continuation of a trade dispute between the US and China.
