Monday 2 March 2009

Saudi foreign assets dip by SR28bn in January

Saudi Arabia's foreign assets dipped by more than SR28 billion (Dh27.7bn) in January to maintain their fall for the second successive month after several years of a steady growth, official figures showed yesterday.

Although the world's oil superpower recorded its largest ever budget surplus in 2008, the foreign assets of its central bank plunged back to their September level apparently because the government focuses on slashing debt and maintaining high expenditure in 2009 to offset an economic downturn.

From around SR1,709.9bn at the end of 2008, the assets of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) shrank to nearly SR1,681.3bn at the end of January, a drop of SR28.6bn.

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