Bank Audi: Saudi stimulus measures driving growth

Bank Audi said stimulus packages launched in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, among the most aggressive in the Arab MENA region, are increasingly driving economic growth in the kingdom.

The remarks were part of a report prepared by Bank Audi on the performance of the Saudi economy. The report, entitled “In an Environment Where Pent-up Opportunities Outpace Latent Challenges,” addresses the most important economic developments in 2009 and the first few months of 2010 on both the macro and micro levels, as well as the outlook for the rest of 2010 and the years to come.

“Saudi Arabia’s large accumulated reserves left it with a capability to somehow counter the spillovers of the crisis and secure relatively fast recovery. In parallel, the upturn in the oil sector, the kingdom’s principal growth engine, should leave the economy with one of its healthiest growth performance this year, with real growth expected at 3.7 percent as per recent IMF forecasts following no growth in 2009,” Audi said.