#SaudiArabia to Use Windfall From Oil Prices to Boost Private Sector - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia to Use Windfall From Oil Prices to Boost Private Sector - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia will use this year’s oil windfall to accelerate the economy’s diversification from fossil fuels, according to a minister.

The Saudi government will focus on initiatives to grow the non-oil economy in 2023 but won’t boost fiscal spending, Faisal Alibrahim, minister of economy and planning, said in an interview at the Davos conference in Switzerland. The kingdom’s in discussions with companies from all over the world to get them to move some of their operations to the country, he said.

Saudi Arabia will be the fastest-growing Group of 20 economy this year after India, according to Bloomberg’s surveys of analysts, with oil having climbed almost 50% since the end of 2021 to $110 a barrel. Gross domestic product will surpass $1 trillion for the first time, the International Monetary Fund forecasts.

Saudi Arabia’s posted a $15.3 billion budget surplus in the first quarter as officials kept spending restrained despite surging income from exports of crude and refined fuel. The kingdom expects a full-year surplus of $24 billion.