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Saudi Arabia: Budget deficit of $34.1bn in 2019

October 1, 2018 at 11:39 am

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan [ArabianBusiness.com/Twitter]

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said yesterday that the Kingdom is expected to run a budget deficit of 128 billion riyals ($34.1 billion) in 2019.

Al Jadaan made the remarks during a press conference held in Riyadh to announce the preliminary forecast for 2019 budget ahead of its official release in December.

According to the minister, the Saudi budget for 2019 is expected to reach 1.106 trillion riyals ($294.9 billion) with total revenues estimated at 978 billion riyals ($260.8 billion).

The ministry expects public debt to rise by 17.7 per cent over the next year, compared to this year.

Public debt will reach 576 billion riyals ($153.6 billion) by the end of 2018 and will rise to 848 billion riyals ($226.13 billion) by 2021.

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