Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector recorded a development charge of three.6 p.c within the third quarter of 2023, regardless of its decline within the second quarter of the yr, in keeping with the newest figures launched by the Normal Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Tuesday.
This determine displays the continued success of the coverage of diversifying sources of earnings away from oil, which is likely one of the most outstanding targets of the Saudi Imaginative and prescient 2030. The oil-related actions recorded a decline of 17.3 p.c yearly throughout the third quarter of 2023, resulting in a 4.5 p.c fall within the Kingdom’s seasonally adjusted actual GDP throughout the third quarter.
The Kingdom’s non-oil actions elevated by 0.1 p.c within the third quarter in comparison with the earlier quarter, along with the expansion of presidency actions by 1.9 p.c.
The gross home product (GDP) reached 1.2 p.c within the second quarter of this yr. This was the primary time that the Saudi financial system has contracted because the first quarter of 2021.
The seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 3.9 p.c within the third quarter of this yr in comparison with the second quarter, affected by a lower in oil actions by 8.4 p.c, along with a lower in authorities actions by 5.3 p.c, whereas non-oil actions achieved a rise of 0.1 p.c on the quarterly foundation.
The expansion of the non-oil financial system in Saudi Arabia at a charge of 6.1 p.c throughout the second quarter of 2023 led the Kingdom to lift its estimates of GDP development to 1.2 p.c within the second quarter from 1.1 p.c in earlier preliminary estimates.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan mentioned final week that the Kingdom is not specializing in gross home product numbers, however moderately on the event of the non-oil sector, in mild of its purpose to diversify the financial system in accordance with the Imaginative and prescient 2030. He anticipated that the non-oil GDP will finish the present yr with development of about 6 p.c. The minister confused that the expansion of non-oil GDP within the Kingdom continued in a “wholesome” method, and is prone to proceed as such within the medium time period.
The newest forecasts of the Saudi Ministry of Finance indicated within the preliminary assertion of the 2024 funds that non-oil actions will develop at a charge of 5.9 p.c throughout the present yr, at a time when the ministry decreased its expectations for financial development to 0.03 p.c from 3.1 p.c, which it attributed primarily to the voluntary discount of the Kingdom’s oil manufacturing.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, in his interview final September with the American Fox Information channel, famous the event of the non-oil sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP, which helped the Saudi financial system obtain the best development charge in 2022 among the many international locations of the G20 group, and this sector recorded the second highest development charge in 2023 inside the group as properly. He mentioned that this constitutes a contest between us and India, whereas describing it as a superb competitors.”
The Worldwide Financial Fund not too long ago praised the reforms carried out by the Kingdom inside the framework of Imaginative and prescient 2030, noting that the expansion momentum within the non-oil sector continues regardless of the decline in general development generally in mild of the rise in investments and the acceleration of reforms. The IMF additionally anticipated that the non-oil financial sectors in Saudi Arabia would keep a powerful development charge of as much as 4.9 p.c throughout 2023, supported by home consumption, whatever the decline in oil manufacturing