Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s second-quarter budget revenue increased 67 per cent from the year-earlier period as higher oil prices helped boost income, the country’s Finance Ministry said in a statement on its website.
Revenue climbed to 273.6 billion riyals ($73 billion; Dh267.55 billion), boosted by an 82 per cent increase in oil revenue, the ministry said on Wednesday. Non-oil revenue rose 42 per cent to 89.4 billion riyals, while the budget deficit fell to 7.4 billion riyals, the ministry said.
While Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s plan to transform the economy aims to reduce its reliance on crude in the long term, higher oil prices are central to efforts to support growth while introducing measures that would help boost revenue from other sources.
The figures “will lead us to continue our reform plans, aimed at achieving economic diversification and financial sustainability,” Finance Minister Mohammad Al Jadaan said in the statement.
Total expenditures for the second quarter rose 34 per cent to 281 billion riyals, the ministry said. Public debt increased to 537 billion riyals at the end of the second quarter from 443.3 billion riyals at the start of the year, it said.
