It was the kingdom's first fiscal surplus in almost a decade, and a consecutive, although narrower, surplus is forecast for 2023. The Saudi economy grew by 8.7% in 2022, among the highest across the G20 group of nations, boosted by an increase in non-oil sector activities, a key part of the economic transformation plan, Vision 2030, intended to diversify revenue away from oil. Al Jadaan said that the government's forecast for 2023 still remained largely on track, although global developments could have an impact on the numbers down the line. "Until now, our predictions (for the 2023 budget) are the same, I don't see any serious deviation. I think inflation will be around the same level as last year," he said. Inflation averaged 2.5% in 2022. Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund revised its 2023 growth forecast for Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, significantly downwards, to 2.6% on lower output, maintaining that non-oil growth is likely to remain robust. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Rachna Uppal; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Sharon Singleton)
(Adds quotes, detail, context)
By Rachna Uppal and Aziz El Yaakoubi
RIYADH, March 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's finance
minister said on Wednesday that a decision on allocating last
year's budget surplus of almost $28 billion will soon be
finalised, with the bulk of the surplus expected to boost
reserves.
Mohammed Al Jadaan told Reuters that a decision will be made
within two weeks and that he does not think the Public
Investment Fund (PIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund, will
receive a part of the surplus.
"It will take another one to two weeks to finalise the
surplus distribution," Al Jadaan told Reuters on the sidelines
of the Financial Sector Conference in the Saudi capital.
"Most likely you will see the outcome in ours, or SAMA (the
Saudi Central Bank) reports, in the reserves," he said, adding
that the government focus was on ensuring adequate reserves to
meet fiscal rules.
When asked whether PIF would receive a portion of the
surplus allocation, the minister said he did not think so.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, recorded a
budget surplus of 103.9 billion riyals ($27.68 billion) in 2022,
beating its own estimates, as higher oil prices boosted
government revenues by 31%.
Oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) made a record annual net profit
of $161.1 billion last year, up 46% from the previous year.
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