Over the past week, major Rating Agencies have released updated credit views on 
Saudi Arabia in response to the attacks of September 14th highlighting the 
Kingdom's broad-based resilience. This is not only a reflection of the 
country's economic and fiscal strengths but most importantly a demonstration of 
its institutional capacity to stage an immediate and effective response to an 
external shock. Moody's has made no changes to the rating, while Fitch 
downgraded the Kingdom's rating to A with a stable outlook. 

The international community has responded positively to the resilience and 
reliability shown by Saudi Aramco and the Kingdom in ensuring that there were 
no interruptions to global oil supplies. This reinforces the world-class 
operational excellence and crisis management skills of the company. 

Saudi Arabia's oil supply is fully back online after the attacks halved output 
and the Kingdom has reached 11.3 million barrels per day (bpd) capacity and 
will reach 12 million bpd by the end of November. Oil supply is set to recover 
to 9.89 million bpd in October and Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil 
exporter, will meet all customer oil commitments this month. 

Considering the above, the Ministry of Finance is disappointed that Fitch took 
a swift decision to downgrade the Kingdom. Rather, the event highlights Saudi 
Arabia's outstanding capacity to effectively deal with adversities, commitment 
to maintaining stability in the global oil markets, and the Kingdom's status as 
an important international ally. As such, the downgrade of the rating comes 
across as somewhat speculative without direct reference to the swift, decisive 
and effective response to the event.

Since the event the Kingdom has illustrated restraint and careful consideration 
in its response, which should act as a reassurance for the international 
community. Any increase in unpredictability is as a direct action of aggressive 
actors within the region rather than the actions of the Kingdom. 

Currently the budget deficit is well within the parameters we set for the 2019 
Budget. Whilst we are committing to focused increased investment in key Vision 
2030 areas, we are also improving our efficiency and effectiveness of that 
spending. We also have one of the strongest reserves in the world and the 
country's financial assets substantially exceed its liabilities. 

Commenting on the rating the Ministry of Finance stated: "We do not believe 
that the actions of the country and the company in response to the event 
significantly impact on the risk factors mentioned in the report. In fact, the 
response and resilience of the company and the markets underline the reliable 
nature of the supply of oil for global markets from the Kingdom. We trust that 
as this continues to be the case the Agency will see fit to revise their 
decision in the light of continuing stability within the supply to markets and 
the reactions and actions of the market participants and commentators."

Source: The Ministry of Finance Saudi Arabia