IMF staff lauded the Kingdom's economic and financial condition in their final 
statement made at the end of their visit about Article IV consultation with the 
Kingdom in 2022. They reiterated their constructive prognosis for the Kingdom's 
economy in the short and medium term, with further rebound in economic growth 
rates and inflation control, as well as enhanced strength in the Kingdom's 
external economic position.

According to the statement, the IMF anticipated the Kingdom's GDP to rise by 
7.6% in 2022, the non-oil sector to grow by roughly 4.2%, the current account 
surplus to climb to 17.2% of GDP, and overall inflation to remain at an average 
of 2.8%.
The statement noted that the Kingdom successfully dealt with the coronavirus 
pandemic (COVID-19), emphasizing that it is in a position to overcome the risks 
posed by the Ukrainian crisis and the tightening monetary policy cycle in 
developed economies, noting that the impact of tightening global conditions on 
the Kingdom's economy is limited due to the banking sector's high levels of 
liquidity and capitalization. Economic activity is also improving 
significantly, aided by increased oil prices and government reforms implemented 
in accordance with Vision 2030. 

The report also emphasized that the kingdom's economy's future prognosis is 
optimistic in the short and medium term, with ongoing recovery of economic 
growth rates, containment of inflation, and strengthening of its external 
economic position. The IMF staff noted that the continuation of its 
implementation of structural reforms will help ensure a strong, comprehensive 
and environmentally friendly recovery, pointing out that the Kingdom is 
strongly recovering from pandemic-caused recession, indicating that the support 
provided by public finances, the momentum of reforms, high oil prices and 
increased oil production helped the Kingdom recover, as it witnessed a strong 
boost.THE REAL NON-OIL GDP GREW BY 4.9% IN 2021 driven primarily by the 
recovery of the manufacturing and retail sectors (including e-commerce) and the 
commercial sector.

The statement noted that The Kingdom's unemployment rate fell to 10.1% in the 
first quarter of 2022 as a result of the high rates of employment of Saudi 
citizens in the private sector, while praising the effective initiatives to 
increase women's participation in the workforce, which led to exceeding the 
Kingdom's Vision 2030 targets.

In terms of fiscal policy, the mission applauded the Kingdom's commitment to 
ensuring the sustainability of public finances and efforts to avoid keeping up 
with economic cycle tendencies by establishing a spending cap unaffected by oil 
price variations. IMF staff also expected that public finances would outperform 
budget forecasts in 2022, and that the debt-to-GDP ratio would decline. 
The mission also emphasized that financial stability risks are well contained, 
as levels of profitability, liquidity, and capitalization are good at the 
banking system level, and that the impact of further tightening of global 
monetary policy conditions will be limited on credit growth and non-oil GDP, 
but positive on banking sector profitability.

The IMF staff's final statement welcomed the Kingdom's efforts regarding 
climate policies, stressing that the government is working to intensify 
investments in the production of blue and green hydrogen, in addition to its 
continuous efforts in research and development with a focus on the circular 
carbon economy.

For his part, His Excellency the Minister of Finance, Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah 
Al-Jadaan, said: The statement highlighted the current indicators and positive 
future prospects for the Saudi economy, which has overcome many of the 
obstacles and challenges confronting the global economy over the last two years 
while maintaining financial sustainability, enhancing the Saudi economy's 
solidity and strength; stressing the importance of the Kingdom's economic and 
structural changes under Vision 2030, as well as their contribution to 
attaining sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

His Excellency welcomed the IMF staff' praise of the Kingdom's efforts to 
mitigate the economic, social and health effects of the Corona pandemic, 
stressing that the Kingdom is currently experiencing a strong recovery 
following the pandemic-induced recession, and that rising oil prices provides 
an opportunity to accelerate the pace of reforms being implemented under the 
Saudi Vision 2030.

It is noteworthy that an initial statement was issued by the IMF mission 
following the conclusion of Article IV consultation with the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia in 2022, which took place during April 2022. This final statement 
confirms the preliminary findings of the previous statement.

SOURCE: Ministry of Finance