Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment Sunday issued a report which reveals that the Kingdom’s economic position has improved in the last one year.
The report Economic and Investment Monitor, Saudi Arabia, says the country’s economy and GDP are on an upswing.
The report says that in the World Economic Outlook (WEO), July 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Saudi Arabia to record the highest GDP growth among the G20 countries, and 10th in the world in 2022.
The WEO also projects an average growth rate of 7.6 percent in 2022 and 3.7 percent in 2023.
As per the flash estimates by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), real GDP increased at a growth rate of 11.8 percent in Q2 2022 compared to the same quarter last year, driven by the significant increase in oil activities by 23.1 percent while the non-oil activities increased by 5.4 percent.
Even electronic transactions have shown an increase in the country. Points of sale (PoS) transactions and SADAD payments increased by 16.6 percent and 17.1 percent, respectively, in Q2 2022 compared to the same quarter last year.
Cash withdraws in the same period decreased by 7.5 percent due to the shift in consumer behavior from cash towards digital payments.
The report further said that the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia decreased to 10.1 percent in Q1 2022, compared to 11 percent in the previous quarter which is the lowest level in 10 years.
The report said that Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate recorded 2.3 percent in Q2 2022, on an annual basis, due to increase in education prices by 6.2 percent, followed by food and beverages prices by 4.3 percent and the increase of food prices by 4.7 percent.
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) increased by 4.9 percent in Q2 2022, compared to the same quarter last year.
The current account on the balance of payments recorded a surplus of US$37.4 billion (SAR 140.3 billion) or 14.8 percent of nominal GDP in Q1 2022, compared to deficit of $160 million (SAR 0.6 billion) for the same period last year.
In Q1 2022, merchandise exports increased by 72.7 percent compared to the same quarter last year, due to the rise in oil exports achieving $35.6 billion (SAR 133.6 billion). Imports, also, increased by 12.5 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
In Q2 2022, government revenues increased by 49.3 percent, compared to the same period last year, driven by oil revenue. The government expenditures, on the other hand, increased by 15.7 percent in the same period. Surplus was recorded at $20.7
billion (SAR 77.9 billion), while public debt reached $257.7 billion (SAR 966.5 billion).
The FDI net inflows into Saudi Arabia recorded $1.9 billion (SAR 7.4 billion) in Q1 2022, an increase of 9.5 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
The number of closed investment deals increased to 49 in Q2 2022, with total investment estimated at $933 million (SAR 3.5 billion).
Efforts to improve investment environment, attract foreign investments and enhance local investments have contributed in reaching 112.4 percent of the total investment target and 172.3 percent of the FDI inflows target in 2021.
Saudi Arabia has achieved advanced positions in several global indicators in 2022, as it ranked first in the Consumer Confidence Index, fifth in the Edelman Confidence Index and twenty four in the Global Competitiveness ranking.