Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The International Monetary Fund and Saudi Arabia are set to sign a memorandum of understanding today to clear decks for the world financial body to establish a regional office here, regional media reported.
It is significant that the IMF has opened a regional office in Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom is expected to register a 7.6 percent growth in its GDP this year, according to the IMF.
Earlier, International credit rating agency, Standard & Poors (S&P), updated its outlook for Saudi Arabia to positive as the country recovers from the pandemic.
S&P assessed the kingdom’s short and long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to A-/A-2.
The agency said the positive future outlook reflects the strength of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the country’s financial policies in the backdrop of its success in recovering from the repercussions of the pandemic, the sustainability of government reform programs and the increasing growth of the non-oil economy.
S&P expects the kingdom’s GDP to grow to its highs in ten years to a ceiling of 7.5 percent in 2022 with an expected financial surplus in the state budget of about 6.3 percent.