Saudi Finance Minister: Most of the Kingdom’s economic sectors have started to recover from the impact of the Corona pandemic

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan said Tuesday night that most sectors of the Kingdom’s economy have started to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The finance minister added, in a statement to Saudi state television, that the recovery in the third and fourth quarters bodes well for better economic indicators in 2021.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan emphasized that the Public Investment Fund plays a critical role in improving the Saudi economy and will generate more investments in hundreds of billions of riyals in 2021 and the following years.

The minister claimed that he still aims to reduce the deficit to less than 1% by 2023.

Al-Jadaan stated that the value added tax will be subject to review when economic conditions permit, and there are no plans to review it in the short term.

He indicated that the number of privatization deals in the education, health and water sectors is expected to double in 2021, compared to a value of 15 billion riyals in 2020.

The Saudi Finance Minister confirmed that there are no plans to raise taxes at this time, nor are there any plans to impose an income tax.

Al-Jadaan stated that the transfer of reserves to the Public Investment Fund was once in a very exceptional year, and no further transfers are planned.

He explained that the Public Investment Fund will invest more in the local economy next year and in the years to come, noting that the government expects to receive between 15 and 25 billion riyals in distributions from the Public Investment Fund this year.

The Saudi official said that the transfer of distributions from the Public Investment Fund is unique in an exceptional year, and there are no plans to request distributions in the future, explaining in Al-Saik that the deficit will be covered next year by a limited withdrawal. reserves and local and international debt, and selling assets to the Ministry of Finance if necessary. I send.

The Saudi budget document had indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic may undermine the achievement of some of the goals that were planned before the crisis, such as increasing growth and creating jobs.

Source: Agencies