The Ministryof Finance welcomed the statement released by the International Monetary Fund(IMF) mission that visited the Kingdom in May 2019 to conduct the 2019 ArticleIV consultations.
Thestatement noted KSA economic reforms and the recovery in the non-oil sector,which contributed to improving the economic outcomes in 2018. It is expectedthat the growth rate of the non-oil sector will accelerate to 2.9% in 2019, asthe increasing government spending and reforms implementation will likely driveeconomic growth.
Thestatement indicated an improvement in the transparency of government spendingand public finance. The statement emphasized the continuation of reforms aimedat strengthening the country's development of general budgeting and a mid-termpublic finance framework. The statement referred to the Expenses ManagementSystem (Etimad) which contributed to improving and realizing expenditureefficiency and public financial transparency.
Thestatement commended the advancement in financial market reforms whichculminated in getting KSA listed in the global stock and bonds markets indicesand the expansion of the government bonds yield curve towards longer-termmaturities which will contribute in developing the financial sector anddeepening the debt market of the private sector.
Mohammed BinAbdullah Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, commented by saying that the statementstresses KSA government's strong progress in implementing the economic andstructural reforms, especially evidenced by the positive outcomes of the Q1Budget Report 2019. He also noted that the IMF statement reflects the keyefforts made in developing the KSA financial sector to ensure a robust Saudifinancial sector which realizes the strategic objectives of KSA 2030 Vision.
