Arab News, Monday, May 08, 2023 | Shawwal 18, 1444
Saudi Arabia reports $75bn in revenues in first quarter of 2023
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia on Sunday
reported revenue of SR280.94 billion ($74.89 billion) in the first quarter of
the current financial year.
According to a report issued by the Kingdom’s
Ministry of Finance, expenditure during the first quarter of 2023 amounted to
SR283.86 billion, reflecting a 21.9 percent drop when compared to SR363.7
billion recorded in the previous quarter.
The Kingdom’s non-oil revenue increased by 9
percent to reach SR102.34 billion in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to
SR94.26 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Oil revenues stood at SR178 billion, reflecting a
3 percent drop when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
The report also revealed that the Saudi budget
recorded a deficit of about SR2.91 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
“The opportunities available during the previous
year were exploited to reduce financing needs for the year 2023 through the
implementation of advance financing operations,” the ministry said.
It added: “The volume of public debt is low
compared to the G20 countries.”
Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product grew by
3.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 as non-oil activities
picked up pace, data issued by the General Authority for Statistics showed.
Between January and March this year, the Kingdom’s
activities in the non-oil sector, government services, and oil industry
increased by 5.8 percent, 4.9 percent, and 1.3 percent, respectively.