S&P Global Ratings has revised Saudi Arabia’s forecast to positive from stable on Friday, reflecting the kingdom’s sustained reforms momentum, strong non-oil growth outlook and economic resilience.
The ratings agency said the positive outlook reflects the Saudi government’s potential to bring in more reforms and investments, contributing to the development of non-oil economy.
The upgrade also reflects the country’s economic resilience against volatility stemming from the hydrocarbon sector.
The agency also affirmed Saudi Arabia’s ratings at A/A-1 because of the kingdom’s continued efforts in comprehensive reforms and investments.
“The positive outlook reflects the potential that the Saudi government's wide-ranging reforms and investments will underpin the development of the non-oil economy while upholding sustainable public finances,” S&P said on Friday.
“We expect to see an acceleration of investments to develop newer industries, such as tourism, and diversify the economy away from its primary reliance on the upstream hydrocarbon sector. Current investments will spur consumption by the kingdom's over 35 million (largely young) population and increase the productive capacity of sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, and mining.”
Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, is focusing on diversifying its economy away from oil, supporting the development of sectors including technology, property, tourism and infrastructure as part of Vision 2030.
The kingdom aims to generate employment and help its non-oil economy to grow.
Non-oil growth in the Arab world’s largest economy is projected to increase to 4.4 per cent in the medium term after moderating to 3.5 per cent this year. This is mostly driven by stronger demand as the kingdom implements its Vision 2030 plan, the International Monetary Fund said earlier this month.
Saudi Arabia’s economy is projected to grow to 4.7 per cent in 2025 before averaging at 3.7 per cent in the following years.
Non-oil gross domestic product grew by 3.8 per cent last year, driven by private consumption and non-oil investment.
The positive outlook reflects the potential that the Saudi government's wide-ranging reforms and investments will underpin the development of the non-oil economy while upholding sustainable public finances
S&P Global
The kingdom’s real GDP declined 0.4 per cent on an annual basis in the second quarter of this year in what was its best reading since the third quarter of 2023, the General Authority for Statistics showed. Oil growth fell by 8.5 per cent, compared to 11.2 per cent the previous quarter.
Real GDP this year is forecast to grow by 1.7 per cent, before increasing to 4.7 per cent in 2025.
In June, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih said the kingdom was more than halfway through implementing Vision 2030. Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said this year the timetable and size of some of the projects under Vision 2030 would be adjusted owing to economic and geopolitical challenges.
S&P said continued execution of Vision 2030 initiatives will support strong non-oil growth over the medium term, with the recalibration of some large infrastructure projects expected to contain pressure on Saudi Arabia's public finances.
The agency forecast that the kingdom’s GDP would continue to grow during the years 2024-2027, based on the growth in investments in the non-oil sector, the rise in consumption rates and its expectation that the country will emerge in the long term as a more diversified economy, with more job opportunities for young people and broader workforce participation.
“Even as the government and the Public Investment Fund accumulate higher debt, we expect the government will remain in a strong net asset position of above 40 per cent of GDP through 2027,” S&P Global said.
Inflation has remained relatively low in Saudi Arabia compared to global levels. Annual inflation is projected to fall to 1.9 per cent by the end of the year, compared with 2.3 per cent last year.
S&P said it expects inflation to remain steady and that interest rates will broadly move in tandem with the US Federal Reserve rates.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
