Saudi budget increases, deficit reduced

The Saudi government on Tuesday approved the budget project for the year 2000 with an increase in revenues and expenditures and reduction of the deficit to US $7.46 billion, against a deficit of US $9.06 billion in 1999, as economic growth reached 8.4%.

During a session of the Cabinet held on Tuesday, King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz announced the main lines of the budget, whose revenues reached 157 billion Saudi riyals (US $41.86 billion) and its expenditures reached 185 billion riyals (US $49.33 billion), thereby the discrepancy is 28 billion Riyals (US $7.47 billion).

The Saudi king commended the improvement in the performance of the Saudi economy, which scored growth due to the increase in the prices of crude oil, of which Saudi Arabia is the world's first producer and exporter.