IMF gives a thumbs up to Saudi economy
STABILITY: Growth above 4 percent
is expected in 2014 and 2015.
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS
Published — Thursday 22 May 2014
Saudi Arabia continues to play a crucial role in stabilizing the global
oil market, which contributes positively to the global economy, according to
the International Monetary Fund.
“The economic outlook in Saudi Arabia
remains favorable,” said Tim Callen, IMF
mission chief to Saudi
Arabia. “Growth above 4 percent is expected
in 2014 and 2015, led by government spending and robust private sector
activity. Risks around this growth outlook are evenly balanced. Inflation is
likely to remain subdued,” the statement added.
A team led by Tim Callen, IMF
mission chief to Saudi Arabia,
held discussions during May 4-15 on the 2014 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia.
The completion of the Article IV
Consultation is subject to the discussion by the IMF Executive Board.
Callen made the statement at the
conclusion of the mission.
It added: “The economic outlook in
Saudi Arabia
remains favorable. Growth above 4 percent is expected in 2014 and 2015, led by
government spending and robust private sector activity. Risks around this
growth outlook are evenly balanced. Inflation is likely to remain subdued.
“Saudi Arabia continues to play a
systemic role in stabilizing the global oil market, which contributes
positively to the global economy. Regionally, Saudi Arabia is a generous provider
of financial assistance to other countries, while remittances sent home by
expatriates working in the country are an important source of income for many
countries.
“The government is undertaking an
ambitious economic reform and investment program to further develop and
diversify the economy and create jobs, and important progress is being made.
The program is focused on further developing infrastructure, improving the
business environment, increasing the quality of education and skills, and
employing more Saudi nationals in the private sector.
“The IMF expects the fiscal
surplus to decline further in 2014 as government spending increases, and the
budget may move into deficit in the next few years. It is therefore important
to slow the growth of government spending. The substantial fiscal buffers that
the government has accumulated over the past decade already provide important
protection to the economy in the event of a negative shock such as a fall in
oil prices, and should be maintained. In addition, the authorities have
initiated actions to strengthen the fiscal framework and they are encouraged to
build on this progress to further reform the annual budget, introduce a
medium-term budget framework, and develop tools to manage the volatility of oil
revenues.
“Monetary and macroprudential
policy settings are appropriate given the subdued inflation outlook. Equity
prices, however, have risen strongly over the past year, and should be
carefully monitored in the period ahead. The introduction of a formal macro-prudential
framework would strengthen the financial stability framework.”
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
“Stability and Growth for Poverty Reduction” (Past
Research on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Note: Mohamed A.
El-Erian was the deputy director for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and is
a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace (think tank), and the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews is the
president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank),
a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a
2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with
Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population
control by involving the United
States in war)
Chas. W. Freeman
Jr. is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
(think tank), a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), the chairman for the Projects International, Inc., was the National
Intelligence Council chairman nominee for the Barack Obama administration, a U.S. ambassador for Saudi Arabia, and the assistant
secretary for the U.S. Department of
Defense.
Chuck
Hagel was the chairman for the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and is the secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense for the Barack Obama administration.
Alexander H.
Platt is the EVP for Projects
International, Inc., and a trustee at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.
Zachary Karabell
is a trustee at the Carnegie Council for
Ethics in International Affairs, and a director at the New America Foundation.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the New America Foundation, and the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace (think tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Douglas A.
Rediker was a senior fellow at the New
America Foundation, and the U.S.
alternate executive director for the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mohamed A.
El-Erian was the deputy director for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and is
a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
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