Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLIX

No 7

13-February-2006

Saudi Arabia

SAMAs Foreign Assets Rise 74% In 2005

Figures released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) showed that SAMAs net foreign assets rose 73.9% to SR563.5bn ($ 150bn) in December 2005 from SR324.1bn ($86bn) in December 2004. SAMAs investments of foreign securities rose to SR369.9bn ($99bn) in December 2005, up 87.5% from 2004, while deposits with banks abroad increased by 135.3% to SR113.9bn ($30bn) in December 2005 from...