SAUDI ARABIA

Oil Earnings Fuel Bumper Saudi Budget

Record earnings last year as a result of a jump in oil revenue allowed Saudi Arabia to maintain its expansionary policies and its 2012 budget projects an all-time high in both expenditure and revenue. Basim Itayim and Melanie Lovatt report.

The actual figures for 2011 show that the kingdom’s revenues hit SR1,110bn ($296bn), their highest ever levels, even edging over the SR1,100bn ($293.3bn) seen in the boom year of 2008. While oil...