VOL.XLIII/XLIV

No.52/ No. 01

25-Dec.-2000/1 Jan. 2001

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia Balances Its 2001 $57Bn Budget

On 18 December the Saudi Arabian cabinet approved for the first time in over a decade a balanced budget for the year 2001 (1421-1422H) at SR215bn ($57.3bn), representing a 37% increase in revenues and a 16% increase in expenditures over the previous year (see table below). In a statement to the cabinet, King Fahd ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz said that the budget was aimed at achieving a fiscal...