IMF Saudi Arabia’s Reprioritization of Spending is an Important Step to Avoid Risk of Economic Overheating

In an interview, Amine Mati, head of the IMF Mission to Saudi Arabia, said, “During the past year, we have been concerned about the risk of economic overheating. Therefore, the recalibration process undertaken by the Saudi authorities to ensure that project implementation is commensurate with the economy's capacity is a very important step to mitigate the risk of economic overheating,”.

The IMF expressed support for the Saudi government's move to reprioritize investment spending, while revising its forecast for Saudi Arabia's economic growth next year to 4.7% and praising the growth of the non-oil sector, which is leading “tremendous progress in Saudi Arabia's unprecedented economic transformation.”

Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement provides for bilateral consultations with member countries, followed by a report prepared by IMF experts for consideration by the Executive Board, which issues a final report.

Matty expected that “local investment will constitute a healthy expenditure, although it will not reach the level included in the initial planning of Vision 2030.”