Saudi Arabia Mulls More Fiscal Expansion in 2018 to Spur Economy

  • This year to see more local bond sales, no international ones
  • Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan speaks in interview

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Photographer: Waseem Obaidi/Bloomberg
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Saudi Arabia is considering a more expansionary budget than planned for 2018, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said, as authorities seek to support an economy struggling under the weight of austerity cutbacks.

Authorities were already planning an expansionary budget, “and we are considering even a potential further expansion,” Al-Jadaan said in an interview at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. “We think the economy requires that support and development requires that support.”