Saudi Arabia's revenue rose by 72 percent to SR 144.07 billion while expenses fell 3 percent to SR 170 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2017. Saudi Minister of Finance Mohamed Al-Jadaan, in a press conference held here today, said the issuance of the quarterly budget report comes in the framework of the Saudi government's commitment to boost transparency and financial disclosure as it continues to implement the National Transformation Program's initiatives within the ambitious Vision 2030 reform plan. Al-Jadaan noted that total revenue for the first quarter of the current fiscal year amounted to SR 144.1 billion, an increase of 72 percent over the same period last year while non-oil revenue for the first quarter reached SR 32 billion, an increase of 1 percent over the same period last year. Al-Jada'an said that oil revenue increased during the first quarter to reach SR 112 billion with a growth rate of 115 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, driven by improved international oil prices Total expenses for the first quarter fell to SR 170.3 billion, 3 percent compared to the same quarter of last year, the Minister said. The education sector, the Minister said, has the largest percentage of the approved budget, 23 percent of the total estimated budget, compared to other sectors. In the first quarter, 46 percent of the expenditures were allocated to basic sectors such as education, health, social development and municipal services. Al-Jadaan said that the actual disbursement rate during the first quarter was 19 percent of the total estimated budget during the year, noting that the deficit in the first quarter amounted to SR 26,211 billion, recording a drop of 71 percent compared to the deficit of the same period last year. The Minister said that the package of economic reforms adopted by the government in the fiscal balance program helped to generate new income and diversify sources of income. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia is firmly on the right path towards building a solid economy, more stable and diversified, and less affected by the swings in the global markets, especially in the oil market.
