The economic situation in the Kingdom is very stable and good despite the Saudi stock market crisis, Saleh Al-Turki, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Saturday. At a press conference held at the chamber, he assured that the stock market in Saudi Arabia never shows the real economic situation. “I admit this is the most difficult press conference for me but I can tell that the economic situation in Saudi Arabia is stable and unique so far,” Al-Turki said. “The liquidity is available in the banks and the economy is still growing, car sales, real estate and the purchasing power all are still great. The only sad thing is the stock market.” Al-Turki viewed that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency's strict policy regarding loans was the savior for the current stable economy. He also stated that the Commercial Chambers Council has received a report that proved the stability of the economic situation in the Kingdom. He said the banks sector had an increase of 37 percent and the deposits had an increase of 22 percent, while the profits of all the Saudi banks have increased to 4.2 percent. “Actually, we are happy by the slowness of the economic development because it affected positively the food prices and the other important daily needs. The prices are down now.” On the currency peg, Al-Turki said “personally, I don't think it's a good idea to depeg our currency from the American dollar because more than 80 percent of our income is coming from oil which is still purchased in dollar terms. There is still no clear experience of that except Kuwait which is not stable after depegging their currency.” __
