Assaf, Minister of Finance, has revealed that the Kingdom's industrial sector grew by a massive 15 percent this year. He attributed the growth to the Kingdom's elements of attraction and government support. In a statement aired by Al-Ekhbariyah satellite TV channel, Al-Assaf said, the growth of the industrial sector at the rate of 15 percent is considered to be high whether for the Kingdom or other countries. He pointed out that the national economy has not achieved such high growth rates in these sectors for over 20 years. He said legislative, financial and monetary regulations were the ingredients for the Kingdom's fertile investment environment. Al-Assaf said the country's GDP was expected to grow by 6.8 percent this year. He also said public debt was expected to drop to SR135 billion by the end of 2011, or 6.3 percent of GDP, from SR167 billion at the beginning of the year. The minister also highlighted the importance of the private sector in the economy. He said the private sector accounts for over 49% of the GDP according to the real prices. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, he said, has directed a part of the SR250 billion surplus to be used for the construction of 500,000 housing units. A large amount of money has also been allocated for the General Investment Fund which will fund the Al-Haramain high speed rail project.
