Assaf said IMF evaluates the Kingdom's measures taken on investment in the infrastructure of the country, particularly in the human resources, social insurance and bursary for the unemployed. He said IMF experts have discussed the expectations of economic growth, including the domestic, regional and international impacts. To this extent, they found that the negative effect of external factors, including the eurozone crisis and Arab economies on the Saudi economy are very limited, he said, adding that, instead, they expected economic growth in the Kingdom to continue at rates near to those announced last year, amounting to 5.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. He said IMF report on the financial sector in the Kingdom was very positive, citing the Kingdom's policy to tighten financial grip on terror finance and money laundering. Among other issues tackled by the report is the Kingdom's exchange rate which was described by IMF as an appropriate policy since it encourages for developing the financial sector, trade and investment. The current exchange rate is a real rate of the Riyal, the Saudi Minister of Finance stated. He added that the Kingdom's financial policies are set on medium terms taking into consideration oil price fluctuations as the country vastly depend on oil revenues. In response to a question on the Real Estate Mortgage System, he said work is currently underway to put it into force, citing concerted work of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Housing to put housing polices and implement the system.
