Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mubarak estimated that the growth of the kingdom's real domestic product last year 2013 was 3.8%, confirming that it is higher than the growth rate of the global economy in the same period which amounted to 2.9%. In a press conference held today at the headquarters of SAMA in Riyadh on the occasion of the release of SAMA's forty ninth annual report, he said that the private sector grew by 5.5 % attributing economic growth in the Kingdom to continued government investment spending in addition to other factors. Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak said that the Ministry of Finance's data revealed that the Kingdom achieved in the year 2013 an actual surplus of 180.3 billion riyals in the general budget of the state representing 6.5 % of the GDP while the public debt declined to 75.1 billion riyals representing 2.7% of GDP. The Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency said that the Kingdom has achieved a 486.8 billion riyals surplus in the current account of the balance of payments representing 17.4 % of GDP compared with 22.4 % in 2012 while the inflation rate rose from 2.9% to 3.5% in 2013, stressing that rate remains under control. He said that the latest data from the Department of Statistics and Information has pointed to a decline in the annual inflation rate to reach 2.8% in February, indicating that the rate of inflation in emerging and developing economies is estimated in 2013 at about 6.2%; inflationary pressures in the Kingdom are attributable to the housing sector and food prices. Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak said that while a number of industrialized countries' credit rating has declined, Fitch credit rating global agency has recently increased the sovereign rating of the Kingdom from AA- to AA with a stable outlook which enhances confidence in the national economy and makes it more attractive for investment.
