The Ministry of Finance has published the third quarter budget performance report of the year 2018. The report reflects the Government's commitment to transparency and fiscal disclosure which strengthens the governance and management of the public finances. The ministry revealed a decrease in the deficit rates compared to the same period of the previous year and also compared to the approved budget for this year, adding that the decrease is supported by marked positive growth in oil and non-oil revenues reflecting the effectiveness of economic reforms and fiscal measures to sustainability of the public finances and effective management. The fiscal indicators of the 2018 Q3 budget performance report are as follows: - Total revenues by the end of Q3 reached SAR 663.113 billion, an increase of 47% year-on-year. - Q3 total revenues reached SAR 223.262 billion, an increase of 57% year-on-year. - Non-oil revenues by the end of Q3 reached SAR 211.051 billion, an increase of 48% year-on-year. - Q3 non-oil revenues reached SAR 69.312 billion, an increase of 45% year-on-year. - Oil revenues by the end of Q3 reached SAR 452.062, an increase of 47% year-on-year. - Q3 oil revenues reached SAR 153.950 billion, an increase of 63% year-on-year driven by an improvement in oil global prices. - Q3 total expenditures reached SAR 230.549 billion, an increase of 21% year-on-year. - Total actual expending by the end of Q3 reached SAR 712.090 billion, representing 73% of the total estimated budget during the year, an increase of 25% year-on-year. - Q3 deficit reached SAR 7.287 billion. The budget deficit by the end of Q3 amounted to SAR 48.977 billion compared to SAR 121.458 billion year-on-year and compared to SAR 194.657 billion for the grand total in the approved budget. The Public debt increased SAR 549.516 by the end of September, 2048 and compared to SAR 443.253 billion by the end of 2017. Commenting on the Q3 fiscal results, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, said: "The fiscal figures announced for the 2018 Q3 affirm that the public finances witnessed a marked improvement in the financial discipline in addition to a gradual reduction of the deficit rates as a result of the successful implementation of many initiatives to develop non-oil revenues and raise spending efficiency." "This improvement is reflected in the decrease in the deficit rates, both compared to the same period last year 2017, or compared to the approved budget, with a marked positive growth in oil and non-oil revenues in spite of the increase in social spending on multiple initiatives, such as Citizen Account and Cost of Living Allowance in addition to the capital expenditure's increase on infrastructure. This further supports our approach towards continuing our economic reforms, which are clearly bearing fruit this year in order to achieve the objectives of the Fiscal Balance Program through maximizing revenues, raising the efficiency of government spending and stimulating the economic growth rates." Despite positive indicators in the Q3 report, Al-Jadaan pointed out that the public finance challenges, which require more efforts in our reforms, remain.
