JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s development plans will not be affected by the current global economic crisis as they will be funded by reserves and oil receipts, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf stated yesterday.
“Oil revenues will definitely cover these projects in addition to what we have in reserve,” the minister told Saudi Arabian Television Channel One. He said the Kingdom would be indirectly affected by the crisis but its impact would be temporary.
Speaking about stock markets, Al-Assaf said: “Markets in some countries like America and Europe were affected by real reasons ... but in other areas unjustifiable fear was the main reason.”
He said many sectors in the Kingdom’s stock market, such as banks, were in excellent position. “The excellent third quarter results announced by Saudi banks proved that they were not affected by the subprime mortgage crisis in the US,” he added. “We believe that the decline in some Saudi stocks was unjustifiable and will return back to stability.”
He said the Kingdom was not facing any liquidity crunch as the continuing government spending would ensure adequate liquidity. “We don’t expect any decrease in government spending in the near future,” he added. He said Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has the ability to meet the Kingdom’s liquidity requirements and support local financial institutions.
The minister allayed the fears of bank dealers and said their deposits in Saudi banks are safe.
