JEDDAH: The Shoura Council yesterday emphasized the strength of the Kingdom’s economy and said it would not require any emergency measures to confront the present global crisis.
In a statement following a regular meeting, Saudi Arabia’s consultative body said Saudi Arabia was making continuous economic growth, adding that it had been able to achieve a 3.4 percent increase in its gross domestic product.
“The council has been following the global financial crisis with deep concern. It is also following the government’s efforts to protect the Kingdom from its impact,” the statement said.
“Authorities have stated that the Kingdom has no investments in the affected Western banks and that Saudi bank deposits are safe as they are invested locally,” the Shoura said, allaying public fears. The Shoura referred to a statement made by Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf that the Kingdom’s development projects would not be affected by the crisis and would be funded by its reserves and oil receipts. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also stated that the impact of global depression, which will appear next year, will be limited on Gulf economies,” it added.
Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, a member of the council’s economic committee, meanwhile, urged the government to deploy emergency measures, such as buying into falling stocks or allowing share buybacks, to spare ordinary citizens losses from weeks of bourse declines.
“Our government and financial authorities must take exceptional measures because the situation is exceptional. We are stuck in a crisis we did not start. Our economies are sound and all our firms are profitable,” he said.
He suggested that the government spend SR100 billion ($26.7 billion) on buying high-yield stocks to “rescue” the bourse.