Saudi Arabia Moves Towards 50:50 Oil, Non-Oil Revenue Split

18 Dec 2020 Issue: 63 / 51 By: Jamie Ingram

Saudi Arabia has managed the unheard-of achievement of pushing oil below 50% of government revenues in the second half of the year. But it has come at a cost, with higher taxes pushing up inflation.

Saudi Arabia released its 2021 budget this week. This projects a fall in the kingdom’s annual deficit, albeit to a still-substantial $38bn. The fall is in part due to an increase in projected revenues, but also to a slashing of planned capital spending to multi-year lows. The government says the private sector will pick up the slack on infrastructure spending, although in reality much will fall to sovereign wealth fund PIF.

Unlike in previous years, Riyadh did not release a breakdown of the expected split between oil and non-oil revenues. However, based on the information that has been released and underlying trends, MEES estimates that there will be an approximately 50:50 split. Revenues are projected to come in at $226bn, of which MEES estimates around $115bn will be oil and $112bn non-oil. (CONTINUED - 1561 WORDS)