SAMA: Saudi economy expected to grow steadily

September 25, 2008

The Saudi economy is expected to grow steadily despite the current turmoil in global markets, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) Hamad Al-Sayyari said in a press conference yesterday. SAMA released its 44th annual report earlier this week.

Al-Sayyari said that SAMA has taken steps to address key challenges facing the Saudi economy, in particular curbing inflation. Inflation in the Kingdom was down in August, decreasing to 10.9 percent from 11.1 percent in July.

He noted that the private and non-oil sectors in Saudi Arabia have shown healthy growth. In addition, SAMA records indicate a strong growth in loans, money supply, additional deposits and no scarcity in liquidity in the Kingdom, he said.

Al-Sayyari characterized the Bush administration’s steps to address the current financial problems in the United States as bold, and added that he expects the crisis to have a limited impact on the Saudi economy and banks, as SAMA’s foreign investments are very conservative.