LONDON - Recent fiscal measures in Saudi Arabia will prompt a sustainable rise in government revenues, Fitch Ratings said.
Revenues in 2018 may also get a one-off boost from settlements with wealthy individuals following the anti-corruption campaign launched in November, the ratings agency said in a report released on Thursday.
However Fitch noted that the value and use of the receipts has not been officially confirmed and they are not included in official budget projections.
The Saudi budget, published in December, forecasted the central government fiscal deficit to narrow to 7.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 from 8.9 percent of GDP last year.
This is expected to be driven by a rise in oil revenues which account for about 63 percent of total government revenues.
Fitch said that limited progress on underlying fiscal consolidation reflected a greater focus on GDP growth targets, which the government highlighted as a reason for pushing back the year for achieving a balanced budget to 2023 from 2020.
Revenues in 2018 may also get a one-off boost from settlements with wealthy individuals following the anti-corruption campaign launched in November, the ratings agency said in a report released on Thursday.
However Fitch noted that the value and use of the receipts has not been officially confirmed and they are not included in official budget projections.
The Saudi budget, published in December, forecasted the central government fiscal deficit to narrow to 7.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 from 8.9 percent of GDP last year.
This is expected to be driven by a rise in oil revenues which account for about 63 percent of total government revenues.
Fitch said that limited progress on underlying fiscal consolidation reflected a greater focus on GDP growth targets, which the government highlighted as a reason for pushing back the year for achieving a balanced budget to 2023 from 2020.
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