Weekly Market Brief – 10/29/2021

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets grew by 3.8 percent YoY (+2.5 percent MoM) to SAR1.68 trillion ($448 million) in September. Central bank assets increased by 1 percent MoM to SAR1.89 trillion ($504 billion) with bank deposits abroad surging by 16.1 percent to SAR306.5 billion ($82 billion). The Kingdom’s net foreign assets reached the highest level since late 2020.

• Claims on the private sector in Saudi Arabia inched up by 1.5 percent MoM, the fastest since June. Private lending reached SAR1.986 trillion ($530 billion) in September, according to SAMA. Banks’ total assets rose to SAR 3.151 trillion ($840 billion). Banks operating in Saudi reported a 35 percent rise in aggregate net profits, reaching SAR5.93 billion ($1.6 billion) in September.

• Saudi Arabia reported a budget surplus of SAR6.7 billion ($1.8 billion) in Q3, the first quarterly surplus in more than two years. Revenues totaled SAR243.4 billion ($64.9 billion), of which 61 percent was from oil while 39 percent was from non-oil revenues. Government spending totaled SAR236.7 billion ($63.1 billion) with employee compensation and capital expenditures (CAPEX) hitting the highest levels so far this year.