Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Financing provided to small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia surged by 20.4 percent YoY to SAR276 billion ($73.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to the Kingdom’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, credit facilities provided to micro and SMEs amounted to SAR25 billion ($6.7 billion) and SAR92.3 billion ($24.6 billion), respectively, in the last three months of 2023.
- Saudi banking sector’s loans increased to SAR2.68 trillion ($715.56 billion) in April, marking an 11 percent increase YoY, according to SAMA. Personal loans constituted 47 percent of banks’ total lending, with corporate loans making up the remaining 53 percent.
- Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2024, driven primarily by robust non-oil private activities, which are predicted to grow by 4.8 percent according to the World Bank.
