Saudi budget deficit tops $4bn in Q2

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit rose to 15.3 billion riyals ($4.09 billion) in the second quarter, almost three times the shortfall recorded a year ago, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday, reflecting the impact of rising spending on state finances.

Overall revenue rose 12% to 353.6 billion riyals during the quarter, but that was outpaced by a 15% increase in spending to almost 369 billion riyals.

The kingdom’s sprawling Vision 2030 agenda calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in investments to develop new economic sectors and more sustainable revenue streams to reduce the dependence of the world’s top oil exporter on fossil fuels.

Oil revenue was just under 213 billion riyals in April-June, up 18% year-on-year, while non-oil revenue rose 4%.