Saudi Arabia Q3 non-oil revenue up 48 percent, finance minister says at FII

Saudi Arabia's third-quarter non-oil revenue jumped 48 percent from the same period last year, to 211 billion riyals ($56.25 billion), its finance minister said on Thursday.

The kingdom, which is working on a number of economic reforms to diversify its oil-reliant economy, had non-oil revenues of 89.4 billion riyals in the second quarter, up 42 percent year on year.

Speaking at an investment conference in Riyadh, Mohammed al-Jadaan said that spending in the third quarter went up by 25 percent.

Saudi Arabia's government expects to run a budget deficit of 128 billion riyals next year, compared with a 195 billion riyal deficit projected for 2018 in the original budget for this year, Jadaan said last month.

Jadaan said Saudi Arabia aims to achieve a balanced budget over time, including occasional surpluses or
deficits depending on economic conditions.

"Deficit is okay when it is controlled and surplus is okay if we are at a good time, particularly in a country depending on a commodity that is subject to volatility," Jadaan told the conference.