Saudi Arabia is without question, the most important market in the Middle East. As the region’s biggest economy and home of Islam’s most important sites, the kingdom dominates the regional landscape. The events in March 2020 provide a reminder, if one was needed, that Riyadh is also a key actor on the global stage, and that it is no longer content to operate quietly in the backroom of global politics, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Richard Thompson, Editorial Director at GlobalData comments: “Despite decades of diversification initiatives, the Saudi economy remains dependent on government spending and on oil. That is changing. The launch in April 2016 of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform agenda set a new path for a more diversified, private sector-led economy.”
In October 2017, Riyadh unveiled a series of ‘gigaprojects’, including the $500bn Neom future city, to drive investment and business opportunities. In late 2019, a new round of reforms opened up the tourism market. Critical to the vision are the country’s $1.4 trillion of major projects planned or under construction. Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest projects market in the region, nearly double the size of the next largest market, the UAE.
Thompson continues: “The Kingdom is home to almost half of all projects planned in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). But the collapse in global economic activity caused by the COVID-19 crisis, and the subsequent crash in oil prices, has raised questions about the prospects for Vison 2030 and the Saudi projects sector. In the short-to-medium term, Riyadh’s diversification drive will be severely disrupted. The crisis has introduced urgent economic and health challenges at home and abroad that must take priority.”
The fall in oil revenues coupled with massive stimulus spending and monetary easing initiatives aimed at mitigating the economic disruption will rewrite the kingdom’s fiscal and business landscape for years to come.
Thompson adds: “Riyadh will continue to invest, but its priorities have shifted. Social infrastructure and oil and gas projects now have the highest priority. Investment will continue, but the pace of spending will slow. Rising budget deficits will force Riyadh to increase borrowing and tap new sources of finance. Budgets will be rewritten to minimise deficit and debt growth.
“Over the long term, Saudi Arabia’s strategic goals are unchanged. The Kingdom’s growing population of over 32 million people is driving demand for all kinds of goods and services, ranging from consumer products, to electricity, healthcare services and infrastructure. It is also driving the need for new jobs for the kingdom’s young people. Riyadh must get Vision 2030 back on track as quickly as possible.”
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