The International Monetary Fund expects Saudi government-led reforms and private investment growth to help support growth in the kingdom's non-oil economy amid expectations of a sharp slowdown in overall growth this year.
According to the IMF, Saudi GDP growth will more than halve to 3.1 percent this year, in line with forecasts for Middle Eastern oil exporters, but growth is higher than the 2.6 percent growth rate the IMF forecast in January.
Saudi Arabia's economy grew 8.7 percent last year as rising oil prices boosted revenues and led to the kingdom's first budget surplus in nearly 10 years.
Source: (Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)