Saudi foreign exchange reserves rose slightly during the month of May, after a record decline in the previous two months as a result of the Kingdom's use of tens of billions of dollars to support the investments of the sovereign wealth fund.
Data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (the central bank) showed that net foreign assets increased in May to 444.82 billion dollars from 444.1 billion dollars in April. Saudi Arabia transferred $40 billion in reserves to the sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, between March and April to support acquisitions of shares in foreign companies.
In this regard, the Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, indicated that the Kingdom will take very strict measures, considering that these measures may be painful to reduce the effects of the Corona crisis, explaining that "all options for dealing with the economic crisis are currently open, where we must strongly reduce the budget expenditures," revealing that the budget figures for the first quarter did not show the impact of Corona significantly, explaining that "Saudi Arabia is committed to the sustainability of public finances and the provision of what is necessary to confront the pandemic," stressing that "the world and the Kingdom will not return to what it was after Corona to change economic activities."
Source (Al-Khaleej Newspaper-UAE, Edited)
