Country Report Saudi Arabia May 2009

Summary

The rule of the Al Saud family is not expected to encounter any fundamental challenges in 2009-10, with the opposition fragmented and suppressed.
Government policy will focus largely on economic development and will prioritise shoring up economic growth in the face of the global economic slowdown. Partial municipal elections scheduled for 2009 may be delayed.
The state oil company will continue to invest in a large-scale expansion of crude oil and gas capacity, although some refinery projects will be delayed.
GDP is projected to shrink by 1% in 2009, the first such contraction for a decade. Rising government spending and subsidies for private-sector investment should partly offset a major oil sector contraction.
GDP growth should recover to 3.3% in 2010 as oil output expands gently.
The fiscal account is forecast to record substantial deficits in 2009-10, for the first time since 2002.
The current account is forecast to record deficits of 8.4% of GDP in 2009, with the price of dated Brent Blend averaging US$40/barrel, and 1.9% of GDP in 2010, with Brent at US$50/b.

A conference of municipal councils has recommended that women should be able to vote. However, there has been little press discussion of the municipal elections that were originally due to take place this year.
During his visit to Riyadh, the capital, in April, the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, sought to persuade Saudi Arabia to take custody of around 100 Yemeni nationals currently detained in Guantanamo Bay.
Saudi Arabia has maintained its recent oil production cuts, with crude production estimated at 7.95 barrels/day (b/d) in April, unchanged from February and March, according to the International Energy Agency.
The chief executive of Aramco, Khalid al-Falih, has said that the 1.2m-b/d Khurais oilfield development will be completed in a matter of weeks.
A Ministry of Labour study has suggested that some unskilled workers should be sponsored by private-sector recruitment firms, rather than by their employers, potentially making it easier for them to change jobs.
The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has agreed on Riyadh as the location for a proposed joint monetary authority.
First-quarter corporate results have shown weaker profitsand some lossesin year-on-year terms for most companies.

Source: Country Report

This report covers the following industry codes:
SIC Code: 70;47;1
NAICS Code: 72;48;11