Saudi Arabia to hike borrowing to stimulate virus-hit economy

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia plans to raise borrowing by 20 percentage points to 50 percent of GDP to steady an economy rocked by plunging oil prices and the new coronavirus, the finance minister said Friday.
Oil is the mainstay of government revenue and this week slipped below $25 a barrel to touch 18-year lows.
Demand for oil Demand for oil has plunged as a result of the deadly virus hitting demand, while control of supply has loosened, with Riyadh and Moscow engaged in a price war.
“We will raise the proportion of borrowing from 30 to 50 percent of GDP”, said Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan.
The accumulated public debt burden would not exceed 50 percent of GDP until 2022, based on the latest borrowing projections, he said.
Jadaan added that while the deficit would increase, he did not anticipate it exceeding seven percent to nine percent of GDP for the current year.