Saudi EXIM Bank’s credit facilities more than double to $8.93bn

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to strengthen its economy by deepening private sector partnerships and improving regulatory practices, the Kingdom’s finance minister has said.

Speaking during a roundtable at the US Chamber of Commerce, held on April 23 in Washington alongside the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund,  Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 seeks to reshape and diversify the country’s economy.

This year’s Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF take place against the backdrop of rising trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, raising concerns regarding global economic forecasts and the impact on various economies.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Al-Jadaan “emphasized that one of the Kingdom’s key priorities is establishing clear frameworks and effective governance to enhance integration with the private sector, support economic growth, and achieve the objectives of the Vision.”

The drive to diversify the Saudi economy saw the Kingdom’s gross fixed capital formation reach SR1.18 trillion ($313.68 billion) in 2024, reflecting a 5.3 percent annual increase. This growth was driven by a 7.6 percent rise in private sector investments, according to the Ministry of Investment.

The roundtable was attended by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the US Reema bint Bandar and following his participation in the meeting, Al-Jadaan said in a post on his X account: “We discussed ways to enhance the economic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US, as well as the valuable investment opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030.”

He added that he held talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation, focusing on supporting the efforts of the IMF and the World Bank.

In a separate post, the minister said: “I also met with Tobias Adrian, the IMF’s financial counsellor and director of the monetary and capital markets department, as well as Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s economic counsellor and director of research. We discussed recent developments in global macroeconomic and financial policies.”

In an additional post on X, Al-Jadaan said he held talks with Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s senior vice president for development economics and chief economist, and Ousmane Dione, the bank’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa region. Al-Jadaan added: “We discussed economic developments globally and regionally.”

Al-Jadaan also met with the Syrian Minister of Finance Mohammed Barnieh and the Central Bank of Syria Governor Abdulkader Husrieh to discuss the latest economic developments in Syria and explore ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

A further meeting was held with Sweden’s Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson to discuss global economic developments and ways to enhance bilateral collaboration.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s annual inflation rate eased to 14.2 percent in March, down from 70.36 percent a year earlier, according to the latest data from the country’s Central Administration of Statistics.

A key factor behind easing inflation is the stabilization of the exchange rate, with the Lebanese pound holding steady at around 89,500 Lebanese pounds per US dollar since mid-2023.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s March staff report on Lebanon, this stabilization has been supported by the halt of monetary financing and foreign exchange subsidies, as well as improvements in fiscal revenue collection.

Concurrently, monetary tightening by the central bank has played a critical role. The volume of Lebanese pounds in circulation dropped sharply from $20.51 billion in 2020 to $0.73 billion in 2024, significantly dampening inflationary pressures, as noted in a 2024 analysis by Blominvest.

Dollarization has also accelerated across key sectors such as healthcare, education, and telecommunications, where services are increasingly billed in US dollars.

This shift has helped anchor price stability in dollarized segments of the economy, further moderating consumer price volatility, according to a 2024 article by Bloomberg.

A strong base effect also contributed to the lower year-on-year inflation reading, as March 2024 had recorded exceptionally high price levels, making current figures appear relatively subdued.

Despite the recent moderation, Lebanon’s underlying economic conditions remain fragile. The expanding dollarization trend has also deepened inequality, disproportionately impacting households and workers who continue to be paid in the domestic currency.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.44 percent in March, a modest uptick by Lebanon’s recent standards. The increase was driven mainly by higher costs in food and beverages, housing and utilities, and clothing and footwear.

However, the magnitude of monthly price changes has notably cooled compared to previous years, when double-digit jumps were not uncommon.

Regionally, inflation trends varied across governorates. The north of Lebanon recorded the highest monthly inflation at 1.41 percent, driven primarily by food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, which rose 3.8 percent month-on-month.

The Nabatieh region followed with a monthly rise of 0.81 percent, while Mount Lebanon posted the lowest increase at 0.11 percent and Beirut at 0.33 percent.

This divergence highlights the continued impact of geographic and income disparities on exposure to inflation.

Lebanon’s consumer price index is calculated by CAS using a representative basket of goods and services based on 2013 consumption patterns. The CPI remains the country’s most widely cited benchmark for tracking the cost of living.