Saudi Arabia's economy is expected to continue growing in 2016, albeit at a slower rate than last year, the finance minister said on Tuesday.
"The Saudi economy is still growing at good rates, close to 3.5 per cent in 2015, and we expect the growth to continue positively however at a lower rate this year," Ibrahim Alassaf told a business conference in the Saudi capital.
While Alassaf rarely speaks in public, giving his remarks additional weight, his comments reflect the sentiments expressed by other Saudi officials and economists in recent weeks.
The kingdom's economy is likely to grow by about two per cent in 2016, Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, deputy governor for research and international affairs at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, said earlier this month.
Reuters
22 March
