Saudi, UAE introduce VAT in first for Gulf
1 January 2018
Saudi Arabia compounded the New Year blow for motorists with an unannounced hike of up to 127 percent in petrol prices with immediate effect from midnight...
Last month, it cut the government subsidy on electricity supply for the second time in two years, leading to a sharp rise in bills.
Riyadh posted budget deficits totalling $260 billion over the past four fiscal years and does not expect to balance its books before 2023.
To finance its mounting public debt, the kingdom has withdrawn around $250 billion from its reserves over the past four years, reducing them to $490 billion.
It has also borrowed around $100 billion from the international and domestic markets.
