RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded an annual 8.8 per cent in the third quarter, keeping the oil-rich kingdom on track to be the fastest-growing among the Group of 20 economies this year.

The final figure was slightly higher than a preliminary estimate of 8.6 per cent due to further expansion in the non-oil economy, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed on Sunday. All sectors displayed positive annual growth.

Saudi Arabia has previously said it anticipates full-year economic growth of 8.5 per cent, as well as its first budget surplus in nearly a decade.

The figures suggest a measure of success in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify and open up the economy of the world’s largest crude exporter, ambitions that partly hinge on Saudi Arabia’s ability to secure more capital from overseas.

Oil-related GDP grew 14.2 per cent in the third quarter, less than the 14.5 per cent estimate, while the non-oil economy – the engine of job creation – grew 6 per cent, compared with an anticipated 5.6 per cent. 

Foreign direct investment has increased steadily since the transformation plan was announced more than half a decade ago, but much of it is still pumped into fossil fuels. 

All the same, business activity in the non-oil economy has been on a recent tear, expanding at the fastest pace in more than seven years in November as new order growth accelerated and businesses became more optimistic.

The kingdom last week also revised upward its forecast for next year’s budget surplus from projections made just three months ago, signalling confidence its revenues will hold up despite oil-market jitters and fears of a global slowdown. Saudi Arabia expects its economy to expand 3.1 per cent in 2023. BLOOMBERG