S&P affirms Saudi ratings at ‘A-/A-2’ with stable outlook

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabia’s long- and short-term ratings at “A-/A-2” with a stable outlook.

“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Saudi Arabia will maintain a pace of moderate economic growth and retain strong government and external balance sheets over the next two years,” the firm said.

The government will likely try to reduce its budgeted expenditure to achieve its goal of a balanced budget by 2023, as its ambitious strategy aims to reduce the economy's dependency on oil and imported labor, the ratings company added.