13
Economic Research Monthly Economic Report July 2020 Please see penultimate page for additional important disclosures. Al Rajhi Capital (Al Rajhi) is a foreign broker-dealer unregistered in the USA. Al Rajhi research is prepared by research analysts who are not registered in the USA. Al Rajhi research is distributed in the USA pursuant to Rule 15a-6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 solely by Rosenblatt Securities, an SEC registered and FINRA-member broker-dealer. Saudi Arabian Economy Research Department ARC Research Team Tel. +966 11 836 5468, [email protected] Reopening of the KSA economy post COVID-19 After approximately two prolonged months, the government has eased the economy. Gyms, restaurants and malls are working with 50%-70% customers. However, the travel and tourism sector may take some time to revive as people will tend to avoid, both inbound and outbound, traveling for the next few months. As per the latest data by SAMA, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was witnessed in May 2020. Further, according to a new projection from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Saudi Arabia's GDP is expected to contract by 6.8% this year due to low oil prices and the adverse effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. The monthly data released for May showed that the banking sector profits fell 39.4% y-o- y (-10.7% m-o-m) in May. POS transactions declined 15.7% y-o-y as compared to the decline of 33.0% y-o-y in April. SAMA foreign reserves witnessed a y-o-y decline in growth (-13.1% in May Vs -11.2% in April). Furthermore, remittances by Saudi Nationals witnessed a negative growth of 52.1% y-o-y in May as compared to 41.6% y-o-y in April. However, credit to the private sector continued to show a healthy growth (+10.7% y-o-y in May 2020 Vs +11.7 y-o-y in April 2020) along with 48% y-o-y growth in residential mortgage finance by banks Vs 26% y-o-y in April. Further, credit to public sector enterprises grew by 6.1% y-o-y. Meanwhile, deposits grew 10.4% (+1.8% m-o-m), which was mainly driven by the ‘Business and Individual’ segment. Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post- COVID-19 pandemic period, which is expected to be a vital contributor to the overall economic growth. The ministry of tourism planning to start a tourism development fund with an initial capital investment of SAR 15bn, to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and attract more foreign travelers and also create more job opportunities. Overall, we believe that the Saudi Arabian economy will continue to improve, supported by the government’s commitment to boost the non-oil sector. Meanwhile, the cost of living index continued to be in a positive trajectory in May (+1.1% y-o-y Vs +1.3% y-o-y in April). The growth in the Saudi Arabian money supply continued its uptrend in May at +10.2% y-o-y, supported by the rise in both M1 and M2. Further, the Index of Industrial Production increased 11.4% m-o-m in April (-0.4% m-o-m in March), mainly due to the strong activity in two sectors namely, ‘Mining and Quarrying’ and ‘Electricity & Gas’ sectors’. More details: Credit to the private sector increased 10.7% y-o-y (+0.3% m-o-m) in May 2020, while bank claims on public sector advanced 20.5% y-o-y (+1.6% m-o- m) in the same month. Meanwhile, deposits rose 10.4% y-o-y (+1.8% m-o- m) in May 2020 (Figure 10, 11, 12 & 13). Point-of-sale (POS) transactions declined 15.7% y-o-y in May 2020 (- 33.0% y-o-y in April). Further, the ATM cash withdrawals decreased by 40.1% y-o-y in May as compared to a decline of 43.4% in April. The fall in POS transactions was due to a decline in ‘Clothing & Footwear’, ‘Transportation’ and ‘Restaurants and Hotels’ segments falling 51.8% y-o-y, 41.5% y-o-y and 13.8% y-o-y, respectively (Figure 5, 6 & 7). However, the ‘Food & Beverages’ segment increased +57.4% y-o-y.

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Page 1: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Please see penultimate page for additional important disclosures. Al Rajhi Capital (Al Rajhi) is a foreign broker-dealer unregistered in the USA. Al Rajhi research is prepared by research analysts who are not registered in the USA. Al Rajhi research is distributed in the USA pursuant to Rule 15a-6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 solely by Rosenblatt Securities, an SEC registered and FINRA-member broker-dealer.

Saud

i Ara

bia

n E

cono

my

Research Department ARC Research Team

Tel. +966 11 836 5468, [email protected]

Reopening of the KSA economy post COVID-19

After approximately two prolonged months, the government has eased the

economy. Gyms, restaurants and malls are working with 50%-70%

customers. However, the travel and tourism sector may take some time to

revive as people will tend to avoid, both inbound and outbound, traveling

for the next few months. As per the latest data by SAMA, the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic was witnessed in May 2020. Further, according to a

new projection from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Saudi Arabia's

GDP is expected to contract by 6.8% this year due to low oil prices and the

adverse effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. The monthly

data released for May showed that the banking sector profits fell 39.4% y-o-

y (-10.7% m-o-m) in May. POS transactions declined 15.7% y-o-y as

compared to the decline of 33.0% y-o-y in April. SAMA foreign reserves

witnessed a y-o-y decline in growth (-13.1% in May Vs -11.2% in April).

Furthermore, remittances by Saudi Nationals witnessed a negative growth

of 52.1% y-o-y in May as compared to 41.6% y-o-y in April. However, credit

to the private sector continued to show a healthy growth (+10.7% y-o-y in

May 2020 Vs +11.7 y-o-y in April 2020) along with 48% y-o-y growth in

residential mortgage finance by banks Vs 26% y-o-y in April. Further, credit

to public sector enterprises grew by 6.1% y-o-y. Meanwhile, deposits grew

10.4% (+1.8% m-o-m), which was mainly driven by the ‘Business and

Individual’ segment. Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to

activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-

COVID-19 pandemic period, which is expected to be a vital contributor to the

overall economic growth. The ministry of tourism planning to start a

tourism development fund with an initial capital investment of SAR 15bn, to

diversify the Kingdom’s economy and attract more foreign travelers and

also create more job opportunities. Overall, we believe that the Saudi

Arabian economy will continue to improve, supported by the government’s

commitment to boost the non-oil sector.

Meanwhile, the cost of living index continued to be in a positive trajectory in

May (+1.1% y-o-y Vs +1.3% y-o-y in April). The growth in the Saudi Arabian

money supply continued its uptrend in May at +10.2% y-o-y, supported by

the rise in both M1 and M2. Further, the Index of Industrial Production

increased 11.4% m-o-m in April (-0.4% m-o-m in March), mainly due to the

strong activity in two sectors namely, ‘Mining and Quarrying’ and

‘Electricity & Gas’ sectors’.

More details:

Credit to the private sector increased 10.7% y-o-y (+0.3% m-o-m) in May

2020, while bank claims on public sector advanced 20.5% y-o-y (+1.6% m-o-

m) in the same month. Meanwhile, deposits rose 10.4% y-o-y (+1.8% m-o-

m) in May 2020 (Figure 10, 11, 12 & 13).

Point-of-sale (POS) transactions declined 15.7% y-o-y in May 2020 (-

33.0% y-o-y in April). Further, the ATM cash withdrawals decreased by 40.1%

y-o-y in May as compared to a decline of 43.4% in April. The fall in POS

transactions was due to a decline in ‘Clothing & Footwear’, ‘Transportation’

and ‘Restaurants and Hotels’ segments falling 51.8% y-o-y, 41.5% y-o-y and

13.8% y-o-y, respectively (Figure 5, 6 & 7). However, the ‘Food & Beverages’

segment increased +57.4% y-o-y.

Page 2: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 2

Saudi Arabia maintained its upward trend in the global competitiveness rankings, moving

up two notches to the 24th position as the most competitive economy, compared to 26th in

2019 and 39th in 2018, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2020, published

by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Saudi Arabia’s GDP to contract by

6.8% this year, but to rebound back to a 3.1% growth in 2021. In April, the Washington-based

international crisis lender had forecasted a 2.3% GDP contraction this year and a 2.9%

growth in 2021.

SAMA foreign reserves, on an annual basis, fell 13.1% in May 2020 versus a decline of

11.2% y-o-y in April. However, on a monthly basis, reserves increased 0.2% in May (-5.2% m-

o-m in April) (Figure 8 & 9). Meanwhile, as of May, government reserves with SAMA stood at

SAR 471.18bn (including government current account), a monthly decline of 4.6%.

Residential new mortgage finance to individuals by banks witnessed a robust

growth of 48% in May 2020 Vs 26% in April. Further, 62% of the total new mortgage to

individuals by banks in 2019 has already been achieved in the first five months of 2020.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) advanced 11.4% m-o-m in April, supported by an

increase in ‘Mining and Quarrying’ and ‘Electricity and Gas’ sectors’ activity, 23.3% and 3.3%

m-o-m, respectively. However, ‘Manufacturing Industry’ sectors saw m-o-m decline of 23.6%

in April as against the decline of 1.8% in the previous month (Figures 2 & 3).

Banking sector profits declined 39.4% y-o-y to stand at SAR 2,895mn in May 2020 (-

31.3% y-o-y in April 2020). Further, on a monthly basis, the banking sector profits declined

by 10.7% m-o-m in May (-10.3% m-o-m in April (Figure 16 & 17).

Money Supply (M3) continued to grow in May (+10.2% y-o-y) to stand at SAR 2,075bn,

supported by rise in both M1 and M2. As per the weekly money supply data by SAMA, M3

may be lower in June than in May (Figure 14).

Remittances (Personal Transfers) by Saudi nationals declined by 52.1% y-o-y in May (-

41.6% y-o-y in April), while growth in remittances by non-Saudi nationals advanced 18.4% y-

o-y in the same month (-8.7% y-o-y in April) (Figure 4).

Saudi Arabia posted a trade deficit of SAR 970mn in April 2020, for the first time since

February 2016, compared to SAR 36.4bn surplus in the year-earlier period, data issued by the

General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) showed. In the previous month, the Kingdom

reported a trade surplus of SAR 6.5bn.

Cost of living index continued to be in a positive trajectory in the month of May 2020. The

index rose 1.1% y-o-y in May, versus the rise of 1.3% y-o-y in April. The ‘Housing, Water,

Electricity & Gas’ sector (accounting ~25.5% of the index) decreased 0.4% y-o-y in May (-

0.5% y-o-y in April), whereas, the ‘Food & Beverages’ sector (constituting ~18.8% of the

index) rose 7.0% y-o-y (+6.1% y-o-y in the previous month). On a monthly basis, the cost of

living index fell 0.2% in May (-0.1% m-o-m in April) (Figure 18 & 19).

Crude oil prices (Brent June futures contract) increased 8.4% MTD in June 2020,

supported by increased investor sentiments over production cuts by major oil producers.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian crude oil production declined 11.5% y-o-y (-24.9% m-o-m), to

8.700mbpd in May, as compared to the rise of 18.4% y-o-y in April (Figure 20 & 21).

Crude price outlook: The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its June 2020

report estimated monthly Brent crude oil prices will average US$37/barrel during the second

half of 2020 and rise to an average of US$48/barrel in 2021.

Page 3: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 3

Figure 1 Key macro indicators

Variable May-20 Apr-20 Mar-20 2019 2018

Inflation Rate (2018=100) % 1.1% 1.3% 1.5% -2.1% 2.5%

May-20 Apr-20 Mar-20 2019 2018

Average Oil Price (Arab Light) (US$/Barrel) 25.0 18.3 35.6 65.0 70.6

May-20 Apr-20 Mar-20 2019 2018

Money Supply (M3) % 10.2% 10.0% 9.8% 7.1% 2.7%

Total Banking Sector Claims 12.5 13.3 13.3 10.4 5.3

Interbank Interest Rate (3 Month) % 1.129 1.228 1.302 2.632 2.451

Repo Rate % 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.25 3.00

Reverse Repo Rate % 0.5 0.5 0.50 1.75 2.5

Q4 2019* Q4 2019* Q3 2019* 2019* 2018

GDP Rate at Constant Prices (2010=100) % -0.3% -0.5% -0.5% 0.3% 2.4%

Q1 2020* Q4 2019* Q3 2019* 2019 2018

Current Account to GDP Ratio (current prices) % - 4.5% 4.6% 5.9% 9.2%

Total Imports (fob) to GDP Ratio (current prices)% - 15.5% 17.0% 16.7% 16.0%

Non-oil Exports to GDP Ratio (current prices) % - 7.0% 7.3% 7.5% 8.0% Source: SAMA, Bloomberg; *Provisional.

Index of Industrial Production The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) advanced 11.4% m-o-m in April 2020 as against the

decline of 0.4% m-o-m in March 2020, supported by strong activity in ‘Mining and

Quarrying’ and ‘Electricity & Gas’ sectors’ activity.

Figure 2 General Index of Industrial Production Index Figure 3 IIP sectors trend

125.16126.61

125.37

127.33

121.55

130.71

125.12

121.88121.72121.89121.45

135.24

110

115

120

125

130

135

140

General Index of Industrial Production

120 118 120 117 120

112

126121

118 120 120 119

147149 146 146 149 149 150 148143 140

136 134 132

101

113 138 150 149 148 147 115 91 89 70 75 94 97

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

160.00

Mining and Quarrying Manufacturing Industry Electricity and Gas

Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital

IIP saw m-o-m growth of 11.4% in April 2020

Page 4: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 4

Remittance

Remittances (Personal Transfers) from Saudi nationals declined 52.1% y-o-y (-41.6% y-o-y in

April) to ~SAR 2.98bn in May 2020, whereas remittances growth from non-Saudi nationals

increased 18.4% y-o-y (-8.7% y-o-y in April) to stand at ~SAR 11.8bn.

Figure 4 Remittances

-60.0%

-50.0%

-40.0%

-30.0%

-20.0%

-10.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

SAR mn

Saudi Non-Saudi Saudi y-o-y change (RHS) Non Saudi y-o-y change (RHS)

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Consumer spending indicators

POS transactions declined 15.7% y-o-y in May 2020 (-33.0% y-o-y in April), whereas the

growth in ATM cash withdrawals dropped 40.1% y-o-y in May (-43.4% y-o-y in April). The

decline in POS transactions was primarily due to fall in ‘Clothing and Footwear’ (-51.8% y-o-

y), ‘Transportation’ (-41.5% y-o-y) and ‘Restaurants and Hotels’ (-13.8% y-o-y) segments.

However, ‘Food & Beverages’ segment increased 57.4% y-o-y.

Figure 5 Point-of-sale transactions (POS) trend Figure 6 ATM cash transactions withdrawals trend

-40%

-30%

-20%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

-

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

POS YoY

SAR bn

-50%

-40%

-30%

-20%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

-

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

ATM Cash withdrawals YoY

mn

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Remittances by Saudi and non-Saudi nationals declined in May

POS transactions declined in May

Page 5: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 5

Figure 7 Points-of-sale transactions trend by sectors

-100.00%

-80.00%

-60.00%

-40.00%

-20.00%

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

120.00%

YoY change

Transportation Rest. and Hotels Food & Beverages Cloth. and Footwear

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

SAMA Foreign Exchange Reserves

SAMA Foreign Exchange reserves fell 13.1% y-o-y in May and stood at SAR 1,685bn (US$

449.3bn) as compared to decline of 11.2% y-o-y in April. On a monthly basis in May, reserves

increased 0.2% m-o-m (-5.2% m-o-m in April). Further, foreign currency and deposits

abroad declined 12.8% y-o-y (+1.2% m-o-m) in May as compared to the decline of 3.4% y-o-y

(+0.6% m-o-m) in April; while investment in foreign securities fell 13.9% y-o-y (-0.4% m-o-

m) in May as compared to a decline of 15.7% y-o-y (-8.8% m-o-m) in April.

Figure 8 Reserves assets Figure 9 Major components of foreign assets

-20.0%

-15.0%

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

Reserves Assets YoY (RHS)

SAR bn

(100)

100

300

500

700

900

1,100

1,300

Foreign Currency & Deposits Abroad Investment in Foreign Assets

SAR bn

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

SAMA reserves declined in May

Page 6: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 6

Credit and deposit growth

Banking sector credit growth to the private sector continued to witness positive growth

(+10.7% y-o-y; +0.3% m-o-m in May 2020), versus the growth of (+11.7% y-o-y; +0.5% m-o-

m in April 2020). Further, claims on the public sector increased 20.5% y-o-y (+1.6% m-o-m)

in May 2020, as against the rise of 19.6% y-o-y (+1.3% m-o-m) in April. Mortgage could be

the main driver for this growth.

Meanwhile, deposits grew by 10.4% y-o-y in May 2020 (+1.8% m-o-m), versus the growth of

9.9% y-o-y (+1.0% m-o-m) in April 2020. ‘Business and Individual’ deposits, which

constitute for ~70% of the total deposit base, grew 6.1% y-o-y (+1.2% m-o-m), while

‘Government Entities’ deposits jumped 37.0% y-o-y (+2.5% m-o-m).

Figure 10 Credit and deposit growth Figure 11 Loans to Deposits

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

9.0%

10.0%

11.0%

12.0%

13.0%

Deposits Credit

YoY

73.0%

74.0%

75.0%

76.0%

77.0%

78.0%

79.0%

80.0%

81.0%

82.0%

83.0%

Loan to Deposit Ratio

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Figure 12 Y-o-Y growth/decline in credit by sector Figure 13 Banking sector exposure by economic activity

-20%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

Q1 2017

Q2 2017

Q3 2017

Q4 2017

Q1 2018

Q2 2018

Q3 2018

Q4 2018

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2020

YoY change

Manufacturing & Processing Building and Construction Commerce

11% 12% 12% 12% 12% 11% 11% 10% 10%

7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 6%

22% 20% 20% 20% 19% 20% 19% 19% 17%

59% 61% 61% 62% 62% 62% 63% 65% 66%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020

Manufacturing & Processing Building and Construction Commerce Others

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Private sector credit continued its

upper trend in May

Page 7: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 7

Money supply

Broader money supply (M3) grew in May (+10.2% y-o-y) to stand at SAR 2,075bn, versus the

growth of 10.0% in April. M1 advanced 14.6% y-o-y (+13.2% y-o-y in April); while M2

increased 10.6% y-o-y in May (+11.0% y-o-y in April). Further, on a monthly basis, the M3

rose 1.9% in May (+1.3% m-o-m in April). As per the weekly money supply data by SAMA, M3

may be lower in June than in the month of May.

Figure 14 Money supply growth (y-o-y) Figure 15 Deposits break-up

-3%

-1%

1%

3%

5%

7%

9%

11%

13%

15%

M1 M2 M3

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

Time and Saving Deposits (LHS) Demand Deposits (LHS)

SAR bn

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Banking Sector

Banking sector profits declined 39.4% y-o-y in May 2020 (-31.3% y-o-y in April 2020), to

stand at SAR 2,895mn. On a monthly basis, profits declined by 10.7% in May 2020, as

against the decline of 10.3% m-o-m in April 2020.

Figure 16 Non-performing loans (%) Figure 17 Net Profit for Banks

1.24 1.20 1.20

1.30 1.40

1.40 1.40

1.50

1.60

1.70

1.80 1.80

1.95 1.94 1.90 1.90

1.86

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.0

Nonperforming loans to total gross loans

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

SAR mn

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

Source: SAMA, Al Rajhi Capital

M3 grew y-o-y in May

Banking sector profits fell in May.

Page 8: Economic Research...Going forward, Saudi Arabia would be working to activate the role of the private sector to drive economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, which is

Economic Research Monthly Economic Report

July 2020

Disclosures Please refer to the important disclosures at the back of this report. 8

Inflation dynamics

Cost of living index continued to be in the positive trajectory. The index rose at a rate of 1.1%

y-o-y in May, as compared to the rise of 1.3% y-o-y in April. Segment wise, the ‘Housing,

Water, Electricity & Gas’ sector (constituting ~25.5% of the index) declined 0.4% y-o-y in

May (-0.5% y-o-y in April), whereas the ‘Food & Beverages’ sector (accounting ~18.8% of the

index) increased 7.0% y-o-y in May (+6.1% y-o-y last month). The ‘Transport’ sector

(accounting ~13.1% of the index) lost 3.8% in May (-0.4% y-o-y last month). On a monthly

basis, the cost of living index fell 0.2% in May as compared to the decline of 0.1% in April.

Figure 18 Inflation trend (y-o-y)

-2.1%-1.9%

-1.1% -1.0% -1.0%

-0.8%

-0.4%

0.1%0.3%

0.4%

1.2%1.5%

1.3%1.1%

-2.5%

-2.0%

-1.5%

-1.0%

-0.5%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20

General Index

Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital (*Numbers are restated according to the base year 2018)

Figure 19 Inflation Segments

Weights May-20 May-19 Change (y-o-y)

General Index 100.0% 98.5 97.47 1.1%

Food & Beverages 18.8% 108.46 101.41 7.0%

Tobacco 0.6% 102.07 101.01 1.0%

Clothing & Footwear 4.2% 98.57 99.42 -0.9%

Housing, Water, Electricity and Gas 25.5% 90.83 91.17 -0.4%

Furnishings and Household Equipments 6.7% 100.3 98.91 1.4%

Health 1.4% 99.86 100.26 -0.4%

Transport 13.1% 94.26 97.94 -3.8%

Communication 5.6% 98.11 98.94 -0.8%

Recreation & Culture 3.1% 97.7 96.9 0.8%

Education 2.9% 103.37 102.14 1.2%

Restaurants and Hotels 5.6% 103.35 102.78 0.6%

Miscellaneous Goods & Services 12.6% 101.06 98.73 2.4% Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital (Base year 2018)

Cost of living index continued to be in positive trajectory in May

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Crude oil dynamics Crude oil prices (Brent June futures contract) rose 8.4% MTD in June 2020. The month’s

gain was aided by positive investor sentiments after production cut by major oil producers.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian crude oil production declined 11.5% y-o-y, to 8.700mbpd in

May as against the rise of 18.4% in April. Further, on a monthly basis, the Saudi Arabian

crude oil production declined 24.9% in May.

Figure 20 Saudi crude oil production trend (mbpd) Figure 21 Crude oil prices trend (US$/bbl)

-20.0%

-15.0%

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

8.000

8.500

9.000

9.500

10.000

10.500

11.000

11.500

12.000

Saudi Crude oil production YoY growth

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

Brent WTI Arab Light

Source: Bloomberg, Al Rajhi Capital Source: Bloomberg, Al Rajhi Capital

Non-oil foreign trade

Kingdom’s non-oil exports growth fell and remained in the negative zone for the fifteenth

consecutive month in April 2020, by 35.2% y-o-y, compared to a decline of 22.1% y-o-y in

March. This decline was majorly due to the fall in plastics & rubbers (-26.8% y-o-y), chemical

products (-38.3% y-o-y) and Ordinary Metals (-38.0% y-o-y) accounting for ~35.1%, ~29.3%

and ~7.3% of total exports, respectively. Further, non-oil imports declined 28.4% y-o-y in

April 2020, as compared to the decline of 4.6% y-o-y in March. The decline was due to fall in

transport & equipment (-31.5% y-o-y) and machinery & electrical (-30.0% y-o-y), accounting

for ~19.7% and ~19.0% of total imports, respectively. Meanwhile, China is the top export

destination and also continued to be the largest import country in April.

Crude oil prices increased on a MTD basis in June

Non-oil exports growth continued

to be in the negative

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Figure 22 Non-Oil Exports

Commodities (SAR mn) Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 % y-o-y % m-o-m

Plastics & Rubbers 4,543 4,750 4,602 -26.8% -3.1%

Chemical Products 4,760 4,851 3,839 -38.3% -20.9%

Ordinary Metals 1,410 1,433 959 -38.0% -33.1%

Transport Equipments  1,320 449 953 -35.6% 112.4%

Others 3,899 4,075 2,759 -41.4% -32.3%

Total 15,932 15,557 13,111 -35.2% -15.7% Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital

Figure 23 Non-Oil Imports

Commodities (SAR mn) Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 % y-o-y % m-o-m

Machinery & Electricals 8,247 8,053 7,218 -30.0% -10.4%

Transport Equipments 7,402 6,623 7,501 -31.5% 13.3%

Ordinary Metals 3,931 4,972 3,797 -19.1% -23.6%

Chemical Products 4,515 4,937 4,305 -9.9% -12.8%

Others 17,544 17,424 15,264 -31.9% -12.4%

Total 41,639 42,009 38,085 -28.4% -9.3%

Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital

Figure 24 Non-oil export trend (y-o-y) Figure 25 Non-oil import trend (y-o-y)

-3.0%

-19.9%

-4.7%

-14.0%

-5.6% -5.5%

-14.3%-13.2%

-6.3%

-15.0%-12.1%

-22.1%

-35.2%

-40.0%

-30.0%

-20.0%

-10.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

Non-oil Export

YoY

12.6%

-11.2%1.3%

4.5%

-2.8%

-5.4%

-7.1%-2.8%

18.3%

-12.5%

3.2%

-4.6%

-28.4%

-40.0%

-30.0%

-20.0%

-10.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Non-oil Import

YoY

Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital Source: GASTAT, Al Rajhi Capital

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Saudi international bond yields

Saudi international bond yields with 30 year maturity, 10 year maturity and 5 year

maturity declined by 20.1bps to 3.544%, 37.7 bps to 1.768% and 42.3 bps to 0.983%

MTD, respectively, in June 2020.

Figure 26 International Bond Yields

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

22-O

ct-

16

26-N

ov-1

6

31-D

ec-1

6

4-F

eb

-17

11-M

ar-

17

15-A

pr-

17

20-M

ay-1

7

24-J

un-1

7

29-J

ul-17

2-S

ep

-17

7-O

ct-

17

11-N

ov-1

7

16-D

ec-1

7

20-J

an-1

8

24-F

eb

-18

31-M

ar-

18

5-M

ay-1

8

9-J

un-1

8

14-J

ul-18

18-A

ug

-18

22-S

ep

-18

27-O

ct-

18

1-D

ec-1

8

5-J

an-1

9

9-F

eb

-19

16-M

ar-

19

20-A

pr-

19

25-M

ay-1

9

29-J

un-1

9

3-A

ug

-19

7-S

ep

-19

12-O

ct-

19

16-N

ov-1

9

21-D

ec-1

9

25-J

an-2

0

29-F

eb

-20

4-A

pr-

20

9-M

ay-2

0

13-J

un-2

0

30 Yr 10 Yr 5 Yr Source: Bloomberg, Al Rajhi Capital

Exchange Rates

On the forex front, Australian Dollar, the Euro, the Chinese Yuan, the Canadian Dollar

and the Japanese Yen rose against the US Dollar on a MTD basis in June. However, the

British Pound fell against the US Dollar on a MTD basis in June.

Figure 27 Monthly Change (%) against the US Dollar

-0.5%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

Australia Europe China Canada Japan UK

Monthly Change (%) against USD

Source: Bloomberg, Al Rajhi Capital

Saudi International 30, 10 and 5 year bond yields fell on a MTD basis in May

AUD, EUR, CAD, CNY and CNY rose on a MTD basis against the USD

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Disclaimer and additional disclosures for Economic Research

Disclaimer

This research document has been prepared by Al Rajhi Capital Company (“Al Rajhi Capital”) of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has been prepared for the general use of Al Rajhi Capital’s clients and may not be redistributed, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of Al Rajhi Capital. Receipt and review of this research document constitute your agreement not to redistribute, retransmit, or disclose to others the contents, opinions, conclusion, or information contained in this document prior to public disclosure of such information by Al Rajhi Capital. The information contained was obtained from various public sources believed to be reliable but we do not guarantee its accuracy. Al Rajhi Capital makes no representations or warranties (express or implied) regarding the data and information provided and Al Rajhi Capital does not represent that the information content of this document is complete, or free from any error, not misleading, or fit for any particular purpose. This research document provides general information only. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes an offer or an invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any securities or other investment products related to such securities or investments. It is not intended to provide personal investment advice and it does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any specific person who may receive this document.

Investors should seek financial, legal or tax advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any securities, other investment or investment strategies discussed or recommended in this document and should understand that statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. Investors should note that income from such securities or other investments, if any, may fluctuate and that the price or value of such securities and investments may rise or fall. Fluctuations in exchange rates could have adverse effects on the value of or price of, or income derived from, certain investments. Accordingly, investors may receive back less than originally invested. Al Rajhi Capital or its officers or one or more of its affiliates (including research analysts) may have a financial interest in securities of the issuer(s) or related investments, including long or short positions in securities, warrants, futures, options, derivatives, or other financial instruments. Al Rajhi Capital or its affiliates may from time to time perform investment banking or other services for, solicit investment banking or other business from, any company mentioned in this research document. Al Rajhi Capital, together with its affiliates and employees, shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damages that may arise, directly or indirectly, from any use of the information contained in this research document.

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