Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses 25% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 5.5 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors. The government is encouraging private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and to increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. The government is promoting private sector and foreign participation in the power generation, telecom, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. As part of its effort to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO in December 2005 after many years of negotiations. With high oil revenues enabling the government to post large budget surpluses, Riyadh has substantially boosted spending on job training and education, infrastructure development, and government salaries. The government has announced plans to establish six "economic cities" in different regions of the country to promote development and diversification. More finance information from Saudi Arabia:

General Economic Links:

Chase.com With many branches across the U.S., Chase provides many personal and business banking services DealBook The New York Times online daily digest of finance news and analysis is constantly updated during the market day. Federal Trade Commission – Credit The credit section of the FTC’s website has lots of great consumer information and articles Financial Times This venerable international business newspaper reports extensively on business and stock markets. Financial-portal.com Portal presents comprehensive financial resources, articles, news, stats, indexes, financial institutions etc: - articles on financial topics - financial news - latest currency charts - latest gold, silver, platinum and other precious metal prices - current financial indexes and dynamic graphs - universal currency converters (all major currencies) - stock, commodity and other major exchanges Finweb.com - the independent financial portal "Financial security. Everyone wants it; few have it. Many do not realize that true financial security requires strength in every area of one’s financial affairs. It requires a systematic approach, a strategic plan implemented over time, in order to obtain it. But it can be obtained. With the proper educational training and discipline, financial stability and security is within anyone’s grasp. That’s why we’re here: to provide you with a solid foundation of valuable financial knowledge from which to proceed..." Fitch Ratings Provides independent global credit rating information for the world’s credit markets Forbes.com Extensive coverage of business and financial news, Forbes is one of the premier sites covering the world of business. Google Finance Google Finance provides an unclutered interface to finance news, market summary with graphs, stock quotes, top movers and other indicators. Also search companies by stock code. Kiplinger Personal finance site that offers calculators, business news, quotes and much more personal finance information MarketWatch This Dow Jones operated site provides personal finance news, advice and stock market data and analysis MSN Money The MSN (Microsoft Network) provides a finance portal including latest finance news, market updates and resources. United States Department of the Treasury The federal agency concerned with the financial and economic growth of the United States. Yahoo Finance The Yahoo search engine provides a finance portal with breaking news, market summaries and editor articles.