The Ministry of Economy and Planning launched on Sunday a novel economic analysis index, known as MEPX, to monitor the performance of the Kingdom’s private sector, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

MEPX is a leading indicator that has been designed and developed by the Ministry’s economic analysts to track ten economic factors classified into four categories, consumers, firms, and the financial and trade sectors. It provides regular, in-depth analysis of the Kingdom’s private sector business cycles through advanced econometrics techniques, SPA said.

The insights and analysis gathered by MEPX will enable the Ministry to further support the Kingdom’s economic policymaking and strategies based on emerging data, market trends and fluctuations.

Commenting on the launch of the innovative economic tool, Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal F. Alibrahim said: “The first MEPX business cycle composite index marks an important milestone in our mission to provide accurate, trusted, and transparent economic data and statistics in the Kingdom.

“As the Kingdom records its fastest economic growth in a decade, increasing access to emerging data is crucial to informing pro-growth policymaking as we look to enhance the private sector’s contribution to 65 percent of Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2030.”

He added: “MEPX will allow economists, policymakers and business leaders to not only analyze and predict emerging trends but proactively Identify short and medium-term growth opportunities to ensure we continue to progress sustainably on our journey of social and economic transformation.”

According to the latest World Economic Outlook Report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October, Saudi Arabia is set to become the world’s fastest growing major economy in 2022, with a growth rate of 7.6%.