Jan 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's finance minister has approved the kingdom's 2026 borrowing plan, with financing needs of about 217 billion riyals ($57.86 billion), the state news agency said on Saturday.

The amount is intended to cover the projected budget deficit for the 2026 fiscal year, estimated at around 165 billion riyals ($44.00 billion), as well as the repayment of principal due in 2026, amounting to about 52 billion riyals, it added.

($1 = 3.7502 riyals)

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Hatem Maher)

((Hatem.Maher@thomsonreuters.com;))