Saudi Arabia is undergoing reforms to face local, international challenges: Finance Minister

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Thursday that the Kingdom has been undergoing a list of reforms to face local and international challenges. 

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative 2019 in Riyadh, he added that these “significant and structured” taking place for the past 2 years aim to achieve growth in line with Saudi Vision 2030, and helped Saudi Arabia advance in the ranking of leading international agencies among 192 nations.

Finance minister shed light on the progress made in terms of the government responsiveness to the economic transformations, which paved the way for attaining economic growth in different non-oil sectors such as tourism, technology, sports, entertainment, and construction.

Al-Jadaan stated that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) saw 10 percent growth which, he said, proves there is more confidence in the Saudi investment scheme as well as the Kingdom’s economic and fiscal policies.

He further explained that the number of licenses granted to foreign investors and firms has also risen.

Finance minister also highlighted the significant role of the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in reducing the burden of the government expenditure budgets, specifically in water salinization and healthcare-related projects.  

Saudi Arabia has reduced its oil production by 3 percent to ensure the stability of the energy market and sustainability within the OPEC+ agreement, Al-Jadaan asserted.

On the collaboration with other GCC countries, he said there are extensive efforts to reform our economies and work collectively.

The session also covered economic reforms, investment, and innovation across Saudi Arabia and the GCC, the Middle East which paved the way for them to become an international investment powerhouse.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is organizing the third annual Future Investment Initiative 2019 (FII) themed ‘What is next for global business?’, under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, from October 29th to 31st 2019 in Riyadh.

Write to Christine El Cheikh at christine.elcheikh@argaamplus.com