Here are the main points of the “Saudi Vision 2030” economic reform plan announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and approved by the cabinet on Monday:
— Selling less than five percent of national oil company Aramco to raise hundreds of billions of dollars through a domestic Initial Public Offering (IPO). This is the first time that part of Aramco, valued at between $2 trillion and $2.5 trillion, will be offered into private hands.
— Turning the Public Investment Fund into the kingdom’s first sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest with $2 trillion in assets. Around $1 trillion will be raised from sales of state-owned real estate holdings and industrial and economic areas. Aramco sale proceeds will also go into the fund.
— Raising non-oil revenues six-fold from $43.5 billion to $267 billion through, among other measures, major cuts in energy and other public subsidies.
— Increasing the number of Muslim pilgrims performing the Umrah, or minor pilgrimage, from eight million to 30 million per year through massive investments and incentives.
— Raising the private sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 40 percent to 65 percent in 2030.
— Boosting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from 3.8 percent of GDP to the international level of 5.7 percent.
— Manufacturing half of Saudi Arabia’s military needs within the kingdom.
— Increasing women’s participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent and lowering the unemployment rate from 11.6 percent to seven percent.
— The kingdom, where crude sales provide the vast majority of state revenues, wants to “live without depending on oil by 2020,” according to the deputy crown prince.
— The efforts aim to move Saudi Arabia from the 19th biggest economy in the world into the top 15.
