Saudi reforms focus on raising efficiency in spending, says Al-Jadaan

Saudi Arabia’s economic reforms are not part of austerity measures; rather they focus on raising the efficiency of expenditure, finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said.

He was speaking at the Saudi Investment Forum hosted by J.P. Morgan in New York on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

The government will focus on supporting the purchasing power of low-middle-income Saudis and mitigate the negative impact of energy price corrections through contributions to the citizen's accounts.

The private sector will also be given support to enable it to contribute 65 percent to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) as was targeted in the Saudi Vision 2030.

"We will further deepen and expand our capital markets. We will move ahead with the privatization program and we will continue to encourage the growth of private businesses,” Al-Jadaan added.

“These ambitious goals would provide good investment opportunities and partnerships, which help build diversified and resilient Saudi economy,” he added.

Al-Jadaan added that the Kingdom is witnessing unprecedented economic transformation.

It has made a great progress, particularly in large scale reforms, such as correcting the energy prices, focusing on supporting small and medium enterprises, preparing government-owned companies for privatization, public-private partnerships and transforming the Public Investment Fund (PIF) into one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.