Saudi cabinet approves setting up National Center for Privatization

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved on Monday establishing the National Center for Privatization, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The decision was made based on a recommendation from the Saudi Council for Economic and Development Affairs.

No further details were provided on the center.

Under its Vision 2030 reform plan, Saudi Arabia aims to privatize various economic sectors and government entities in order to ease its budget deficit, caused by the plunge in oil prices.

State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco will be partially privatized when a 5 percent stake is floated next year, in what is expected to the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO).

The kingdom also expects to privatize 27 Saudi airports by mid-2018, Asharq Al-Awsat reported last month, citing Faisal Hamad Al Sugair, Vice-Chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation’s (GACA) board.

By 2020-end, all the kingdom’s airports will be financially and administratively independent, he added.