MbS discusses the future of Saudi Arabia’s economy
Crown prince in rare interview on Saudi Arabia’s future: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) sat down for a rare television interview on Tuesday night, a year after launching the Vision 2030 program to overhaul the kingdom’s government and economy. Bloomberg rounded up the main points of the interview nicely: On Aramco, MbS said “Saudi Arabia will continue to own its oil reserves and will only sell shares in the concession of Aramco” with the size of the IPO depending on demand. From the proceeds of the IPO, 50-70% will be invested domestically via the Public Investment Fund. On domestic policy he said the government is working on compensating Saudi citizens for cuts to state energy and water subsidies through a cash payout program and plans “to offer hundreds of thousands of free homes and a mn more with some form of low-cost financing.” MbS also said a planned SAR 200 bn stimulus package “will greatly encourage the private sector.” You can watch the interview here in full (runtime 55:37).