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2018-10-08 10:25:00

SAUDIS FUND: $600 BLN

SAUDIS FUND: $600 BLN

REUTERSSaudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom's main sovereign wealth fund (PIF) will surpass its target of increasing its assets to $600 billion by 2020, as part of a plan to reduce the economy's dependence on oil.

"We are now above $300 billion, we're getting close to $400 billion. Our target in 2020 is around $600 billion. I believe we will surpass that target in 2020," the prince said in a Bloomberg interview published on Friday.

He added that the fund, with more than 50 percent of its investments located in Saudi Arabia, will be investing in more places next year.

The fund would invest another $45 billion in Softbank Vision fund, the world's largest private equity fund, backed by Japan's Softbank Group and the PIF, which invests in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

"We have a huge benefit from the first one. We would not put, as PIF, another $45 billion if we didn't see huge income in the first year with the first $45 billion," the prince said.

Locally, one of the biggest investments for the PIF is a planned $500 billion business and industrial zone called NEOM extending into Jordan and Egypt, announced in October 2017.

Prince Mohammed said the first town in NEOM will be ready in 2019 or 2020, with the entire site completed by 2025.

PRIVATISATION

The Crown Prince said his country will privatize more than 20 companies in 2019, helping the government's strategy of diversifying away from oil exports.

"In 2019, we will have more than 20 services that will be privatized, most of them in water, agriculture, energy and some of it in sports", the prince said in an interview with Bloomberg published on Friday.

In April, the Saudi government said it aims to generate 35 billion to 40 billion riyals ($9 billion to $11 billion) in non-oil revenues from its privatization program by 2020 and create up to 12,000 jobs.

The privatization initiative targets 14 public-private partnership (PPP) investments worth 24 billion to 28 billion riyals. It includes the corporatization of Saudi ports and the privatization of the production sector at the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) and the Ras Al Khair desalination and power plant, according to official document published in April.

The prince said unemployment, which now stands at a record level near 13 percent is part of the side effects of restructuring the economy.

He added that the kingdom's economy today was much more powerful, with 2019 budget planned to exceed one trillion riyals ($267 billion) for the first time, and with non-oil revenue rising by 300 percent.

"I believe the unemployment rate will start to decline from 2019 until we reach 7.0 percent in 2030 as targeted," he said.

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Earlier:

 SAUDI ARAMCO WANTS +50%
2018, September, 24, 15:05:00

SAUDI ARAMCO WANTS +50%

ARAB NEWS - Saudi's Aramco Trading Company (ATC) expects to increase its oil trading volume to 6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, 50 percent higher than current levels, the company's top official said on Monday.

 

 SAUDIS OIL PRODUCTION: 10.42 MBD
2018, September, 19, 13:39:00

SAUDIS OIL PRODUCTION: 10.42 MBD

PLATTS - Saudi production has since risen to 10.42 million b/d in August, the country reported to OPEC in the organization's most recent monthly oil market report. Saudi Arabia's crude oil stocks, which have been declining steadily over the last three years, fell to 229.41 million barrels in July, down 11.4% since May 2017, the JODI data showed.

 

 SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTMENT: $133 BLN
2018, September, 19, 13:05:00

SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTMENT: $133 BLN

REUTERS - State oil giant Saudi Aramco will spend more than 500 billion riyals ($133 billion) on oil and gas drilling over the next decade, a senior company executive said on Monday.

 

 SAUDIS BONDS: $2 BLN
2018, September, 12, 11:45:00

SAUDIS BONDS: $2 BLN

REUTERS - Saudi Arabia has started marketing U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk, or Islamic bonds, with the issue expected to be around $2 billion in size, a document showed on Wednesday.

 

 SAUDIS OIL PRICE: $70 - $80
2018, September, 5, 10:55:00

SAUDIS OIL PRICE: $70 - $80

REUTERS - “The Saudis need oil at about $80 and they don’t want prices to go below $70. They want to manage the market like this,” one of the sources told.

 

 SAUDI ARAMCO IPO
2018, August, 24, 11:25:00

SAUDI ARAMCO IPO

ARAB NEWS - The Government remains committed to the IPO of Saudi Aramco at a time of its own choosing when conditions are optimum. This timing will depend on multiple factors, including favorable market conditions, and a downstream acquisition which the Company will pursue in the next few months, as directed by its Board of Directors.

 SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTMENTS WILL UP
2018, June, 15, 11:00:00

SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTMENTS WILL UP

REUTERS - Saudi Aramco plans to boost investments in refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets for its crude, and sees growth in chemicals as central to its downstream strategy to lessen the risk of a slowdown in oil demand.

 

Tags: SAUDI ARABIA, OIL, FUND