Saudi Arabia eyes $53 billion plan to boost private sector in diversification drive

Saudi Arabia's government plans to provide 200 billion riyals ($53 billion) of incentives to the private sector over the next four years in its drive to diversify the economy beyond oil, according to an official planning document.
A reform programme launched this year, after a plunge in oil prices slashed state revenues in the world's top oil exporting country, envisions the private sector investing tens of billions of dollars over the next several years on projects from industrial zones and power stations to housing, schools and communications.
But the willingness and ability of private sector companies to invest in projects in an economy which has traditionally relied on infusions of petrodollars by the government has been a major uncertainty in the programme. "An incentives package is proposed and set at 200 billion riyals between 2017 and 2020 to help boost economic growth," said a document released by the government late on Thursday along with its 2017 budget plan. An investment fund will be established to provide capital that will facilitate investments, the document said without giving details of the fund's operations or the nature of the incentives. It said the incentives would be directed towards sectors that supported economic growth and created jobs for Saudi citizens.