JEDDAH: It is well acknowledged that Vision 2030 is an ambitious plan for shaping the Saudi economy in light of the emerging challenges.
The vision, together with the National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2020, is considered by economists and experts as wholly pragmatic and so achievable.
“What better National Day gift can one think of than Vision 2030, whose programs are aimed at turning the Kingdom into a world power house,” one of them commented.
This is mainly because the Kingdom, which has a vibrant society, enjoys a sustainable, thriving economy, under the effective governance of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
What’s more, Saudi Arabia is blessed with many natural resources in addition to oil and gas. In fact, the Kingdom’s geographic, cultural, social and demographic, and economic advantages have enabled it to take a leading position in the world.
The Vision 2030 document states a broad range of reforms directed toward reducing the dependence on oil, privatization of state assets, harnessing geographical location, promoting religious tourism, localizing defense industry, and creating significant jobs.
The major elements of the plan include issuance of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO), restructuring of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) as a sovereign wealth fund, and bringing about manifold increases in non-oil revenues through a host of measures.
The new vision for the Kingdom will throw up a number of opportunities for the private sector.
The large cap companies like Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and Maaden are likely to benefit from the thrust areas of Vision 2030.
This is bound to set the stage for the Kingdom to emerge as a major economic powerhouse.
About Vision 2030 and NTP 2020, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has said: “My first objective is for our country to be a pioneering and successful global model of excellence on all fronts, and I’ll work with you to achieve that.”
There are no two opinions that taking Vision 2030 to its logical and successful end is the joint responsibility of the public and private sectors as well as the citizens.
While presenting the Vision 2030 document, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described the vision as ambitious yet achievable.
AMBITIOUS BLUEPRINT
He said: “Vision 2030 is an ambitious yet achievable blueprint, which expresses our long-term goals and expectations, and reflects our country’s strengths and capabilities. All success stories start with a vision, and successful visions are based on strong pillars.”
According to the deputy crown prince, the first pillar of the vision is the Kingdom’s status of being the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
“We recognize that Allah the Almighty has bestowed on our lands a gift more precious than oil. Our Kingdom is the land of the two holy mosques, the most sacred sites on earth, and the direction of the Kaaba (Qibla) to which more than a billion Muslims turn at prayer.”
The second pillar of the vision is the Kingdom’s determination to become a global investment powerhouse. The nation holds strong investment capabilities, “which we will harness to stimulate our economy and diversify our revenues.”
STRATEGIC LOCATION
According to him, the third pillar is transforming the Kingdom’s unique strategic location into a global hub connecting three continents — Asia, Europe and Africa.” Our geographic position between key global waterways makes us an epicenter of trade and the gateway to the world.”
Of course, as the deputy crown prince points out, the Kingdom with its rich natural resources is not dependent solely on oil for its energy needs.
It has vast deposits of gold, phosphate, uranium, and many other valuable minerals.
“But our real wealth lies in the ambition of our people and the potential of our younger generation. They are our nation’s pride and the architects of our future,” the deputy crown prince has stated.
“We will never forget how, under tougher circumstances than today, our nation was forged by collective determination when the late King Abdulaziz Al-Saud united the Kingdom. Our people will amaze the world again. We are confident about the Kingdom’s future. With all the blessings Allah has bestowed on our nation, we cannot help but be optimistic about the decades ahead,” he reiterates.
No doubt, the future of the Kingdom is one of huge promises and great potential. The Kingdom’s determination to reinforce and diversify the capabilities of the economy lies in turning its key strengths into enabling tools for a fully diversified future.
As such, the Kingdom is keen on transforming Saudi Aramco from an oil producing company into a global industrial conglomerate, and the PIF into the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
“We will encourage our major corporations to expand across borders and take their rightful place in global markets. As we continue to give our army the best possible machinery and equipment, we plan to manufacture half of our military needs within the Kingdom to create more job opportunities for citizens and keep more resources in our country,” the deputy crown prince has emphasized.
The Kingdom is also determined to expand the variety of digital services to reduce delays and cut tedious bureaucracy. This necessitates the Kingdom to immediately adopt wide-ranging transparency and accountability reforms and, through the body setup to measure the performance of government agencies, hold them accountable for any shortcomings.
While doing this, the deputy crown prince says: “We will be transparent and open about our failures as well as our successes, and will welcome ideas on how to improve. All this comes from the directive of King Salman, who ordered us to plan for a future that fulfills your ambitions and your aspirations. In line with his instructions, we will work tirelessly from today to build a better tomorrow for you, your children, and your children’s children.”
Of course, there is no short cut to pursuing the ambition.
This is proven by the Vision 2030 document, which strategizes the way for realizing the ambition of Saudi Arabia for the Saudis and by the Saudis.
Substantiating this, Khalid A. Al-Falih, chairman of Saudi Aramco, says: “Saudi Vision 2030 is a pioneering and game-changing plan that will enable sustained economic growth, diversification, and job creation to benefit the Kingdom and its citizens for generations to come. Saudi Aramco will continue its commitment and remain fully engaged as a champion of transformation, ensuring that our significant contributions to the overall social and economic development of Saudi Arabia generate even greater positive impact in the future.”
Equally optimistic about Saudi Aramco’s IPO is John Sfakianakis, director of economic research at the Gulf Research Center.
“The Saudi Aramco IPO will unleash an era of unprecedented change in the depth of the local stock market as also raising the level of transparency and governance of the corporate world,” he says.
“The IPO marks an important milestone for using the proceeds of the public offering over time via the Public Investment Fund. The economy is undergoing reforms that would unlock growth of the private sector, and efficiencies and productivity of the public sector.”
However, Al-Falih adds, if the Kingdom has to reduce its unsustainable over-reliance on oil, there needs to be a fundamental shift in its economic landscape. Therefore, accelerating reforms across key economic sectors, privatization of key industries, and the creation of a globally competitive small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector are essential to delivering Vision 2030.”
The message is clear, emphasizes Al-Falih.
“Saudi Arabia is opening itself for further investment by those already in the Kingdom, as well as openly inviting potential future investors. Investment and export opportunities exist for global companies who want to take advantage of Saudi Arabia’s ready access to infrastructure and abundant supply of energy. Saudi Arabia provides unrivalled competitive advantages and investment opportunities as a manufacturing and trading base to reach global markets. The government will continue to ease regulations to make the Kingdom one of the most attractive locations in the world to do business.”
A continuous inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has thus to be encouraged and maintained to enable the Kingdom realize its long-term goals. The opening of the retail sector for foreign investors has thus received all-round support.
Welcoming the opening of the retail sector for FDI, Fawaz Al-Fawaz, a Riyadh-based analyst, says: “The Kingdom’s decision is welcome as the retail sector in particular holds key for a greater FDI inflow.”
He adds: “This is clearly a positive move at more than one level. It should professionalize the sector and further streamline the standardization, supply chain, and salary levels for Saudi nationals. The consumer in turn will benefit by way of aftersales service and quality standards.”
Through Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has shown its determination to build a thriving Kingdom in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and ambitions.
The vision plans to provide opportunities for all through education and training, and high quality services such as employment initiatives, health, housing, and entertainment.
Thus the Kingdom has to remain committed to providing world-class government services to meet the needs of the citizens effectively and efficiently. One of the most important aspects of sustained growth is to guard against volatility of commodity prices or external markets.
As rightly pointed out by the deputy crown prince, the Kingdom has all the means to achieve its dreams and ambitions.
“There are no excuses for us to stand still or move backward. Our vision is a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunity for all. Our vision is a tolerant country with Islam as its constitution and moderation as its method. We will welcome qualified individuals from all over the world and will respect those who have come to join our journey and our success.”
In its bid to fulfill Vision 2030, the Kingdom has embarked on the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020. The program essentially identifies the challenges faced by government agencies in the economic and development sectors.
The NTP 2020 establishes strategic objectives that are based on Vision 2030 and addresses its challenges through 2020 in accordance with specific targets.
The NTP 2020 is meant to develop government action and establish the necessary foundations to accommodate its ambitions and requirements. This will help fulfill the ambitions of Vision 2030.
The first wave toward this goal encompasses program initiatives for 2016. These will be reviewed and evaluated, and their adequacy and performance will be measured regularly. Furthermore, new initiatives will be considered for adoption into the NTP.
The operating model and outputs of the NTP will have a significant impact on planning efficiency and effectiveness, and on the integration of government action.
The program fulfills the vision’s commitment to more efficient spending and the achievement of fiscal balance by identifying the strategic objectives and targets of participating entities, translating strategic objectives into initiatives for the participating entities, promoting joint action toward the achievement of common national goals, contributing to job creation, strengthening partnerships with the private sector, maximizing local content, and digital transformation.
The program has identified five common digital platforms, 29 essential digital initiatives for key sectors, and a number of national digital assets that may be invested to support government digital transformation.
This corresponds to the commitment of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to develop the digital infrastructure, activate economic sectors, support industries and private sector entities, and advocate for the development of public-private business models.
The Council of Economic and Development Affairs and the 24 participating government entities worked hand in hand to prepare and launch the NTP 2020.
Other government bodies, such as the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries were invited to take part in planning the initiatives, coordinating efforts, and producing high-quality and realistic outcomes.
That is why leading economists say Vision 2030 will remain unique and distinctive, and certainly realize the goals for the Kingdom’s transformation into a powerhouse to reckon with and for the benefit of future generations.
The vision, together with the National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2020, is considered by economists and experts as wholly pragmatic and so achievable.
“What better National Day gift can one think of than Vision 2030, whose programs are aimed at turning the Kingdom into a world power house,” one of them commented.
This is mainly because the Kingdom, which has a vibrant society, enjoys a sustainable, thriving economy, under the effective governance of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
What’s more, Saudi Arabia is blessed with many natural resources in addition to oil and gas. In fact, the Kingdom’s geographic, cultural, social and demographic, and economic advantages have enabled it to take a leading position in the world.
The Vision 2030 document states a broad range of reforms directed toward reducing the dependence on oil, privatization of state assets, harnessing geographical location, promoting religious tourism, localizing defense industry, and creating significant jobs.
The major elements of the plan include issuance of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO), restructuring of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) as a sovereign wealth fund, and bringing about manifold increases in non-oil revenues through a host of measures.
The new vision for the Kingdom will throw up a number of opportunities for the private sector.
The large cap companies like Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and Maaden are likely to benefit from the thrust areas of Vision 2030.
This is bound to set the stage for the Kingdom to emerge as a major economic powerhouse.
About Vision 2030 and NTP 2020, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has said: “My first objective is for our country to be a pioneering and successful global model of excellence on all fronts, and I’ll work with you to achieve that.”
There are no two opinions that taking Vision 2030 to its logical and successful end is the joint responsibility of the public and private sectors as well as the citizens.
While presenting the Vision 2030 document, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described the vision as ambitious yet achievable.
AMBITIOUS BLUEPRINT
He said: “Vision 2030 is an ambitious yet achievable blueprint, which expresses our long-term goals and expectations, and reflects our country’s strengths and capabilities. All success stories start with a vision, and successful visions are based on strong pillars.”
According to the deputy crown prince, the first pillar of the vision is the Kingdom’s status of being the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
“We recognize that Allah the Almighty has bestowed on our lands a gift more precious than oil. Our Kingdom is the land of the two holy mosques, the most sacred sites on earth, and the direction of the Kaaba (Qibla) to which more than a billion Muslims turn at prayer.”
The second pillar of the vision is the Kingdom’s determination to become a global investment powerhouse. The nation holds strong investment capabilities, “which we will harness to stimulate our economy and diversify our revenues.”
STRATEGIC LOCATION
According to him, the third pillar is transforming the Kingdom’s unique strategic location into a global hub connecting three continents — Asia, Europe and Africa.” Our geographic position between key global waterways makes us an epicenter of trade and the gateway to the world.”
Of course, as the deputy crown prince points out, the Kingdom with its rich natural resources is not dependent solely on oil for its energy needs.
It has vast deposits of gold, phosphate, uranium, and many other valuable minerals.
“But our real wealth lies in the ambition of our people and the potential of our younger generation. They are our nation’s pride and the architects of our future,” the deputy crown prince has stated.
“We will never forget how, under tougher circumstances than today, our nation was forged by collective determination when the late King Abdulaziz Al-Saud united the Kingdom. Our people will amaze the world again. We are confident about the Kingdom’s future. With all the blessings Allah has bestowed on our nation, we cannot help but be optimistic about the decades ahead,” he reiterates.
No doubt, the future of the Kingdom is one of huge promises and great potential. The Kingdom’s determination to reinforce and diversify the capabilities of the economy lies in turning its key strengths into enabling tools for a fully diversified future.
As such, the Kingdom is keen on transforming Saudi Aramco from an oil producing company into a global industrial conglomerate, and the PIF into the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
“We will encourage our major corporations to expand across borders and take their rightful place in global markets. As we continue to give our army the best possible machinery and equipment, we plan to manufacture half of our military needs within the Kingdom to create more job opportunities for citizens and keep more resources in our country,” the deputy crown prince has emphasized.
The Kingdom is also determined to expand the variety of digital services to reduce delays and cut tedious bureaucracy. This necessitates the Kingdom to immediately adopt wide-ranging transparency and accountability reforms and, through the body setup to measure the performance of government agencies, hold them accountable for any shortcomings.
While doing this, the deputy crown prince says: “We will be transparent and open about our failures as well as our successes, and will welcome ideas on how to improve. All this comes from the directive of King Salman, who ordered us to plan for a future that fulfills your ambitions and your aspirations. In line with his instructions, we will work tirelessly from today to build a better tomorrow for you, your children, and your children’s children.”
Of course, there is no short cut to pursuing the ambition.
This is proven by the Vision 2030 document, which strategizes the way for realizing the ambition of Saudi Arabia for the Saudis and by the Saudis.
Substantiating this, Khalid A. Al-Falih, chairman of Saudi Aramco, says: “Saudi Vision 2030 is a pioneering and game-changing plan that will enable sustained economic growth, diversification, and job creation to benefit the Kingdom and its citizens for generations to come. Saudi Aramco will continue its commitment and remain fully engaged as a champion of transformation, ensuring that our significant contributions to the overall social and economic development of Saudi Arabia generate even greater positive impact in the future.”
Equally optimistic about Saudi Aramco’s IPO is John Sfakianakis, director of economic research at the Gulf Research Center.
“The Saudi Aramco IPO will unleash an era of unprecedented change in the depth of the local stock market as also raising the level of transparency and governance of the corporate world,” he says.
“The IPO marks an important milestone for using the proceeds of the public offering over time via the Public Investment Fund. The economy is undergoing reforms that would unlock growth of the private sector, and efficiencies and productivity of the public sector.”
However, Al-Falih adds, if the Kingdom has to reduce its unsustainable over-reliance on oil, there needs to be a fundamental shift in its economic landscape. Therefore, accelerating reforms across key economic sectors, privatization of key industries, and the creation of a globally competitive small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector are essential to delivering Vision 2030.”
The message is clear, emphasizes Al-Falih.
“Saudi Arabia is opening itself for further investment by those already in the Kingdom, as well as openly inviting potential future investors. Investment and export opportunities exist for global companies who want to take advantage of Saudi Arabia’s ready access to infrastructure and abundant supply of energy. Saudi Arabia provides unrivalled competitive advantages and investment opportunities as a manufacturing and trading base to reach global markets. The government will continue to ease regulations to make the Kingdom one of the most attractive locations in the world to do business.”
A continuous inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has thus to be encouraged and maintained to enable the Kingdom realize its long-term goals. The opening of the retail sector for foreign investors has thus received all-round support.
Welcoming the opening of the retail sector for FDI, Fawaz Al-Fawaz, a Riyadh-based analyst, says: “The Kingdom’s decision is welcome as the retail sector in particular holds key for a greater FDI inflow.”
He adds: “This is clearly a positive move at more than one level. It should professionalize the sector and further streamline the standardization, supply chain, and salary levels for Saudi nationals. The consumer in turn will benefit by way of aftersales service and quality standards.”
Through Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has shown its determination to build a thriving Kingdom in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and ambitions.
The vision plans to provide opportunities for all through education and training, and high quality services such as employment initiatives, health, housing, and entertainment.
Thus the Kingdom has to remain committed to providing world-class government services to meet the needs of the citizens effectively and efficiently. One of the most important aspects of sustained growth is to guard against volatility of commodity prices or external markets.
As rightly pointed out by the deputy crown prince, the Kingdom has all the means to achieve its dreams and ambitions.
“There are no excuses for us to stand still or move backward. Our vision is a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunity for all. Our vision is a tolerant country with Islam as its constitution and moderation as its method. We will welcome qualified individuals from all over the world and will respect those who have come to join our journey and our success.”
In its bid to fulfill Vision 2030, the Kingdom has embarked on the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020. The program essentially identifies the challenges faced by government agencies in the economic and development sectors.
The NTP 2020 establishes strategic objectives that are based on Vision 2030 and addresses its challenges through 2020 in accordance with specific targets.
The NTP 2020 is meant to develop government action and establish the necessary foundations to accommodate its ambitions and requirements. This will help fulfill the ambitions of Vision 2030.
The first wave toward this goal encompasses program initiatives for 2016. These will be reviewed and evaluated, and their adequacy and performance will be measured regularly. Furthermore, new initiatives will be considered for adoption into the NTP.
The operating model and outputs of the NTP will have a significant impact on planning efficiency and effectiveness, and on the integration of government action.
The program fulfills the vision’s commitment to more efficient spending and the achievement of fiscal balance by identifying the strategic objectives and targets of participating entities, translating strategic objectives into initiatives for the participating entities, promoting joint action toward the achievement of common national goals, contributing to job creation, strengthening partnerships with the private sector, maximizing local content, and digital transformation.
The program has identified five common digital platforms, 29 essential digital initiatives for key sectors, and a number of national digital assets that may be invested to support government digital transformation.
This corresponds to the commitment of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to develop the digital infrastructure, activate economic sectors, support industries and private sector entities, and advocate for the development of public-private business models.
The Council of Economic and Development Affairs and the 24 participating government entities worked hand in hand to prepare and launch the NTP 2020.
Other government bodies, such as the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries were invited to take part in planning the initiatives, coordinating efforts, and producing high-quality and realistic outcomes.
That is why leading economists say Vision 2030 will remain unique and distinctive, and certainly realize the goals for the Kingdom’s transformation into a powerhouse to reckon with and for the benefit of future generations.
