The centerpiece of stage one of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious ‘Vison 2030’ plans to transform the country’s economy is the sell-off of up to 5% of state energy giant Saudi Aramco for around $2 trillion. This is slated for 2018. But before this the kingdom plans to kick off its privatization goals with the sale of an initial stake in Saudi Post next year, Communications and IT minister Muhammad al-Suwayil says.
Under the ‘National Transformation Program,’ launched earlier this month as a first stage towards implementation of the Vision 2030 plans, Riyadh intends to privatize key state entities, especially in the communications and health sectors, in a bid to improve their performance and reduce the fiscal burden on the state budget. (CONTINUED - 387 WORDS)
