Saudi Arabia is fully committed to increasing private sector participation in
economic growth. Privatization is a key element of the Kingdom's economic
liberalization and a host of sectors are being opened to the private sector.
Telecommunications, electricity, airlines, postal services, railways, port
services and water utilities are some of the potential areas for investment.
The Kingdom proposes to invest $200 billion in the oil, gas, electricity and
desalination and petrochemical industries. Global oil companies are also
considering investing $100 billion over a period of 20 years in the production
of natural gas. It is also expected that $6 billion worth of domestic capital
will be invested in the tourism sector. Saudi Arabia is a founding member of
Convention on Arbitration and is in the process of obtaining World Trade
Organization (WTO) membership. The Kingdom is also a member in numerous other
international and regional organizations.
Saudi Arabia's privatization and economic diversification efforts have gained
momentum since the creation of the new Supreme Economic Council (SEC). The
purpose behind the creation of the SEC is to speed up economic reforms aimed at
opening Saudi markets and ensure stability for investors. The SEC has been
officially responsible for the Kingdom's privatization efforts since early
2001. It plays a supervisory role in the formulation of economic policy,
managing the budget and coordinating the implementation of policies between
government departments and agencies. The SEC evaluates economic, industrial,
agricultural and labor policies to assess their effectiveness and impact on the
national economy, diversification of the country's economic base and the growth
of its competitive economic strength.
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