Saudi Arabia to Launch Major Future Privatization Projects Covering All Sectors

 Jadaan during his participation in the Financial Stability Conference held on Thursday in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Jadaan during his participation in the Financial Stability Conference held on Thursday in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Saudi Arabia to Launch Major Future Privatization Projects Covering All Sectors

 Jadaan during his participation in the Financial Stability Conference held on Thursday in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Jadaan during his participation in the Financial Stability Conference held on Thursday in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammad Al-Jadaan revealed the Kingdom’s plan to launch major projects to privatize a number of sectors.

Speaking during the Financial Stability Conference held on Thursday in Riyadh, Al-Jadaan said that Saudi Arabia’s economy has been witnessing a gradual recovery since mid-2021, which was reflected in the positive growth rate in the real non-oil sector, which recorded 8.4 percent during the second quarter of this year, with support of the private sector, which grew at an average rate of 11.1 percent.

The minister said that the preliminary estimates for the third quarter of 2021 indicated a growth of 6.2 percent of the non-oil GDP, noting that the government was working on a financial sustainability program to reduce exposure to external factors, including fluctuations in oil markets.

Al-Jadaan emphasized his country’s preparation for launching around 160 future projects to privatize a number of sectors, pointing to ongoing plans to privatize education and logistics.

He said priority was given for projects with the highest impact within the sectors, adding that the new updated strategy would be published around mid-2022.

The Saudi finance minister stressed that his government was dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic by adopting realistic, transparent and responsible policies and procedures that have limited its financial, humanitarian and economic repercussions and put the country on the path of recovery and stability.

He said that financial stability should begin with public policies that work to achieve a balance between sustainability and the promotion of economic growth, with the aim to support the economic and social transformation in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

For his part, Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak, the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, revealed that digital business operations have reached more than 270 million transactions, with a value of 60 billion riyals (16 billion dollars).

Those operations grew by 60 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic, Al-Mubarak said, noting that the bank issued licenses to 12 companies, while 35 other companies were working in the experimental environment and waiting to obtain the full license to join the new financial technology.

He also said that among other initiatives by the Central Bank was the launch of a program with “Kafala” to support medium-sized companies, with loans to beneficiaries reaching 7,000 contracts worth 13 billion riyals ($3.4 billion). In this regard, the governor underlined the strength of the local insurance sector, which has a solvency margin of 170 percent, a loss rate under 80 percent, and an underwriting growth of 10 percent.

Mohammad Al-Kuwaiz, Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Capital Market Authority, revealed that foreign financial flows amounted to about 135 billion riyals ($36 billion) during the year 2019.

He stressed that opening the market supports the diversification of existing funding sources for listed companies.



Japan’s Ishiba Heads to G7 to Press Trump to Drop Auto Tariffs

US President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Japan’s Ishiba Heads to G7 to Press Trump to Drop Auto Tariffs

US President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington, US, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba heads to Canada on Sunday for trade talks with US President Donald Trump, hoping to persuade him to drop trade tariffs that have imperiled Japan's auto companies and threaten to undermine his fragile government.

The two are expected to meet on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of Seven nations in Kananaskis, Alberta, for their second in-person encounter. It follows a sixth round of high-level trade talks in Washington on Friday.

Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said he explored the possibility of a deal in detailed meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"I will make every possible effort to reach an agreement that benefits both Japan and the United States," Ishiba told reporters before leaving Japan. The timing of his meeting with Trump was still being discussed between the two countries, he added.

The trick for Ishiba, who spoke with Trump by phone on Friday, will be to get the president to drop the 25% tariff he imposed on Japanese cars, as well as a paused 24% across-the-board levy that Trump calls a reciprocal tariff, without making concessions that could hurt the prime minister's public support at home.

Returning to Tokyo with no deal would be better politically than conceding too much, analysts say.

"If it goes badly, it could even be seen as a positive for Ishiba, standing up to Trump and standing up for his country when he's under assault," said Michael Cucek, a political science professor at Temple University in Tokyo.

Ishiba and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party face an upper house election next month that comes after a lower house loss in November that left him reliant on the support of other parties to stay in power. Another poor electoral result could bring down his government and would force Trump to reset trade talks with a new Japanese administration.

"The most important thing is that Ishiba does not cave in for a bad (auto) deal," said Joseph Kraft, a financial political analyst at Rorschach Advisory in Tokyo. "I expect there will be some kind of deal, although it could be haphazard. Trump needs some good news and I don't think he has much interest in G7 activities."

Failing to reach an agreement in Canada might not have an immediate economic impact on Japan, but tariffs that stay in place will eventually drag down growth, said Asuka Tatebayashi, senior analyst at Mizuho Bank.

"If you look at the data for car exports to the US for April, it was quite striking. The volume in dollars was down by nearly 5%, but the number of cars has increased a lot," she said.

"It means either they are only selling cheap cars or the manufacturers are absorbing the cost. I think the latter is the case and this is not very sustainable."

Tariffs could shave 0.9% off Japan's gross domestic product, Mizuho Research & Technologies estimated in a report in April.