Saudi Arabia Prepares to Launch Individual Savings Sukuk

The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Prepares to Launch Individual Savings Sukuk

The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Riyadh Economic Forum discusses sectoral coherence in the issuance of tax, fees, and zakat. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ministry of Finance and the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) are seeking to develop and launch individual savings Sukuk to motivate individuals to design better plans for the future and seek strategic partnerships with the private sector.

The two entities signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SNB Capital to strengthen their collaboration.

The Ministry and NDMC aim to boost the concept of saving across the Kingdom by driving the expansion of savings products for individuals as part of the ongoing work under the Financial Sector Development Program to Promote and Enable Financial Planning.

The memorandum was signed by the Chairman of the Steering Committee Abdulaziz al-Furaih from the Ministry of Finance, the CEO of NDMC Hani al-Medaini, and the Executive Chairman and Board Member of SNB Capital Rashid Sharif.

Furaih explained that the memorandum reflects the Ministry and the Center's drive to develop the first government-supported savings product towards achieving Vision 2030 targets through pursuing the financial sector development program's goals.

It aims to increase the number of individuals who regularly make savings, increase the supply of saving products, and raise awareness of the importance of saving and its benefits in planning future objectives.

Medaini explained that the memorandum represents an invitation to the private sector to cooperate and participate in developing and launching several savings tools for specific purposes and benefiting different categories of individuals, whether through banks, fund managers, or fintech companies.

For his part, Sharif asserted that the MoU enables SNB Capital, along with the Ministry and the Center, to offer government-supported savings products and solutions that meet the needs of citizens and residents.

"This partnership reflects our keenness to share our experiences and collaborate to develop and launch new saving products to support further economic diversification, saving, financing, and investing," he said.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Economic Forum discussed the study of "the importance of unifying and coherent sectors in legislation to issue taxes, fees, and zakat and standardizing the issuance reference."

The discussion is part of the executive sessions of the forum that will be held next November under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The Chairman of the Council, Khaled al-Rajhi, stressed the study's importance by defining the types of fees and taxes and their values, double taxation, and the possibility of unifying the reference.

The head of the advisory team implementing the study, Mohammad al-Abbas, pointed out that it aims to identify the concepts of fees and taxes, their issuance reference, and collection channels.



US, China Reach Deal to Cut Trade Deficit, US Officials Say

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to the media after talks between seniors US and Chinese officials on tariffs at the residence of the permanent Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on May 11, 2025. (Photo by VALENTIN FLAURAUD / AFP)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to the media after talks between seniors US and Chinese officials on tariffs at the residence of the permanent Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on May 11, 2025. (Photo by VALENTIN FLAURAUD / AFP)
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US, China Reach Deal to Cut Trade Deficit, US Officials Say

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to the media after talks between seniors US and Chinese officials on tariffs at the residence of the permanent Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on May 11, 2025. (Photo by VALENTIN FLAURAUD / AFP)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to the media after talks between seniors US and Chinese officials on tariffs at the residence of the permanent Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on May 11, 2025. (Photo by VALENTIN FLAURAUD / AFP)

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday reported "substantial progress" in US talks with China's top economic officials to de-escalate a damaging trade war, but offered no details of an agreement reached as two days of negotiations wrapped up in Geneva.
Bessent told reporters that details would be announced on Monday and that US President Donald Trump was fully aware of the results of the "productive talks."
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who participated in the talks with Bessent, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and two Chinese vice ministers, described the conclusion as "a deal we struck with our Chinese partners" that will help reduce the $1.2 trillion US global goods trade deficit.
"And this was, as the Secretary pointed out, a very constructive two days. It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought," Greer said, adding that the Chinese officials were "tough negotiators"
The meeting was the first face-to-face interaction between Bessent, Greer and He since the world's two largest economies imposed tariffs well above 100% on each other's goods.
Although Bessent has said the bilateral tariffs were too high and needed to come down in a de-escalation move, he did not offer any details of reductions agreed and took no questions from reporters, Reuters said.
Earlier, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the Chinese were "very, very eager" to engage in discussions and rebalance trade relations with the United States.
Hassett also told Fox News that more foreign trade deals could be coming with other countries as soon as this week.
Overnight, Trump gave a positive reading of the talks, saying the two sides had negotiated "a total reset... in a friendly, but constructive, manner."
"A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
"We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!," Trump added, without elaborating on the progress.
Speaking on "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo, Hassett said Beijing is eager to re-set trade relations with the United States.
"It looks like the Chinese are very, very eager to play ball and to re-normalize things," Hassett said.
Hassett also said more trade deal announcements could be imminent following last week's announcement of an agreement with the United Kingdom. He said he had been briefed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on two dozen pending deals in development with USTR Greer.
"They all look a little bit like the UK deal but each one is bespoke," Hassett said.
GATED VILLA
The negotiating teams met at the gated villa of Switzerland's UN ambassador, overlooking Lake Geneva in the leafy suburb of Cologny. Black Mercedes vans with sirens shuttled to and from the venue, which was bathed in bright sunshine.
Neutral Switzerland was chosen as the venue following approaches by Swiss politicians on recent visits to China and the United States.
Washington is seeking to reduce its $295 billion goods trade deficit with Beijing and persuade China to renounce what the United States says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to global consumption, a shift that would require politically sensitive domestic reforms.