167 Government Agencies Look Into Possibilities of Achieving Efficient Spending in Saudi Arabia

167 Government Agencies Look Into Possibilities of Achieving Efficient Spending in Saudi Arabia
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167 Government Agencies Look Into Possibilities of Achieving Efficient Spending in Saudi Arabia

167 Government Agencies Look Into Possibilities of Achieving Efficient Spending in Saudi Arabia

A number of Saudi government agencies have discussed the potential to achieve efficient spending and optimal business mechanisms in the country in accordance with the best local and international practices.

The Center of Spending Efficiency (CSE) held a workshop on Monday in the capital, Riyadh, entitled “Enabling spending efficiency teams in government agencies” to upgrade the government agencies’ capabilities to activate the mechanisms of achieving government spending efficiency.

This step is aimed at keeping pace with the government's aspirations for Saudi Arabia to become a successful model at the level of achieving financial and economic stability in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

Attendees in the workshop, in which leaders and members of spending efficiency achievement teams in 167 government agencies have participated, amounted to 650. All have discussed the capabilities and optimal work mechanisms according to the best local and international practices in order to achieve spending efficiency.

In this context, Deputy Minister for Budget and Organizational Affairs in the Ministry of Finance Yaser al-Quhidan stressed the importance of cooperation among various government agencies to maximize impact against spending and the optimal orientation of government spending.

CEO of the CSE Eng. Abdul Razzag al-Aujan affirmed at the end of the workshop that the initiative is part of the Center’s 2020 plan to support government agencies in achieving spending efficiency targets towards sustainable spending in line with the Kingdom’s vision and aspirations.

On the other hand, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance announced that it has stopped receiving requests from investors on its local Sukuk issue for January under the Sukuk Issuance Program in Saudi Riyal.

It noted that the issuance value was determined with a total amount of SAR6.7 billion ($1.7 billion).

It explained that the issuances were divided into two sections: the first amounted to SAR715 million for Sukuk due in 2027, and the second would be six billion Saudi riyals, so its final size would be SAR7.8 billion for Sukuk due in 2030.



Gold Falls to One-week Low as Dollar Firms after Tariff Deadline Extension

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
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20

Gold Falls to One-week Low as Dollar Firms after Tariff Deadline Extension

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices retreated to a one-week low on Monday as the dollar firmed and traders digested US President Donald Trump's extension of his July 9 tariff deadline to August 1 and assertion that the US is close to several trade deals.

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $3,307.87 an ounce at 1302 GMT after hitting its lowest since June 30 at $3,296.09. US gold futures lost 0.7% to $3,318.

The stronger dollar, up 0.2% against a basket of other major currencies, makes dollar-priced gold more expensive for buyers with other currencies, Reuters reported.

"The market volumes remain quiet at this moment, and price action is probably still just reflecting the latest piece of economic data, but also starting to look forward to the potential for trade deals to be announced," said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

Last week's stronger than expected US payroll data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates as early as previously expected.

Minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting and speeches by several Fed officials are due this week for further insights into the central bank's policy path.

Elsewhere, China's central bank added gold to its reserves in June for an eighth consecutive month, official data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Monday.

"The PBoC in particular has been diversifying foreign exchange reserves substantially and an uptick in uncertainty and geopolitical risk may speed up the process," said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

In other precious metals, spot silver fell 1.6% to $36.32 an ounce, platinum shed 2.9% to $1,350.97 and palladium lost 3% to $1,100.65.