Supreme Economic Council Passes Resolutions to Promote Private Sector

Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on June 4 chaired a meeting of the Supreme Economic Council (SEC) in Jeddah that approved a series of measures aimed at promoting the activities of the private sector to achieve greater national economic growth. The decisions provide for the privatization of some state-owned entities and facilitate private sector involvement in areas that have been the exclusive domain of the government. The meeting, which was attended by Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, a number of ministers, and members of the the Consultative Council’s Economic Affairs Committee, passed a number of resolutions, including:

• Approval of the strategy of privatization, including its objectives, policies, procedures, and controls, as well as the administrative arrangements to implement its programs;

•  Approval of the executive program of expansion of the railway network through private sector projects;

•  Endorsement of the principles and standards for private sector participation in desalination projects;

•  Approval of the project of structuring the Saudi Arabian Postal Authority (SAPA) and transforming it into a public agency under the supervision of a board of directors comprised of both public and private sectors, thereby facilitating future privatization;

•  Approval of the establishment of the ‘Petroleum Services Company’ as a joint stock holding company with the participation of the private sector as well as the government for the purpose of services for oil, gas, petrochemicals and other similar utilities, and the setting up of the necessary support industries; 

•  Approval of the appointment of additional representatives from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs at the comprehensive investment service center, an affiliate of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).