The results of the survey by International Budget Partnership reflected recent efforts exerted by the Saudi government to enhance transparency and disclosure in public finance.
Saudi Arabia has made a marked improvement in terms of budget transparency and accountability, according to the Open Budget Index survey released on Wednesday.
According to the survey, conducted by International Budget Partnership (IBP), an international non-profit organization concerned with evaluating disclosure and transparency of general budgets worldwide, Saudi Arabia has advanced 18 ranks compared to the previous survey, after scoring 18 points compared to one point in the previous survey conducted in 2017.
The results of the survey reflected recent efforts exerted by the Saudi government to enhance transparency and disclosure in public finance.
Commenting on the result of the survey, Dr. Saad Alshahrani, deputy minister for macro-fiscal policies at the Ministry of Finance, highlighted the importance of this achievement that the Kingdom managed to realize within a short period of time and confirmed that with this progress, we aspire in the future to achieve a higher ranking that reflects efforts made in the framework of improving the quality of fiscal data and enhancing the level of transparency and disclosure thereof, which is one of the important tracks pursued by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in line with the Kingdom's Vision2030.
The Ministry of Finance has sought to develop its fiscal systems, providing the greatest possible amount of information about its fiscal policy, disclosing its fiscal and economic data and publishing relevant periodic reports to inform specialists, analysts and citizens in a timely manner.
This has also allowed the private sector and investors to plan ahead and make informed decisions.
Dr. Alshahrani said that the budget forum held annually by the ministry is an effective way to enhance communication and an important channel for identifying the best ways to develop the budget preparation process.
He also said that this forum underscores the importance of partnership between different government agencies to share challenges in preparing the budget and mechanisms to achieve the goals.
The forum is considered a successful initiative to inform the public finance stakeholders on the various projects of the finance ministry and related programs, and to provide training opportunities following the highest international standards.
The deputy minister added that the jump in the Kingdom’s score was the result of several concrete measures taken to enhance transparency. Since the launch of the Kingdom's Vision2030, the ministry has released many reports and has continuously developed its content on an annual basis according to best practices.
The reports address a broad base of specialized recipients and the general public inside and outside the Kingdom.
In 2017, the ministry issued the first detailed budget statement, quarterly (periodic) reports for the budget performance, the citizen’s budget, in addition to the publication of its medium-term fiscal framework. During the past two years, the ministry began periodically publishing the pre-budget statement and year-end report on its website.
Dr. Alshahrani explained that transparency is one of the important aspects of concern to international financial and investment institutions, impacting their investment decisions and is usually reflected in their reports.
He added that, in the past year, the Kingdom’s government joined the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) adopted by the International Monetary Fund, as well as implemented the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) initiative on the national data page, making the Kingdom the first among the G20 countries adopting SDDS and to apply SDMX.
The general government coverage was also introduced in the presentation of fiscal data for the first time in the past year. Also, the National Fiscal and Economic Data Page was created on the website of the Ministry of Finance with the participation of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and the General Authority for Statistics.
All of these measures contributed to a material and unprecedented shift in the levels of disclosure and transparency in the Kingdom, leading to an enhanced position on various international indicators and contributing to supporting domestic and foreign investment, as well as the credit rating of the Kingdom.
The Open Budget Index (OBI) is an important global tool, independently prepared every two years to assess the transparency of government budgets around the world.
Countries covered by the open budget survey are ranked according to their scores in the survey.
source: zawya
The central banks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the two largest Arab economies, on Saturday announced stimulus plans worth a combined $40 billion to ease the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in their respective countries.
The UAE regulator plans to support banks and businesses in the country, where the outbreak is affecting major economic sectors such as tourism and transport, with a 100 billion dirham ($27 billion) economic plan, it said on Saturday.
In a separate statement, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said it had prepared a 50 billion riyal ($13.32 billion) package to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cope with the economic impacts of coronavirus.
The disease has so far infected 85 people in the UAE and 105 in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi funding aims to grant SMEs six-month deferrals on bank payments, concessional financing and exemptions from the costs of a loan guarantee program, SAMA said.
Concerts, sporting events and industry conferences have been canceled or postponed in the past few weeks in the UAE to contain the spreading of the new coronavirus.
In Dubai, the Middle East’s trade, finance, tourism and transportation hub, some businesses have started to feel the pain from the global travel slowdown caused by the outbreak.
Saudi Arabia, which has already suspended the Umrah pilgrimage and locked down its eastern Qatif region where many infections are located, plans to halt all international flights for two weeks from Sunday.
The UAE central bank said it will provide 50 billion dirhams through collateralized loans at zero cost to all banks operating in the UAE while an additional 50 billion dirhams will be freed up from lenders’ capital buffers.
“The CBUAE is allowing banks to free-up their regulatory capital buffers to boost lending capacity and support the UAE economy,” it said in a statement.
It said the scheme offers banks relief for up to six months from the payments of principal and interest on outstanding loans for affected private sector companies and retail customers.
Committed to peg
Adding to a likely economic slowdown caused by the virus, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also expected to face wider fiscal deficits this year because of lower oil prices, due to an oil price war between Riyadh and Moscow.
The Gulf states’ currencies, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar, weakened in the forwards market last week.
The UAE regulator said on Saturday it maintained its commitment to the peg for the dirham, and said foreign currency reserves amounting to 405 billion dirhams as of March 10 were “adequate” to safeguard the stability of the currency.
Other measures introduced by the UAE central bank on Saturday include reducing by 15-25% the amount of capital banks have to hold for loans to SMEs, and better terms for first-time home buyers.
Importantly for the local real estate sector - which has been struggling in Dubai for the past decade - banks will be allowed to increase their exposure to real estate loans.
“When the exposure reaches 20% of the banks’ loan portfolio (measured by risk-weighted assets), banks will be allowed to increase it to 30%, but will be required to hold more capital,” it said.
The central bank also introduced regulations which reduce banking fees for small companies.
The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchange indices dropped last week amid coronavirus concerns and because of tumbling oil prices.
To contain volatility in the markets, the central bank said it plans to issue guidelines on margin calls, asking banks to request additional collateral before liquidating stocks in the event of a market downfall.
source: cnbc
They can also add $5.3bln to country's GDP, says Bain & Company
Saudi Arabia stands to gain from municipal investments, which are projected to contribute 20 billion Saudi riyals ($5.33 billion) every year to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a global management consulting firm said.
At the recent Municipal Investment Forum in Riyadh, Bain & Company highlighted the positive impact of municipal investments, citing that they are “pegged to achieve 5 billion riyals to government revenues” annually and also create 125,000 jobs for residents.
“Given the immense economic impact of municipal investments, it is critical to entice more investors into supporting initiatives in various municipalities and governorates,” Samer Bohsali, a Middle East-based partner at Bain & Company said.
“Investments such as these are key to building competitive cities in Saudi Arabia in support of the goals and objectives of Vision 2030,” Bohsali added.
Municipal investments can support the 35 objectives of Vision 2030 and its six main programs, namely privatisation, housing, quality of life, hajj, national transformation and fiscal balance, according to the global management consulting firm.
“It is significant for governments worldwide, not just in Saudi Arabia, to focus on building competitive cities because of their many economic benefits,” he said.
“A competitive city’s GDP growth stands at 5 times compared with average cities. Job growth stands at 4.5 time relative to average cities. In terms of income growth, competitive cities experience a 10 times increase compared with average cities,” Bohsali said.
source: zawya
Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia has evolved over the years, and with the introduction of Vision 2030 the government has taken many steps to improve the market for foreign investors and open doors for startups and SMEs in the Kingdom.
As the value of entrepreneurship is realized and the benefits it provides to the economy and society, the government has initiated actions to boost the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Creating the right ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive in the Kingdom has been a key objective for the government.
This means creating enabling policies, providing appropriate opportunities for funding, creating a positive culture, support mechanisms and a venture-friendly market.
This requires support from other stakeholders such as corporations, risk capitals, universities, and other entrepreneurs, who help enable the growth of startups and SMEs in the Kingdom.
The government’s commitment to entrepreneurship has been further displayed through the fueling of the entrepreneurship and SME sector.
They have introduced initiatives and funding boosts to assist new entrepreneurs entering the market.
This includes a SAR 72 billion (US $19.2 billion) stimulus package to boost the private sector with a large focus on different programs and initiatives supporting SMEs, such as government fee reimbursements, a government VC fund, indirect financing to SMEs and export financing.
Continuing, the government launched the Meras program which provides all the public and private sector services required by an entrepreneur to set up a business in a day. Then, the General Authority for SMEs, also known as Monsha’at, was established which pledges to remove the barriers to entry, access to funding, supporting SMEs with marketing and exporting products and services.
These positive changes to improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem and create ease for those looking to enter the market has grown the Saudi Arabia entrepreneurship ecosystem rapidly.
The government is now focusing their efforts on increasing innovative and technologically advanced startups in the Kingdom to put Saudi ahead in the region.
source:
Saudization is effectively changing the shape of the Saudi economy by tackling the unemployment issues the Kingdom has been dealing with.
The Saudi nationalization scheme is a key component of the Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the Saudi economy from its oil dependence.
By hiring more Saudi’s and allowing for business startups to set up more easily, the new plans are going to entirely make over the Saudi economy.
The economy of the Kingdom is in the top twenty economies in the world, as part of the G20 (Group of 20). As the land with the second largest petroleum reserves in the world, Saudi Arabia relied on oil throughout most of its history.
In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the Vision 2030.
In 2019, the Kingdom’s economy recorded its first surplus since 2014, indicating a notable change upon the implementation of Saudization.
Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of making fast and unprecedented changes; in an attempt to attract new business ventures, a new entrepreneurial license was issued by SAGIA (Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority) in 2018. During the same year, foreign investments boomed with a 110% increase.
During the last quarter of 2019, Saudi government began to reduce spending when growth in the private sector was recorded.
Indicators point towards a fast and efficient Saudization process and a rapid execution of the Vision 2030 plans.
In order to make these changes happen, the Saudi government is also working on improving the business experience for small business owners; as the year began, a new regulatory change allowed businesses to open 24/7.
It became one of many threads meant to put together the ‘New Saudi.’ As the people of Saudi become its face to the world, the government also makes it easier for investors to visit and search for entrepreneurial opportunities; in 2020, a new visit visa rule allowed for UK, U.S. and Schengen visa holders to enter the Kingdom with a visa on arrival.
The economy of Saudi Arabia was historically associated with the Kingdom’s oil riches, but the Vision 2030 along with Saudization are executive plans designed to involve Saudi nationals in the transformation of their country’s economy.
source: proven-sa
(عربي)
The members of the Board of Directors of the Federation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers (FGCCC), at its fifty-second meeting (52) which was held recently in the Omani capital, Muscat, decided to appoint Dr. Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Mishari as the Secretary-General of the Federation.
Dr. Al-Mishari is expected to handle many internal and external issues and special topics related to the Gulf economic development, the most important of which is the realization of the Gulf common market and the customs union.
Dr. Saud bin Abdulziz Al Mishari
Dr. Saud Al Mashari was the Secretary General of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry. His previous positions at the council were Assistant Secretary General for Legal and Administrative Affairs, and Assistant Secretary General for Executive Affairs.
Dr. Saud Al Mashari is a Member of various Committees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and International Legal Associations i.e. Member, International Court of Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris, France. Chairman, Standing Committee for Arbitration Centres, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Member of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistic (GaStat), Saudi Arabia. Member, Committee for Business Facilitation, Council of Economic and Development Affairs, Council of Ministers, Saudi Arabia. Member in the list of approved arbitrators at the Ministry of Justice-Saudi Arabia. Registered as a Member in the list of arbitrators and accredited experts at the GCC Arbitration Centre-Bahrain. Member of the Board of Directors of the National Centre for Palms & Dates (NCPD), Saudi Arabia. Member of the coordinating team with the United Nations Compensation Commission for Gulf War reparations (UNCC), Geneva-Switzerland. Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce – (ICC), Saudi Arabia. Member of High Grievances Committee, Ministry of Labor, Saudi Arabia Member of the Task Force Committee for Trade and Investment at the B20 business group of the G20 nations. Member of the International Bar Association-London. Member of American Society of International Law, Washington, DC. Member of the Board of Trustees of the Energy Sector Training Board (ESTB), Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), Saudi Arabia. Member of the National Commission for Environmental Protection, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Al Mashari served as Assistant Professor of Law at The Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Director General - Legal Affairs Department and General Supervisor over Secretariat of the Board of Directors- The Supreme Commission for Tourism, Saudi Arabia. Legal Counsel at the Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan; In term Legal Counsel - Legal Department, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Saudi Arabia and Legal Counsel – office of the General Counsel at Exxon Mobil Petroleum Company (Exxon Mobil), Fairfax, Virginia-USA.
He finished his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree at King Saud University, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia in 1990. Master’s of Law (LLM), the American University, Washington College of Law, Washington DC, USA in 1993. Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD), Washington University-St. Louis Missouri, USA in 1996. Government Contract Management Program at George Washington University, USA in 1998. Finished his High School Diploma at Riyadh Private Schools in 1985 and completed his primary school at West Hill Primary School, Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom.
(English)
أصدر أعضاء مجلس ادارة اتحاد غرف دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي في اجتماعه الثاني والخمسون (52) الذي عقد مؤخراً في العاصمة العمانية مسقط، قراراً بتعيين الدكتور سعود بن عبد العزيز المشاري بمنصب الأمين العام لاتحاد غرف دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، حيث يعد الدكتور سعود المشاري من الكفاءات الإدارية الوطنية المميزة.
وسيضطلع الدكتور المشاري بمعالجة العديد من القضايا والمواضيع الخاصه الداخليه والخارجيه وذات العلاقة بالتنمية الاقتصادية الخليجية، والتي من أهمها تحقيق السوق الخليجيه المشتركه، والاتحاد الجمركي.
وقد عمل الدكتور المشاري قبل التحاقه بالاتحاد كأمين عام لمجلس الغرف السعودية، ومستشاراً قانونياً بالإدارة القانونية في شركة "اكسون موبيل البترولية" في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، وكان الدكتورالمشاري أستاذاً للقانون في "معهد الإدارة العامة" في الرياض، ومستشاراً غير متفرغ بالإدارة القانونية في "وزارة الطاقة"، كما عمل الدكتور المشاري محامياً ومستشاراً قانونياً في مكتب "صلاح الحجيلان للمحاماة والإستشارات القانونية، وكان الدكتور المشاري عضو / قاضي بمحكمة التحكيم الدولية بباريس، ورئيس اللجنة الدائمة لمراكز التحكيم بالسعودية.
يذكر أن الدكتور المشاري حاصل على درجة الدكتوراه في علم القانون من "جامعة واشنطن" في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكيه، وماجستير في الإختصاص ذاته من "الجامعة الأمريكية في واشنطن" وبكالوريوس في الإختصاص ذاته من "جامعة الملك سعود" في المملكة العربيه السعودية، وهو خريج برنامج القيادة الإستراتيجية من "جامعة هارفرد" وبرنامج إدارة العقود الحكومية من "جامعة جورج واشنطن" في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.
Total Saudi non-oil exports to GCC reached $1.01bln in October
Non-oil exports from Saudi Arabia to member countries of the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) increased by SAR 133 million ($35.5 million) or 5.2% year-on-year (YoY) during October 2019.
Saudi exports of national origin to GCC countries recorded SAR 2.7 billion ($721 million) last October, compared with SAR 2.57 billion ($686 million) in October 2018, according to a Mubasher survey, based on the data of the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).
Saudi non-oil re-exported goods to GCC member countries decreased by 18.2% to SAR 1.12 billion ($298 million). Accordingly, total non-oil exports reached SAR 3.82 billion in October.
Meanwhile, Saudi imports from GCC countries decreased to SAR 3.9 billion ($1.04 billion), with a trade balance deficit of SAR 83 million ($22.13 million).
source: zawya
The banking sector’s exposure to real estate has been contained at 17% of total credit to the private sector as of mid-year 2019
Like other real estate markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia’s property sector has been under a fair amount of pressure with falling property prices and rents in recent years.
Hydrocarbon production quotas, subdued global oil and gas prices and geopolitical tensions have all hindered the country’s economic growth. A series of social and economic reforms has been adopted by the Kingdom to attract foreign investment under a diversification drive. Alongside these measures, we expect a rebound in economic growth to 2.3 percent on average over 2020-2022 to support the real estate market.
The banking sector’s exposure to real estate has been contained at 17 percent of total credit to the private sector as of mid-year 2019. Although Saudi banks seems to have written off a significant portion of their problematic contractor exposures, we do not rule out some volatility in the asset-quality metrics.
Mortgage portfolios have been expanding rapidly over the past two years, fueled by government-subsidized programs and regulatory incentives introduced by Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA). They remain mostly salary assigned, so banks are exposed to unemployment risk, rather than asset-pricing risk. Yet, the cost of risk on mortgages has been negligible so far.
Nevertheless, government efforts to promote housing affordability, including lower regulatory requirements for mortgage exposures through loans could mean a build-up of risks in the long term.
Currently, the risks are still well-reflected in their ratings.
The general market trend is of weakening prices and rents across various segments, making the sector sensitive to unexpected changes in economic growth. The residential performance has been soft in Riyadh and Jeddah as residential sale prices and rents have declined. While supply is slated to increase slowly, we believe the segment is expected to remain under pressure mainly due to the exit of foreign workers, which has followed new and increasing taxes applying to expats.
We expect government initiatives, such as those incentivizing developers to build affordable homes, or encouraging banks to introduce more home financing options, to increase home ownership rates among Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia has recently approved a program that offers permanent residency to some foreigners to attract investments, which could also boost prices. In addition, we forecast improving regulation to promote transparency and investment in the sector.
The commercial market is quite fragmented, with limited new supply in the pipeline. There is good demand for Grade A office space in part due to demand from newly created government companies under Vision 2030. The rest of the market however continues to experience rental decline. In Jeddah, the trend is negative too, with vacancy rates as high as 21 percent.
The retail market is competitive and unorganized, especially outside of the cities. Lacklustre economic growth means a soft retail environment, one that has negatively affected retail rents. Rents in Riyadh and Jeddah, especially for regional and
community malls, have declined by 5 percent year on year and are trending downward as more supply is expected over next 2 years.
A key difference between Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries is the size of the local population and demographics. Compared to the UAE population of approximately 9.5 million with 10-15 percent citizens, Saudi Arabia’s population is over 33 million of which 60-65 percent are citizens.
Due to the current over supply in residential sector we believe the Dubai market will remain under pressure in 2019-2020, with no meaningful recovery in the near term. Dubai Expo 2020, which is expected to attract millions of visitors to the emirate, may have a positive effect on market sentiment. Since the decline in prices has been gradual, relative to the previous cycle, we believe any meaningful recovery will take longer.
In contrast, Saudi Arabia has the opportunity to better manage property supply than its neighbors, with a key strength being its growing population and rapidly changing demographics.
Its youthful population has increasing disposable income, a taste for a better quality of life, and a preference for urban centers.
Meanwhile, the increased participation of women in the workforce will result in higher household spending power.
Under the Saudi Housing Vision Realization Program, the government aims to increase home ownership rates among Saudi nationals by 10 percent year on year. To achieve this, an increase in the availability of private sector funding for real estate and a boost to middle- and low-income housing stock, while also establishing cooperative social housing programs is needed to increase supply.
The country can also proactively plan for new concepts that are disrupting traditional brick-and-mortar real estate elsewhere such as co-working spaces, co-living developments, and online shopping.
Saudi population trends, combined with government reforms and potential economic growth, are supportive of a sustainable real estate market in the medium term and could see Saudi Arabia outperform neighboring countries.
source: zawya
System will make it easier for nationals setting up companies to employ expat workers
Saudi Arabia is to allow an instant small business visa for people looking to set up new firms in the kingdom from next month.
The move, which was announced by the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, last week, is being created to help Saudi nationals more easily launch their own start-ups and small businesses and will be housed on the new Qiwa employment visa platform.
The minister announced the initiative at an event involving young entrepreneurs at Hail Chamber of Commerce, during which he said extensive studies had been conducted to determine the need for migrant workers by small businesses, according to a statement in Arabic on the ministry's website.
Growing small business participation is one of the targets set out in the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy away from a dependence on hydrocarbon revenue.
Under Vision 2030, a target was set to increase the contribution made by SMEs to 35 per cent of GDP, from 20 per cent when the plan was launched in 2016.
Saudi Arabia's non-oil economy grew by 2.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2019, it's fastest rate since the end of 2015.
The growth was driven by a more favourable fiscal backdrop and strengthening investment momentum, according to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's chief economist Monica Malik.
The kingdom has been attempting to implement a series of reforms to improve its business environment, such as the launch of new entrepreneur licences and the setting up of bodies such as Monshaat - an authority set up specifically to support SMEs.
Saudi Arabia was the biggest climber in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business annual ranking this year.
The kingdom jumped 30 places in the ranking to 62nd as it carried out eight reforms aimed at improving the business environment.
The UAE remains the highest-ranked Middle East country in the index, at 16th globally out of 190 countries.
source: magnitt
