Saudi Arabia is confident it can attract enough large-scale investment to make significant strides in diversifying the economy of the world’s largest oil exporter, according to a top official.
Authorities believe they have “so many enablers that can attract a lot of partners,” said the Saudi minister of economy and planning, Faisal Alibrahim, citing the kingdom’s access to natural resources, regulatory changes, and its mostly young population.
“We have the right kind of incentive structures and governance and processes in order to attract the right kind of investors for the right kind of returns for them as partners,” Alibrahim said an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Saudi seeks foreign investors
Hitting targets for attracting foreign direct investment as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to overhaul the Kingdom’s economy has been a challenge.
That plan envisages lifting foreign investment to 5.7% of economic output.
Yet most of the $19.3bn foreign investment in 2021, the most since 2010, came from state oil company Saudi Aramco selling part of its pipeline unit, rather than going into new industries.
The government has made more than 700 regulatory changes as it seeks to attract investors, said Alibrahim.
“We’re very serious about our diversification efforts,” he said. “We’re open and we’re talking to all partners who’re interested in the Saudi story.”
“We still want to create more jobs and we want to even reach higher levels.” said Alibrahim.
He doesn’t see higher interest rates impacting the Saudi private sector.
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