Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia has announced its readiness to implement a wide-range privatisation programme next year, the Minister of Economy and Planning said. Mohammed Al Tuwaijri
The sectors expected to see privatisation comprise education, health, energy, water, and municipalities, Mohammed Al Tuwaijri said on the sidelines of discussing the 2019 budget.
Earlier on Wednesday, the energy minister stated that the oil-rich kingdom earmarked around SAR 33 billion for energy, industry, mining, and logistics sectors in the 2019 budget.
The GCC state also expected that the 2019 budget deficit will hit $35 billion, pressured by a decrease in oil prices.
The oil-rich country also decided to cut military spending for a second straight year.
On Tuesday, King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz said that the 2019 budget is the biggest in the kingdom's history.
The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also stated that the government expects non-oil revenues to increase to SAR 313 billion next year.
The Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan indicated that the gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 2.6% in 2019.
