Saudi Arabia is recording “strong progress” as it races towards achieving its Vision 2030 goals, a report by consultancy PwC has said.
The Arab world’s largest economy launched the 2030 vision programme in 2016 to diversify its economy away from oil, improve female workforce participation, boost non-oil revenue and reduce the unemployment rate among Saudi citizens.
“Midway through the Vision 2030 implementation, strong performance has been achieved against many of the economic goals,” the report said.
One of the 14 targets that has already been far exceeded is that of female workforce participation on the part of Saudi women, the report said.
Female workforce participation among citizens surged to 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, topping the 2030 target of 30 per cent, supported by social liberalisation, including the move to permit women to drive in 2018 and “Saudisation” policies.
It was only 22 per cent, one of the lowest in the world around 2015, the baseline level used for assessing the performance of various economic goals drafted as part of the Vision 2030 initiative.
“There’s been a proactive shift among nationals to embrace a broader spectrum of roles, including customer-facing retail and service positions,” the report said.
“The boost to household incomes from working women has contributed to rising consumption and supported broader economic growth.”
Unemployment levels among Saudis has also been declining, hitting 8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the lowest on record, down from the baseline of 11.6 per cent around 2015 and well on the way towards the 2030 target of 7 per cent.
Another area of strong performance is the expansion of Saudi home ownership, which stood at 47 per cent in the baseline but had risen to 67 per cent by 2022. This is higher than the US and France, excluding expatriates.
“These strong results can be attributed to a range of initiatives to boost the supply of affordable homes, including a tax on undeveloped urban land and improved access to finance, with the 2030 target of 70 per cent now close to being achieved,” the report said.
Economic diversification initiatives are also bearing fruit, owing to the commitment of the public sector to major non-oil investments.
Non-oil revenue has grown by two and a half times the baseline, increasing from $163 billion to $411 billion in 2022, and expected to rise further by 11 per cent this year.
Saudi Arabia is focusing on developing the property and tourism sectors, as well as industry, as part of the diversification plans. It is building projects such as the $500 billion Neom project along the Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia's economy expanded by 1.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, a slightly faster pace of growth than the initial estimates, driven by a sharp expansion in the non-oil sector.
Gross domestic product at current prices was 970 billion Saudi riyals ($258.66 billion) in the three months to the end of June, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
The non-oil sector grew by 6.1 per cent on an annual basis, beating the authority's initial estimate of a 5.5 per cent expansion in the three-month period to the end of June.
Saudi Arabia’s GDP exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in 2022 as its economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the PwC report said.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the kingdom can reach $1.3 trillion in fiscal revenue by the end of 2028.
“The ongoing success of these economic initiatives has resulted in Saudi Arabia rising to 17th place in the global economy rankings, with the largest by size of GDP in 2022. It is now targeting 15th place by the end of this year,” PwC said.
The transformation of the Public Investment Fund from a small holding company to an international dealmaker and manager of mega projects, has been one of the biggest successes of the diversification strategy, PwC said.
“[The] PIF is on track to achieve its ambitious target to increase assets under management by more than tenfold, having already increased by nearly fivefold to $773 billion by the end of 2022,” the report said.
This is partly a result of the transfer of state assets, including a 4 per cent stake in Aramco in 2022 and proceeds from the sale of 1.7 per cent in the 2019 IPO, according to PwC. A further 4 per cent has been transferred in 2023.
It is also due to an increase in valuation in its Saudi corporate holdings, with the Tadawul bourse being one of the strongest performing global markets recently, as well as some foreign investments including from Lucid Group.
“The kingdom, as a whole, is making good progress towards achieving Vision 2030, with areas of focus including non-oil diversification, improving infrastructure, advancing digitalisation, fostering a competitive business environment and ensuring good jobs for its citizens through nationalisation targets,” said Riyadh AlNajjar, PwC's Middle East chairman of the board and senior partner in Saudi Arabia.
“The kingdom's ambitious initiatives are shaping the foundation of the new Saudi economy, which will have a transformative effect on the business environment in the region.”
Saudi Arabia’s mega projects such as the Red Sea Project, Qiddiya entertainment city, outside Riyadh and the Diriyah Gate heritage development “have made significant progress in the last few years, moving from the conceptual phase to construction”, the report said.
The dominant mega project, Neom, has achieved “significant earthworks progress” it said.
“To date, the bulk of investment in Neom has come from PIF but private investments are expected to play a leading role as its physical infrastructure and regulatory framework matures,” PwC said.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's Oxagon, Neom's advanced manufacturing city, said the Port of Neom was now open for business.
Originally named Duba Port, it will meet rising volumes of cargo arriving at Neom, the country's city of the future.
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
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Indika
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
