Mohammed bin Salman launches Shareek programme to strengthen Saudi private-sector partnership

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday launched a programme to strengthen partnership between the government and the private sector.

The initiative, 'Shareek', aims to enhance the contribution of local companies towards the country’s economic growth, development and success.

It is part of an investment programme worth 27 trillion riyals ($7.2tn) over the next 10 years.

Shareek will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, as the private sector's contribution to gross domestic product is expected to rise to 65 per cent, as part of the goals of Vision 2030.

The first preliminary agreements are expected to be signed starting in June.

An online inauguration for the initiative was attended by high-ranking ministers, businessmen and heads of large companies in the kingdom.

“Building a vibrant and prosperous private sector is one of the national priorities for the kingdom," Prince Mohammed said.

"And that is why we are inaugurating a new and more powerful era in terms of co-operation and partnership between the government and private sector today.

“The Shareek programme will strengthen the partnership with the private sector and has the objective of supporting local companies and enabling them to unlock new local investments valued at 5tn riyals through the end of 2030.”

He said Saudi Arabia would undergo a giant leap in investments over the next decade.

“Three trillion riyals will be injected by the Public Investment Fund through 2030, as announced earlier this year; 4tn riyals will be invested under the umbrella of the National Investment Strategy, details of which will be announced soon; and 5tn riyals from the large companies of the private sector, supported by the Shareek programme," Prince Mohammed said.

"The total investment injected from these three sources in the national economy is expected to reach 12tn riyals by 2030.

"This does not include government spending of 10tn riyals over the next 10 years, and private consumption spending, expected to reach 5tn riyals by 2030.

"The total across all these sources reaches 27tn riyals over the next 10 years."

The collaborative programme aims to create more confidence in the kingdom’s investment ecosystem.

It will help private-sector companies to achieve their investment goals and accelerate growth of the kingdom's GDP.

Saudi Arabia has set a goal of rising from its current ranking of the world's 18th largest economy to 15th.

Businesses taking part will work closely to create tailored investment plans with the relevant ministries.

Shareek will also be an incentive for businesses recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new programme will create a conducive environment for investment through proactive, innovative and forward-looking measures.

It will operate in line with World Trade Organisation guidelines and domestic and international regulations and policies.

Shareek is an integral part of the country’s National Investment Strategy and economic growth plan.

More details are expected to be revealed soon.

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Red flags

Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed

Rating: 1/5