RIYADH/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia will introduce a "green card" system within five years to allow resident expatriates in the kingdom to have more rights in order
to improve its investment climate, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Monday.
Speaking in a television interview, he said planned sweeping reforms, of which the proposed green card is one, will be implemented even if oil prices rise back above $70 a barrel and pledged to end Riyadh's dependence on crude revenue by 2020.
Aramco share sale
Saudi Arabia will sell shares in state oil giant Aramco and set up the world's largest wealth fund under a long-term economic reform plan, the deputy crown prince said Monday.
"We plan to sell less than five percent of Aramco. Aramco's size is very big. It is estimated at between $2 trillion and $2.5 trillion," Prince Mohammed said.
"We plan to set up a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund... part of its assets will come from the sale of a small part of Aramco," the prince added.
Economic Reform
The Saudi government on Monday approved a plan for vast economic reforms dubbed "Saudi Vision 2030" to substantially reduce the OPEC kingpin's reliance on oil, the official SPA news agency reported.
The plan focuses on privatisations, further reductions in subsidies, the sale of part of state oil giant Aramco and the creation of a giant $2 trillion Sovereign Wealth Fund, SPA reported.
Reuters/AFP
