CMA prepares program to achieve Saudi Vision 2030

RIYADH — In order to execute the instructions of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) has started to prepare a program to accomplish the 2030 Vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based on its 2015 – 2019 strategic plan. This comes as part of CMA's belief in its role in the national economy and the part it plays to develop the capital market to be one of the important contributors to the investment power in the Saudi Vision 2030. Mohammed Abdullah Aljadaan, chairman of the Capital Market Authority, said the Council of Economic and Development Affairs instructed CMA to prepare and build a separate program to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 which would emphasize the importance of the capital market in contributing to the growth of the national economy and becoming a leading investment power, in addition to the responsibility to all related legislative and follow up entities in the upcoming period. CMA's program to achieve Saudi Vision 2030 will aim to attract national and foreign investment to the Saudi Capital Market so it would be an integral part in developing the economy and diversifying its sources. The program will be consistent with CMA's strategic plan established in 2015. The plan's initiatives accounts for a large portion of the components of the program, in order to achieve a number of objectives as stated in the Saudi Vision 2030. The objectives of the program include: supporting the diversification of investment products, promoting and facilitating investing to all segments of investors, strengthening the role of the Saudi Capital Market in providing the necessary funding for projects, in addition to developing infrastructure and financial stability as well as raising the level of transparency and governance. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s stock market plunged to its lowest close since March 2011 on Sunday because of fears the government could introduce more austerity measures to curb a big budget deficit caused by low oil prices. The Saudi index edged up in early trade but fell steadily through the afternoon to close 3.1% lower at 5,448 points in thin trade. Global stock markets ended last week on a firm note while Brent oil for November delivery settled above $49 a barrel in response to last week’s deal by OPEC crude producers to cut output. But many analysts are uncertain whether the OPEC deal will be implemented effectively or result in any extended rise of oil prices. Many blue-chip petrochemical and banking stocks outperformed, with Saudi Basic Industries down only 0.6%. But National Petrochemical tumbled 9.8% after saying a subsidiary would halt operations for 60 days because of maintenance and that the financial impact was not yet known. “Today the worst-hit sectors are the ones related directly to the local market and consumer spending—retail, electricity, cement and even media, which hit limit-down,” said Ameri. Government data released on Friday showed Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, rose 1.4% from a year earlier in the second quarter of 2016, after growth of 1.5% in the first quarter. That was only a marginal slowdown and suggested the Saudi economy was faring better than feared in the face of oil’s slump. But many analysts think the growth figures understate the blow from low oil prices and may eventually be revised lower, as Saudi GDP data has been in the past.