Saudi Arabia Reform Plan

The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence on Thursday signed memorandums of understanding with IBM, Alibaba and Huawei in areas of artificial intelligence (AI) at a summit in the kingdom, state news agency SPA said.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince dined with French President Emmanuel Macron at Paris's Louvre museum on Sunday after arriving on a three-day visit aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image as he presses ahead with plans to reform the conservative petrostate.

A Saudi Arabian industrial zone plans to host a jazz festival around the end of this year as it moves into tourism and entertainment, a result of economic reforms designed to end the kingdom's reliance on oil exports.

The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China.

Saudi Arabian laws requiring women to have male guardians have been reformed in recent years but continue to restrict and endanger them, obstructing government plans to reform the economy, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says in a report.

Investment banks are jostling to take part in the listing of a chunk of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco as a portal to the lucrative deals they expect to flow from the kingdom's plan to revamp its economy.

Saudi Arabia will pay for parts of its $72 billion five-year economic reform plan by making efficiency savings and cutting spending on existing projects, Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia plans to more than triple the government's non-oil revenues and clamp down on public-sector salaries over the next five years, ministers said on Monday as they described reforms designed to reduce the economy's dependence on oil and build a sustainable future.

Saudi Arabia's National Transformation Plan, a pivotal element of the "Vision 2030" reforms announced in April by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will be put before the cabinet for approval today, a senior Saudi source told Reuters.

The International Monetary Fund backed Saudi Arabia's sweeping economic reform plan on Thursday and said the kingdom was cutting spending at the right speed to cope with a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices.

The cost of insuring Saudi Arabia's debt against default has risen since the kingdom announced a plan to wean itself off volatile oil exports, showing that some investors fear it won't be able to raise enough revenue to make the reforms work.

Saudi Arabia announced a string of reforms to its stock market that could attract billions of dollars of fresh foreign money and smooth sales of state assets as the kingdom grapples with damage to its finances caused by low oil prices.

Reforms promised by a young Saudi prince are couched in references to the kingdom's Islamic tradition but include ideas likely to upset some conservatives, risking future ruptures over the direction of society.

The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence on Thursday signed memorandums of understanding with IBM, Alibaba and Huawei in areas of artificial intelligence (AI) at a summit in the kingdom, state news agency SPA said.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince dined with French President Emmanuel Macron at Paris's Louvre museum on Sunday after arriving on a three-day visit aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image as he presses ahead with plans to reform the conservative petrostate.

A Saudi Arabian industrial zone plans to host a jazz festival around the end of this year as it moves into tourism and entertainment, a result of economic reforms designed to end the kingdom's reliance on oil exports.

The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China.

Saudi Arabian laws requiring women to have male guardians have been reformed in recent years but continue to restrict and endanger them, obstructing government plans to reform the economy, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says in a report.

Investment banks are jostling to take part in the listing of a chunk of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco as a portal to the lucrative deals they expect to flow from the kingdom's plan to revamp its economy.

Saudi Arabia will pay for parts of its $72 billion five-year economic reform plan by making efficiency savings and cutting spending on existing projects, Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia plans to more than triple the government's non-oil revenues and clamp down on public-sector salaries over the next five years, ministers said on Monday as they described reforms designed to reduce the economy's dependence on oil and build a sustainable future.

Saudi Arabia's National Transformation Plan, a pivotal element of the "Vision 2030" reforms announced in April by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will be put before the cabinet for approval today, a senior Saudi source told Reuters.

The International Monetary Fund backed Saudi Arabia's sweeping economic reform plan on Thursday and said the kingdom was cutting spending at the right speed to cope with a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices.

The cost of insuring Saudi Arabia's debt against default has risen since the kingdom announced a plan to wean itself off volatile oil exports, showing that some investors fear it won't be able to raise enough revenue to make the reforms work.

Saudi Arabia announced a string of reforms to its stock market that could attract billions of dollars of fresh foreign money and smooth sales of state assets as the kingdom grapples with damage to its finances caused by low oil prices.

Reforms promised by a young Saudi prince are couched in references to the kingdom's Islamic tradition but include ideas likely to upset some conservatives, risking future ruptures over the direction of society.