3 August 2017

KSA moving forward with privatisation process

The National Center for Privatization & PPP (NCP), a newly-formed agency created to empower Saudi Arabia's private sector, alongside the Supervisory Committees (SCs) established to manage each privatisation sector, has set out the blueprint to ensure the efficient and strategic transfer of the kingdom's government assets to the private sector.

The NCP, established through the Council of Ministers Resolution on April 3, 2017, and the SCs are the first entities of their kind in the MENA region. They have been established to meet the core objectives of the privatisation effort: improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the national economy, thereby boosting the quality of life for the Saudi people through stimulation of the private sector, improving the overall business environment, increasing job opportunities for Saudi nationals, reinvigorating the kingdom's rich mineral resources sector, developing renewable energy capacity, investing in workforce and education development and diversifying the economy.

The KSA Council of Ministers announced the establishment of the SCs on August 1, and these were given a definitive mandate to function as executive facilitators for multiple sectors which are to be privatised over the next 10 years. NCP will serve as a permanent member of all SCs, providing strategic guidance and support as the committees move to enhance KSA's economy by recruiting private sector participation through asset privatisation and the formation of new public-private partnerships.

The role of each committee is to assess the technical, financial, legal and regulatory landscape and to establish a best practice blueprint for the privatisation of the targeted entities. The Ministry of Finance, a permanent member in all the SCs, will also play a crucial role in the privatisation process.

The sectors included in Vision 2030 under the Privatization Program are: environment, water and agriculture; transport; energy, industry and mineral resources; labour and social development; housing; education; health; municipalities, telecommunications and IT and the Hajj and umrah sectors.

NCP will formulate regulations, create privatisation frameworks and prepare robust processes that will serve as a blueprint for agencies and entities to follow that will ensure the efficient sale of Saudi assets and to drive the privatisation process forward. The first step in this process is to establish a world-class centre of excellence to facilitate and regulate the sale of state assets and entities. "NCP has adopted a wide-ranging governance policy that will enable government agencies and hold each accountable as we move forward with stimulating private investment and privatisation," said Turki A. Al Hokail, CEO of the NCP.

"We will facilitate the smooth transfer of assets by publishing a blueprint that will deepen communication channels between government agencies, citizens and the private sector locally, regionally and internationally and serve to guide investors and participating agencies and entities through the privatisation process.

"NCP was established with the purpose of setting policies, strategies, programmes, bylaws, plans and tools to achieve the privatisation projects objectives, thus suggesting the sectors and activities that may be privatised. The centre will also set necessary standards and frameworks for sectors targeted for privatisation, set principles which help the management of privatisation-related projects, develop requirements to establish entities where the private sector – from inside and outside the kingdom – may participate with government entities in the launched privatisation projects.

"NCP will work with the sectors targeted for privatisation to ensure their technical and financial readiness. The Center will work to assess the readiness of the macro economy of the privatisation programs and contribute to managing related risks. It will work with its counterparts to identify key performance indicators related to privatisation. In addition, NCP will be contributing to the training and qualification of human capital in the field of privatisation to guarantee leveraging their abilities and expertise to achieve development objectives.

"Effective governance means integrating a continuous evolution of improvement to keep pace with the rising accountability and transparency expected of government. NCP will serve as an agile, performance-oriented public organisation that will boost performance and increase investment opportunity in the kingdom."

It is anticipated that the privatisation process will increase the private sector's contribution to GDP from 40% to 65%.