Saudi Arabia plans $2 trillion fund for post-oil era

نيسان ـ

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arabnews

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $2 trillion megafund for post-oil era, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his vision for the Public Investment Fund, which will eventually control more than $2 trillion and help wean the Kingdom off oil,” Bloomberg said on its website.

It said it had conducted a five-hour conversation with the prince who oversees ministries including finance, oil and the economy through the Council for Economic and Development Affairs.

According to Bloomberg, the deputy crown prince also said that Saudi Arabia is ready to weather the oil crisis by reforming its economy.

"I don’t believe that the decline in oil prices poses a threat to us," he said, adding that a rise in prices, while having budgetary benefits for the Kingdom, was also a "threat to the lifespan of oil."

He suggested prices will rise over the next two years as demand continues to increase, but he made clear Riyadh has very little appetite for the return of OPEC production management that molded the oil industry for 30 years.

"For us it’s a free market that is governed by supply and demand and this is how we deal with the market," he said in the Bloomberg report.