Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense who is also the chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, announced a sweeping reform plan on Monday that he said would transform the Kingdom into a global investment power and wean the world's top oil exporter off crude by 2020. In a wide-ranging interview with Al-Arabiya news channel after the Cabinet approved the reform program, the Deputy Crown Prince outlined a series of measures aimed at reshaping the Kingdom's economy. Among the themes discussed in the interview were plans to put oil giant Aramco's shares in an initial public offering, the Saudi public investment fund, a Green Card scheme, tourism, expats, defense etc. The prince discussed plans to set up a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund — the world's largest wealth fund and sell less than 5% of Aramco. A green card system would be launched within five years to enable expatriates to live and work long-term in the country, Prince Muhammad said. Read complete report later
