Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, is overseeing the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform agenda. The IMF commended the kingdom on making good progress in implementing reforms to diversify the economy. Bandar Algaloud /Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court / Reuters
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, is overseeing the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform agenda. The IMF commended the kingdom on making good progress in implementing reforms to diversify the economy. Bandar Algaloud /Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court / Reuters
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, is overseeing the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform agenda. The IMF commended the kingdom on making good progress in implementing reforms to diversify the economy. Bandar Algaloud /Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court / Reuters
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, is overseeing the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform agenda. The IMF commended the kingdom on making good progress in implementing refor

IMF commends Saudi Arabia on 'good progress' on implementing Vision 2030


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Saudi Arabia is making "good progress" in implementing reforms in line with its Vision 2030 initiative which will help spur economic growth, the International Monetary Fund said.

"The government remains committed to wide-ranging economic and social reforms to transform the economy away from its traditional reliance on oil and to create a more dynamic private sector that creates jobs for the growing working age population," the IMF’s mission chief for the kingdom Tim Callen said in a statement. "Growth is expected to pick-up this year and over the medium-term as reforms take hold."

Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected rise to 1.7 per cent from a contraction of 0.7 per cent in 2017. The economy will accelerate further in 2019 to 1.9 per cent as oil output increases, the Washington-based lender said in a report in April. Vision 2030 aims to lower Saudi Arabia’s dependency on oil by creating new revenue streams – such as through the country’s new value added tax (VAT) that came into force this year –developing the private sector, widening its manufacturing industry and opening up capital markets to foreign investors.

Considerable progress has been made in improving the business climate, including changes to the legal system, business licensing and regulation. The public procurement law currently being updated has a key role to play in strengthening anti-corruption policies, while the privatisation and PPP (public-private-partnerships) agenda should be accelerated, Mr Callen added.
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Progress has been made in implementing VAT and strengthening tax administration, while recent energy price reforms have been helpful and should be continued. The kingdom should keep enacting its “bold” Vision 2030 reforms despite rising oil prices that may deem economic diversification less critical in the short term, he added.

“The primary challenges for the government are to sustain the implementation of reforms, achieve the fiscal targets it has set, and resist the temptation to re-expand government spending in line with higher oil prices,” Mr Callen said.

Oil prices have rebounded to nearly $80 a barrel after remaining low for the past three years and plummeting to below $30 a barrel.

Overall, Saudi Arabia should target a balanced budget by 2023 by limiting the growth of government spending to achieve fiscal targets. “Reforms to strengthen the budget process and the fiscal framework, increase fiscal transparency, and develop macro-fiscal analysis are making good progress,” Mr Callen said.

Job creation policies should focus on “sending clear signals about the limited prospects for public employment, easing restrictions on expatriate worker mobility, further strengthening education and training, and continuing to support increased female participation,” according to the statement.

The kingdom should strike a balance between pursuing financial development, and financial stability and inclusion, with increased SME finance, more developed debt markets and improved financial access especially for women.

“The exchange rate peg to the U.S. dollar continues to serve Saudi Arabia well given the structure of the economy,” the statement added.

Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E680hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800Nm%20at%202%2C750-6%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERear-mounted%20eight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E13.6L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Orderbook%20open%3B%20deliveries%20start%20end%20of%20year%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh970%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
T20 World Cup Qualifier

October 18 – November 2

Opening fixtures

Friday, October 18

ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya

Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan

Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed

Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Thor: Ragnarok

Dir: Taika Waititi

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson

Four stars

Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%206%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Tim%20Merlier%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2041min%2012sec.%3Cbr%3E2.%20Sam%20Bennett%20(GBR)%20Bora%20%E2%80%93%20Hansgrohe%20%E2%80%93%20ST%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dylan%20Groenewegen%20(NED)%20Team%20Jayco%20Alula%20%E2%80%93%20ST%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%209sec%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pello%20Bilbao%20(ESP)%20Bahrain%20Victorious%20%E2%80%93%2013sec%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

Light Flyweight (49kg): Mirzakhmedov Nodirjon (UZB) beat Daniyal Sabit (KAZ) by points 5-0.

Flyweight (52kg): Zoirov Shakhobidin (UZB) beat Amit Panghol (IND) 3-2.

Bantamweight (56kg): Kharkhuu Enkh-Amar (MGL) beat Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov (UZB) 3-2.

Lightweight (60kg): Erdenebat Tsendbaatar (MGL) beat Daniyal Shahbakhsh (IRI) 5-0.

Light Welterweight (64kg): Baatarsukh Chinzorig (MGL) beat Shiva Thapa (IND) 3-2.

Welterweight (69kg): Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB) beat Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) RSC round-1.

Middleweight (75kg): Jafarov Saidjamshid (UZB) beat Abilkhan Amankul (KAZ) 4-1.

Light Heavyweight (81kg): Ruzmetov Dilshodbek (UZB) beat Meysam Gheshlaghi (IRI) 3-2.

Heavyweight (91kg): Sanjeet (IND) beat Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) 4-1.

Super Heavyweight ( 91kg): Jalolov Bakhodir (UZB) beat Kamshibek Kunkabayev (KAZ) 5-0.

UAE gold medallists:

Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.

The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home