<p>Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced plans to pump fresh investments worth $3.2 trillion into the national economy by 2030, as the top crude exporter accelerates economic diversification efforts.</p>.<p>The announcement by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscores a push to jumpstart the domestic economy as the OPEC kingpin battles high youth unemployment and a coronavirus-triggered downturn.</p>.<p>"The total investment injected... into the national economy is expected to reach 12 trillion riyals ($3.2 trillion) by 2030," Prince Mohammed said in a speech carried by state television.</p>.<p>That amount includes three trillion riyals from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund.</p>.<p>Twenty-four of the kingdom's biggest companies, including energy giant Aramco and petrochemical firm SABIC, will contribute five trillion riyals over the next decade, the crown prince told reporters later at a virtual briefing.</p>.<p>He said the companies, many of them listed, had agreed to lower their dividends and redirect the money into the domestic economy in exchange for incentives such as subsidies.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/with-stick-and-carrot-saudi-arabia-starts-winning-over-firms-in-regional-race-with-dubai-967838.html">With stick and carrot, Saudi Arabia starts winning over firms in regional race with Dubai</a></strong></p>.<p>The remaining four trillion riyals will come from a new "national investment strategy", which will soon be announced, the prince said.</p>.<p>The initiative will help boost economic growth, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and strengthen the private sector, Prince Mohammed added.</p>.<p>The programme is part of a mammoth 27 trillion-riyal ($7 trillion) investment plan over the next decade, which will include huge government spending to spur the domestic economy, the prince said.</p>.<p>The announcement comes after the crown prince said in January that the PIF would invest $40 billion annually in the domestic economy over the next five years.</p>.<p>The kingdom is pushing to boost job creation and revive businesses decimated by the pandemic.</p>.<p>Joblessness in Saudi Arabia touched 14.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, dipping slightly from an all-time high of 15.4 per cent in the previous quarter, according to official data.</p>.<p>Last year, the twin shocks of the pandemic and a drop in oil prices prompted the petro-state to triple its value-added tax and suspend a monthly allowance to civil servants to rein in a ballooning budget deficit.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, has been struggling to attract foreign investment, a key pillar of the crown prince's "Vision 2030" economic diversification plan to boost non-oil revenue.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced plans to pump fresh investments worth $3.2 trillion into the national economy by 2030, as the top crude exporter accelerates economic diversification efforts.</p>.<p>The announcement by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscores a push to jumpstart the domestic economy as the OPEC kingpin battles high youth unemployment and a coronavirus-triggered downturn.</p>.<p>"The total investment injected... into the national economy is expected to reach 12 trillion riyals ($3.2 trillion) by 2030," Prince Mohammed said in a speech carried by state television.</p>.<p>That amount includes three trillion riyals from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund.</p>.<p>Twenty-four of the kingdom's biggest companies, including energy giant Aramco and petrochemical firm SABIC, will contribute five trillion riyals over the next decade, the crown prince told reporters later at a virtual briefing.</p>.<p>He said the companies, many of them listed, had agreed to lower their dividends and redirect the money into the domestic economy in exchange for incentives such as subsidies.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/with-stick-and-carrot-saudi-arabia-starts-winning-over-firms-in-regional-race-with-dubai-967838.html">With stick and carrot, Saudi Arabia starts winning over firms in regional race with Dubai</a></strong></p>.<p>The remaining four trillion riyals will come from a new "national investment strategy", which will soon be announced, the prince said.</p>.<p>The initiative will help boost economic growth, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and strengthen the private sector, Prince Mohammed added.</p>.<p>The programme is part of a mammoth 27 trillion-riyal ($7 trillion) investment plan over the next decade, which will include huge government spending to spur the domestic economy, the prince said.</p>.<p>The announcement comes after the crown prince said in January that the PIF would invest $40 billion annually in the domestic economy over the next five years.</p>.<p>The kingdom is pushing to boost job creation and revive businesses decimated by the pandemic.</p>.<p>Joblessness in Saudi Arabia touched 14.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, dipping slightly from an all-time high of 15.4 per cent in the previous quarter, according to official data.</p>.<p>Last year, the twin shocks of the pandemic and a drop in oil prices prompted the petro-state to triple its value-added tax and suspend a monthly allowance to civil servants to rein in a ballooning budget deficit.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, has been struggling to attract foreign investment, a key pillar of the crown prince's "Vision 2030" economic diversification plan to boost non-oil revenue.</p>