Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia expects to receive up to SAR 25 billion ($6.7 billion) in dividends this year from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in a one-off measure aimed at boosting coffers battered by low oil prices, Finance Minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, told Reuters late on Tuesday.
“We called for part of the dividends, so we are possibly going to receive around SAR 15 to 25 billion in dividends from PIF,” said al-Jadaan.
He said receiving dividends from PIF’s profits was an exceptional decision and that the government generally does not plan to call for dividends from the fund in the future.
Moreover, Jadaan noted there were no immediate plans to hike taxes and, when asked, said introducing an income tax was not on the cards.
Jadaan said this year’s $40 billion transfer from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to the PIF to back its investments was “a very exceptional transfer in a very exceptional year.”
The sovereign wealth fund invested most of those funds abroad and achieved profits of more than 19% in a seven-to-eight month period, Jadaan said.
The Gulf country had 10 privatisations this year in the healthcare, education, water desalination and treatment, and other sectors, Jadaan said, expecting more privatisation deals in those sectors, as well as in ports in the future.
