The government plans to do this by getting the state out of all but its essential functions.
From health and education to stateowned
companies, the new Saudi leadership is looking
for privatisation and the private provision of public services. It has plans for charter schools
and an insurancebased,
privately provided healthcare
system. It is looking at the complete
or partial privatisation of more than two dozen agencies and stateowned
companies,
including the national airline, telecoms firm and power generator. The biggest fish of all is
Aramco, a national icon and almost certainly the world’s most valuable firm. The prince
favours floating a minority stake in Aramco and opening its books to the world. He is urging
his team to come up with a plan within months