RIYADH--Saudi Arabia, seeking to free itself from dependence on oil exports, announced on Tuesday a $500 billion plan to build a business and industrial zone extending into Jordan and Egypt. The 26,500 square km (10,230 square mile) zone, known as NEOM, to be powered entirely by renewable energy, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.
The announcement was the highlight at the opening of a three-day international business conference drawing over 3,500 people from 88 countries. Prince Mohammed, in a rare public address, hailed it as an example of the innovative high tech future he has promised his highly conservative country.
Speaking on a panel, he said young Saudis and the promotion of moderate Islam were the key to his modernising "dream" for his country, the world’s largest oil exporter. In a brief political comment, he said the country would eradicate extremism soon.
The stakes in the country’s rapid modernisation were high. "This is a double-edged sword. If they (young Saudis) work and go the right way, with all their force they will create another country, something completely different ... and if they go the wrong direction it will be the destruction of this country," he said.
Holding two phones - one a decade old and one a smart phone - Prince Mohammed said they represented the difference between what NEOM would be and any other such area. "This project is not a place for any conventional investor ... This is a place for dreamers who want to do something in the world," he said.
Arranged by Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the conference is labelled the Future Investment Initiative - an effort to present the kingdom as a leading global investment destination. Saudi Arabia's economy, though rich, has struggled to overcome low oil prices. Prince Mohammed has launched a series of economic and social reforms -- such as allowing women to drive -- to modernise the kingdom.
Officials hope a privatisation programme, including selling 5 percent of oil giant Saudi Aramco, will raise $300 billion. Saudi Electricity Co, the state-owned utility, said on Tuesday the government would consider selling a large stake in it to the SoftBank Vision Fund, the world’s biggest private equity fund.
Riyadh, meanwhile, is cutting red tape and removing barriers to investment. It said on Sunday it would let strategic foreign investors own more than 10 percent of listed Saudi companies.
