Privatization in Saudi Arabia: Is slow beautiful?

Abstract

The aim of this article is to abridge the dearth of academic research on Saudi Arabia's privatization strategy, which is touted by government as key to empowering the business community in the largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region. Whereas some contend privatization has moved at a slow pace and that the business model employed for privatizing public enterprises lacks commercial business efficiency standards, government retorts that, guided by an organized and sequential process, privatization has been successful. This article maintains that if privatization is to confer the benefits claimed for it and sway international investors equipped with modern managerial skills and technical know‐how, authorities need to accelerate privatization and subject enterprises to steadfast market competitive forces. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The level of voluntary disclosure practices among public listed companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE: Using a modified voluntary disclosure index

“…The investment regulations in Saudi Arabia make complicated conditions for foreign investors. Akoum (2009) stated that there is a lack of a proper regulatory environment in Saudi Arabia, which restricts foreign investment in the country.…”

The Prospect of Infrastructure Public‐Private Partnerships in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities

“…In countries where “civil society and/or the private sector are discriminated, the government remains the dominant supplier of social goods” (Pessoa, , p. 20). The existence of such political will is reflected in a country's involvement with the private sector either through outsourcing of infrastructure services or, on a larger scale, through successful privatization programs (Akoum, ; Al‐Husan & James, ). Governments need to allow an “exchange of information between actors and [have] a willingness to look for solutions on a mutual basis” (Teisman & Klijn, ), which then builds a culture of mutual trust between the two sectors and allows a true spirit of partnership to evolve.…”

“…Since the 1980s, the public administration literature has witnessed a mounting interest in public management reform and introduction of public‐private partnerships (PPPs) as an infrastructure delivery mechanism, particularly within the Anglo‐Saxon context (Biygautane, forthcoming; Hodge & Greve, ; Pollitt, ). However, the experiences of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, which comprise Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, are often overlooked by international business and public administration scholars (Akoum, ; Goldsmith & Al‐Yahya, ). Investigation of the influence of tribal and Islamic heritages on the Gulf region's administrative practices (Common, ; Kinsinger, ; Rice, ; Al‐Yahya, ) can potentially offer new perspectives for the theorization and development of public‐sector initiatives.…”

“…The decline in oil prices has cost the Middle Eastern oil‐exporting countries over $360 billion in export revenues in 2015 and created an expected fiscal deficit of more than $1 trillion over the next five years (IMF, ). Because privatization in the Gulf has been sluggish and is regarded by the public as the sale of state assets to the private sector (Akoum, ; Al‐Husan & James, ), PPPs provide a middle ground on which the needed financing, managerial, and technical skills of the private sector can be tapped into and transferred to the public sector without the full divestiture of assets.…”

“…Particular attention is drawn to the Gulf's “traditional culture” that often undermines the official functions of the government bureaucracy and exacerbates the Gulf's already complicated business climate (Akoum, ; Ali, ; Rice, ). This is one of the factors leading to the conclusion that extending infrastructure PPPs to the GCC states will require substantive public administration and institutional reforms, as well as empowerment of the private sector's role in the economy.…”