JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor, Fahad Al Mubarak, said that country should revise energy and water subsidies, as these privileges depriving the national exchequer of billions of dollars and encourage wastage by consumers.
In a speech published on the central bank’s website late on Sunday, Fahad Al Mubarak gave no indication that the government actually planned concrete action. Any subsidy reform would be politically sensitive, so authorities have largely held back from it for years.
In May 2013, Economy and Planning Minister Mohammad Al Jasser called for sharp cuts in subsidies, saying they distorted the economy. No such action followed.
Nevertheless Al Mubarak’s speech, delivered at an economic workshop organised by the Saudi government and the International Monetary Fund, may indicate King Salman, who came to power last month upon the death of his brother, plans to take a fresh look at the issue.
