Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia's minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, is among government officials who have been fading the push by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the economy with his Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting insiders. The "technocrats" in the government have been putting up "passive resistance" and Al-Falih, also the chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, has been stepping on breaks in the company's journey toward a stock exchange debut since "late 2016," the sources revealed.
The minister has apparently also been scaling down the joint project with SoftBank Group Corp. to build the biggest network of solar power plants in the world. Al-Falih has voiced his opposition to the option to list Saudi Aramco on the New York Stock Exchange, against the prince's wishes, and advocated for an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, the article adds.
Bin Salman, the king's son, is said to have told British Prime Minister Theresa May that he didn't see all his projects reaching completion. Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan reportedly managed in 2017 to block his initiative to double the $3.5 billion stake in Uber Technologies Inc.
