#Saudi Firms to Cut Dividends For Prince’s $1.3 Trillion Plan - Bloomberg

Saudi Firms to Cut Dividends For Prince’s $1.3 Trillion Plan - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s biggest listed companies, including energy giant Aramco, will reduce their dividends and redirect the money to the local economy as the crown prince tries to get his economic overhaul plan back on track.

Minority shareholders of Aramco -- the world’s biggest oil company and 98% owned by the kingdom -- will still get dividends, Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, said. Investors in other firms will profit because stock prices will rise as the extra investment boosts the economy, he said.

Twenty-four firms such as Saudi Basic Industries Corp., Almarai Co., Saudi Telecom Co. and National Shipping Co. have agreed to join the plan, contributing 5 trillion riyals ($1.33 trillion) of domestic capital spending over the next 10 years, he said.

The new plan comes after last year’s coronavirus pandemic and oil market turmoil created a double crisis for Saudi Arabia, setting back the 35-year-old’s goals to boost the non-oil economy and slash unemployment.