AFP - A Saudi man holding money, in Riyadh on July 24, 2012
Saudi
Arabia is preparing to launch its first sovereign wealth fund to manage
budget surpluses from a rise in crude prices estimated at hundreds of
billions of dollars, state media reported Saturday.
The central bank has managed investment of the kingdom's foreign currency reserves until now, much of it in US Treasury bonds.
The
consultative Shura Council is due to discuss a draft law for the
National Reserve Fund in meetings Monday and Tuesday in Riyadh, state
news agency SPA reported.
The report gave no indication of whether any change in investment strategy was envisioned.
The
fund will be tasked with investing state reserves to "assure the
kingdom's financial stability," Shura Council financial affairs
committee Saad Mareq told Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
The
newspaper said the fund will start with capital representing 30 percent
of budgetary surpluses accumulated over the years in the kingdom, the
world's largest exporter of crude oil.
Riyadh has built up
significant foreign currency reserves because of rises in the price of
crude oil on the international market.
There are no official
figures available, but financial experts estimate its combined assets at
around $700 billion (515 billion euros).
In the past three years alone, the kingdom has announced budget surpluses totalling some $232 billion.
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