Saudi Cabinet okays first step toward privatizing postal service
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet on Monday approved moves to transfer the state-run postal services to an establishment jointly managed by the public and private sectors, the official SPA news agency reported.
The cabinet, meeting under Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, also agreed to transfer all assets of the General Post Department to the Saudi Post Establishment which it decided to set up.
The kingdom’s top economic policy-making body, the Supreme Economic Council (SEC), headed by Prince Abdullah, approved the move last week among a series of decisions designed to speed up the pace of privatization in the oil-rich kingdom.
The SEC also approved a new privatization strategy with the aim of accelerating the process and using the revenue to pay part of the staggering 168-billion-dollar public debt.
The cabinet formed a government committee to evaluate the assets and liabilities of the post department. It also decided to transfer all employees to the new establishment keeping the same benefits.
The measure is seen as a step toward fully privatizing the postal services.
