Oil is one of the most important global commodities on which the budget incomes of the Gulf countries depend, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia., especially Saudi Arabia, and the decline in its prices will affect those incomes, forcing countries to free themselves from dependence on those incomes, and Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing the beginning of a major economic transformation, by developing a economic policy for post-oil, especially after its prices dropped dramatically.

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Investing in this crisis

In order to achieve a new equation for Saudi Arabia's economy and capitalize on the crisis the oil crisis, and its proof in how to manage that crisis with competence, it made the decision to shift to investments instead of oil, by creating a public investment fund that will eventually generate more than 2 trillion dollars that will help the Kingdom to abandon dependence on oil, and as part of this strategy, Saudi Arabia will sell shares in the oil giant Aramco, and turn it into an industrial conglomerate, and offers for sale could begin next year, as it is currently planning to sell about 5% of its shares.

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The future of the investment fund

In the future, the investment fund will have the financial ability to buy companies: Apple, Alphabet, the parent company that owns Google, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway, the four largest publicly traded companies in the world. The Kingdom's policy also focuses on attracting investments in construction, trade and retail, tourism and hospitality, the financial sector, mining, and health services. These non-oil investments are expected to contribute to supporting the Saudi economy by 60%, resulting in a doubling of GDP and the creation of millions of jobs for Saudis, leading to a sustainable and balanced economy that is not dependent on the fluctuations of global markets.

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Covering the budget deficit

Saudi Arabia's 2016 general budget had a large deficit of 326.2 billion riyals, equivalent to about 87 billion dollars.

The general budget expected revenues of 513.8 billion riyals (about 137 billion dollars), against expenditures of 840 billion riyals (about 224 billion dollars), which means a deficit of 326.2 billion riyals and Saudi Arabia intends to cover the deficit through borrowing in the internal and external market, as the Saudi Ministry of Finance said: "The financing of the deficit will be done according to a plan that takes into account the best available financing options, including domestic and foreign borrowing, in a way that does not negatively affect the liquidity of the banking sector."