King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz gives interview to 'Al-Seyassah' 4

Q- It is said that you liquidated or sold some of your sovereign
investments shares. Do you need cash?

A- No Saudi sovereign investment has been sold. I want to stress an
important point: the funds and assets of the kingdom have not been
affected by the world economic crisis which is now gradually easing
as I told you. So, we don't need to sell any of our investments. If
we have a little low prices in few of these investments, that does
not mean any realized loss as it is just a decrease in book value. If
there was a sale, it was for a correction of investment positions for
a better performance and revenues we benefit from. All is done
according to professional studies and analyses carried out by the
financial departments of the state.

Q- Then, you are saying that you are continuing the projects of
development and you have no cash shortages?

A- Yes, we are continuing the implementation of what we promised of
projects as these are set in development plans. The volume of
spending will not decrease. We need no local or foreign loans. We
will spend in a way that will not bring back to us the state of
inflation that we managed to control and receded excellently and
according to what is in conformity with our efforts for a healthy
Saudi economy. My instructions for our economic apparatus is there
should be no waste and that projects should be productive and should
be able to regain the money invested in them according to an economic
strategy that increases the economic strength of the state and meets
its objectives in the coming budgets which should have higher numbers
than their predecessors.

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