OPEC de facto leader and the world’s largest crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia is still trying to pivot away from over-reliance on crude oil export revenue. But, to achieve this goal may be more difficult that planners in Riyadh have considered and may also take longer than anticipated. Naif Al-Rasheed, managing director of the Saudi Private Sector Stimulus Office, said on Wednesday that the Saudi 200 billion-riyal ($53 billion) lifeline to its non-oil economy may be in place for longer than planned as the kingdom supports industries struggling to cope with reforms that pushed up costs and dampened demand. He said that the program is earmarking some 36 billion riyals to boost private-sector growth this year alone, on top of the 40 billion riyals already spent. The financing could continue beyond the originally planned end date of 2021. “The office has a long-term mandate to continuously support the private […]