Refining Saudi Arabia's future

Saudi Arabia is taking the opportunity of collective oil-production cuts to focus on downstream ventures

Sometimes it's the brief, unscripted remark that can shed light on society more than a formal announcement. "We need to develop a savings culture," the head of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama), Ahmed Alkholifey, told an interviewer on stage at the Euromoney conference in Riyadh in May. He was discussing how Saudis would need to adapt to more frugal lifestyles, consuming less fuel, water and electricity, to achieve its Vision 2030. "The savings rate in the kingdom is very low," the head of the Saudi central bank continued. "We are working with the ministries of education and energy to encourage a culture of savings." The question of whether to save has also become the subject of some