Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, has said that the initial public offering of the oil company is on track, noting that oil prices are determined by the market.
Aramco has co-hosted the “Governance in Focus” forum with the UAE-based Pearl Initiative at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, under the patronage of Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources.
In his speech at the forum, Nasser said that a commitment to the highest standards of governance has become a necessity for any company whether big or small, as long as it seeks to gain confidence and credibility, confront dangers, and become successful locally, regionally and internationally.
In his turn, Falih said that good governance is not a luxury but a necessity to operate any firm, adding that corporate governance is based on ethics, transparency, protecting investor rights and committing to regulations.
Falih underpinned that the Saudi Vision 2030 provides a plan to transform the economy through the private sector. It also leads economic growth to increase its contribution from 35 to 60 percent.
“Some companies in the field of energy, petrochemicals, aviation, telecommunications, IT and finance are being managed professionally … Others in the region are facing some gaps in governance, while others are failing as a result of weak governance.”
Falih noted that the Saudi Vision calls for increasing contributions of SMEs in the GDP growth from 20 to 35 percent in 2030 though initiatives that have been launched to reinforce and find licenses and funds for the enterprises.
Badr Jafar, Founder of the Pearl Initiative and CEO of UAE-based Crescent Enterprises, said: “The Governance in Focus forum has brought together multi-stakeholder leaders from across the region and internationally to deliberate some of the most pertinent issues affecting our business environment today.”
“We at the Pearl Initiative are deeply honored to work with Saudi Aramco to shine a light on the various important roles that the government, business and philanthropic sectors need to play in creating corporate governance frameworks that support the competitiveness, inclusiveness and sustainability of our region’s economies,” he added.
