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Reuters
New Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey said his main priority is to maintain monetary stability and support the government’s Vision 2030 economic reforms, Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper reported on Sunday.
Kholifey was appointed on Saturday in succession to Fahd al-Mubarak.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Saturday appointed Ahmed al-Kholifey Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Governor, promoting him from vice governor and replacing Fahd al-Mubarak in charge of the kingdom’s central bank.
He also appointed Yasir al-Rumayyan, an adviser to the Royal Court and secretary general of the Public Investment Fund, and former SAMA governor Mohammed al-Jasser as advisers to the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, state media reported.
Without citing Kholifey by name, the daily added, “The central bank reaffirmed that it will keep the currency peg to the dollar, supported by its monetary tools, one of which is its foreign reserves.”
The newspaper also reported the bank as saying that recent volatility in the forwards market “are mere speculations because the monetary and economic indicators show that the kingdom is in a stable state.†It expresses
optimisim in teh coming days.
SAMA is the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia and its functions include issuing the national currency, the Saudi Riyal, supervising commercial banks, managing foreign exchange reserves, promoting price and exchange rate stability, and ensuring the growth and soundness of the financial system, operating a number of cross-bank electronic financial systems such as MADA, SARIE, and SADAD.
A board of directors oversees the entire operations of SAMA. This comprises the governor, vice-governor and three other nominated members from the private sector.
The terms of appointment are 4 years for the governor and vice-governor, extendable by Royal decree, and 5 years for the other members, also extendable by Royal decree. Members of the board cannot be removed except by Royal decree.
The SAMA senior management comprises the governor, the
vice-governor and five deputy governors.
In addition to acting as the central bank of Saudi Arabia, the SAMA controls SAMA Foreign Holdings, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The fund is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with assets of over $700 billion.