Ministry of Finance (Saudi Arabia)

Ministry of Finance
	; Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the current Minister of Finance since 2016
Government agency overview
Formed	14 May 1932
Jurisdiction	Government of Saudi Arabia
Headquarters	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Minister responsible	Mohammed Al-Jadaan;
Website	Official English Website

The Ministry of Finance (MoF; Arabic: وزارة المالية) of Saudi Arabia is the principal body for controlling state expenditure in Saudi Arabia. It is currently led by Mohammed Al-Jadaan.

History

When instructions were issued by the Kingdom of Hejaz that financial matters were to be managed by a finance directorate, a single entity in the form of a General Directorate of Finance was established on 14 October 1927. Royal Order No. 381 was issued on 14 May 1932 changing the name of the General Directorate of Finance to the Ministry of Finance, thus becoming the second ministry to be established after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Finance was tasked with regulating, managing and securing the collection of state funds, and oversight of expenditures, and became the general authority for financial matters in the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd and its territories. Royal Decree No. 1697 was issued on 27 June 1953 establishing the Ministry of Economy to replace the Bureau for Economic Affairs. Royal Decree No. 31 was issued on 4 September 1954 merging the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance into a single ministry called the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Royal Order No. 2/A was issued on 1 May 2003 transferring responsibility for economic activity from the above-mentioned ministry to the Ministry of Planning, thus changing the name of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to the Ministry of Finance, and the name of the Ministry of Planning to the Ministry of Economy and Planning.

The Ministry owns the Istidama Holding Company, which on 23 April 2018, received the 36.2% stake of the Saudi Binladin Group owned by Bakr bin Laden and his brothers Saleh and Saad.^[2]

Government bodies established by the Ministry of Finance

In 1936, as the activities of the Ministry of Finance expanded in scope, a number of general directorates were established within the ministry (later turned into independent government bodies), including:

Petroleum and Minerals Directorate
Public Works Directorate
Customs Directorate
Agriculture Directorate
Hajj, Endowment and Radio Affairs
Personnel and Retirement Bureau
Labor Bureau
Institute of Public Administration
Postal Directorates
Roads Authority
Railway Authority
Real Estate Development Fund
Saudi Industrial Development Fund
Saudi Credit & Saving Bank
Agriculture Development Fund
Public Investment Fund
General Authority of Zakat & Tax
Public Pension Agency
General Authority of Statistics
Urban Projects Bureau
Saudi Contractors Authority

Functions

One of the tasks of the ministry is to collect zakat from companies owned by Saudi citizens and citizens of other Gulf countries.^[3] The ministry transfers these funds to the Ministry of Social Affairs which allocates them to unemployment programs and social security payments.^[3]