Overview
- Officials and consultancy executives say Riyadh instructed ministries and state-controlled entities to stop awarding new advisory contracts and to delay some payments on existing work, with the measures issued earlier this month and expected to last through the end of June or into July.
- The instruction is reported to cover the Public Investment Fund and many of its subsidiaries, increasing the reach of the pause beyond standard ministry procurement.
- Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance has publicly disputed claims of systemic delays and said nearly all invoices this year have been paid within contractual timeframes, leaving a gap between official statements and industry accounts.
- Major Western consultancies and law firms that built large practices on Vision 2030 projects, including McKinsey, BCG and the Big Four, face immediate uncertainty over fees, ongoing assignments and hiring plans.
- The move follows rising defence spending and a large first-quarter fiscal deficit despite higher oil export revenue, and could slow or reshape megaprojects tied to Vision 2030 while prompting firms to seek exemptions or finish short-term work.