STORM2K

Well the new King is not wasting any time is he.

Saudis to retrieve $360 billion abroad

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia said Sunday it was working to bring back to the kingdom a total of $360 billion invested abroad in the last 18 months. Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters the government was working on returning these "national assets" back to the oil-rich Arab country and to attract foreign investments in Saudi Arabia.

He said the kingdom has "established qualified institutions for that purpose," but did not elaborate. The minister added that the "smooth way" in which power was handed over to new King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz after King Fahd's death last week meant a continuation of stability. "We hope these measures taken on the economic front will return the Saudi funds," Prince Saud said.
Source

They need to somehow build industry and high tech capabilities to their assets. Without that Saudi Arabia will be a poor nation in 50 years. Oil made nomads enormously powerful, hydrogen can make them exteremly weak. Its the sensible thing for saudi Arabia to do (realize I only have a cursory knowledge of Saudi Arabia and this is just my opinion), to bring wealth back into itself in order to build a more sustainable economy.

They might also need the money to fight the fascist islamic beast.

Well 60% of Saudi investment is in the US so they are going to suck out $216 billion from our economy. That might not be a help to the economic recovery if taken with other data surfacing about Iran's oil bourse. This could be leading to the end of the petrodollar and a switch to the petroeuro. "The most recent news reports indicate the oil bourse will start trading on March 20, 2006, coinciding with the Iranian New Year."