Okaz newspaper CHANGING the weekend has been a subject of top priority for the financial sector in the Kingdom for several years now. It is also a topic of discussion in international economic forums in which Saudi Arabia takes part. Those who support the change argue that we lose four days of international financial transactions – more than half of the week – because the weekend in global finance is Saturday and Sunday while ours is Thursday and Friday. Saudi financial firms, especially those dealing with the international stock market, lose a lot, not to mention the state itself. Those who support keeping the status quo argue that Friday is a day of worship and of special importance to Muslims. Therefore, being a Muslim country, Friday should not be touched. However, we can achieve a compromise with a solution that satisfies all parties. If Friday and Saturday were to be made the weekend for financial and economic sectors, while Thursday and Friday continue to be the weekend for other sectors, then we gain more than half the week for global financial transactions. It will also bring other benefits. People would be able to do their financial transactions on Thursdays – a full working day for banks – instead of heading to the bank during working hours on weekdays. An employee from the financial sector would be able to avail the services of government offices on Saturdays. Having different weekends for financial and non-financial sectors is an urgent requirement even if there were no link between local and international financial sectors. My request to the decision makers is this: Try changing the weekend only for the financial sector from Thursday and Friday to Friday and Saturday as an experiment for one year. The advantages and disadvantages of the experiment could then be studied. The results will help us decide whether or not we should continue with the change in the weekend. __
