The evolution of the private sector since the 1970s has been staggering.

The private sector prior to the first oil boom of the 1970s was mainly dominated by merchants, agents and other middle men. The oil boom brought a new class of family-owned private sector participants, the contractors, as the country build up its infrastructure. Also, as the oil industry and other large capital-intensive industries, such as petrochemicals, expanded, so did the rise of manufacturing and industrial groups. Many of the agents and importers of the pre-70s boom turned into diversified conglomerates with the boom. Although back then, they were dependent on just the state for contracts, today they have become more global and more autonomous from the state. The autonomy was partly due to the growth of domestic demand coming from the rise of the middle class in the late 70s.