Economy Trade and security on agenda for Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia Strengthening trade ties and regional security will be priorities in an upcoming visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said on Saturday. The visit, which two sources said was expected to take place in December, comes at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia […] November 13, 2022
Sustainability Saudi Arabia to establish carbon capture and storage hub Oil giant Saudi Aramco and the Saudi energy ministry will establish a carbon capture and storage hub, Arab News reported. After the announcement of the new project, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the kingdom could achieve its net-zero target before the stipulated target in 2060. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said […] November 13, 2022
Cop27 Sustainability Saudi Arabia unveils three new climate action projects Saudi Arabia’s minister of energy Prince Abdulaziz bin has announced three new projects, which will improve the kingdom’s national and regional climate action, Saudi Gazette reported. Speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) forum held on the sidelines of Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, the minister said that the kingdom is establishing the circular carbon […] November 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi bank not concerned about Credit Suisse’s governance Saudi National Bank (SNB) said on Friday it had not come across any information that might raise concerns over the governance of Credit Suisse and was supportive of the transformation plan announced by the bank on October 27. The comments came in response to concern from two other investors over the Swiss bank’s handling of […] November 13, 2022
Markets PIF to sell 10% stake in Saudi stock exchange owner Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is selling a 10 percent stake in Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the kingdom’s stock exchange, via an accelerated bookbuild offering, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. PIF, a sovereign wealth fund with over $600 billion in assets, has hired HSBC and Morgan Stanley to […] November 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia works with Lazard on funding Mecca mega-project Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is working with Lazard on funding options and a potential initial public offering (IPO) of Masar, a $27 billion mega-project in the holy city of Mecca. The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, which has over $600 billion in assets, is working with the US financial advisory on Masar, and several […] November 10, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Twitter backer KHC enjoys 996% soar in profits Shares in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) rose 3.2 percent in early trading today as the Saudi firm on Wednesday reported a 996 percent year-on-year increase in earnings for the first nine months of 2022. The investment holding firm, which is 16.87 percent owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public […] November 10, 2022
Exclusive Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 Serco expects 50% of Middle East revenue to come from Saudi London-based public service provider Serco expects to draw 50 percent of its Middle East revenue from Saudi Arabia by 2026. Daniel McGregor, corporate development director at Serco Middle East, told AGBI that this ambitious plan is already in motion — and it is being formulated to capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s huge investment in public infrastructure, […] November 10, 2022
Energy Saudi oil minister says energy sector vulnerable to cyberattacks The energy sector is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks and international agreements are needed to thwart the growing risk, Arab News reported, citing Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. He said governments and companies faced a “collective danger,” but the kingdom was ready for such attacks. Calling for global collaboration to help defeat […] November 10, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia’s PIF to invest additional $915m in Lucid Lucid Group Inc. has entered into an agreement with its majority stockholder, and a unit of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), for an additional investment worth $915 million, the American electric vehicle company said in a statement. PIF affiliate Ayar Third Investment Company (Ayar) will purchase shares in one or more […] November 9, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi PIF to consider bidding for Ooredoo’s tower unit Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is weighing submitting the final bid for Qatari telecommunications firm Ooredoo’s network towers, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. American Tower Corporation, IHS Holding Limited and Helios Towers Plc are contemplating offers for all or part of the portfolio. Ooredoo’s tower assets, located in the Gulf and other markets, including Iraq […] November 8, 2022
Banking and Finance Apicorp signs $75m carbon offset financing deal with UK firm The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a Saudi-headquartered, energy-focused development financial institution, has signed a $75 million Islamic financing agreement with a British firm to fund high-quality carbon offsets, supporting the Gulf’s net zero emission targets. The agreement, known as a Murabaha, is an Islamic financing facility where a financier will purchase an asset and […] November 7, 2022
Development Saudi Arabia mulls new mining index to boost sector performance Saudi Arabia is considering setting up a new metals and mining stock exchange index as it looks to expand its resources sector to diversify away from hydrocarbons, a senior government official said on Friday. Mining minister Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef told Reuters in an interview in Sydney that his team met with Australian counterparts to […] November 6, 2022
Markets Saudi regulator gives nod to over $26.6bn capital increase requests Saudi Arabia’s market regulatory Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved capital increase requests worth SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) from January 2018 until the end of the first half of 2022, Arab News reported. Some 116 firms applied to increase capital over the period, the CMA undersecretary for listed companies and investment products Abdullah bin […] November 6, 2022
Manufacturing Saudi’s PIF sets up electric car joint venture with Foxconn Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (PIF) said on Thursday it will make electric cars in the kingdom under a joint venture with Apple supplier Foxconn as part of a push to build new industries and lessen dependence on oil. Ceer “is the first Saudi automotive brand to produce electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia, […] November 4, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi-listed bank to hold Credit Suisse stake for at least 2 years Saudi National Bank’s investment in Credit Suisse is tactical rather than strategic, its chairman said on Wednesday, adding that the Saudi lender expects to hold its stake in the Swiss bank for at least two years. SNB, which is listed on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), announced in October that it was taking part in Credit […] November 3, 2022
Analysis Manufacturing Saudi non-oil export orders rise at fastest pace for a year New export orders for Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector in October increased at their fastest rate for nearly a year, the Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey revealed on Wednesday. This demand helped the PMI, which gauges business confidence, to climb 0.6 percentage points to 57.2 in October. A reading above 50.0 shows […] November 2, 2022
Energy Saudi Aramco’s net profit rises 39% to $42.4bn in Q3 2022 Saudi Aramco reported a net income of $42.4 billion for the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 39 percent year-on-year, the company said in a statement. According to the company’s financial results, free cash flow increased to $45 billion and cash flow from operating activities reached $54 billion. In the third quarter, capital expenditure […] November 2, 2022
Manufacturing Saudi Arabia plans to award over dozen mining exploration licences Saudi Arabia plans to award over a dozen mining exploration licences to international investors as it looks to enter the mining sector in a big way to diversify away from hydrocarbons, mining minister Bandar Al-Khorayef said on Wednesday. Five new exploration sites are up for licensing and the kingdom will release details of an additional […] November 2, 2022
Logistics Apple heads list of key investors in Saudi’s cargo logistics zone Apple will be one of the global anchor investors in Saudi Arabia’s special logistics zone – part of the kingdom’s plan to more than quadruple the amount of cargo processed through its airports by 2030. The Special Integrated Logistics Zone was launched on Monday by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA). The zone […] November 1, 2022
