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Trendyol

Alibaba-backed Trendyol plans $2bn Gulf investment

Trendyol, Turkey’s largest ecommerce platform, is to invest $2 billion in the Gulf region over the next three years. The company is backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and has established a presence across all six GCC countries. It has had rapid growth in Saudi Arabia, now its second-largest market, in particular. Its group president, […]

Dan Schulman of Valor Capital Group predicted 15-20 percent unemployment as a result of AI AI future

Leaders all agree: AI will be good – or bad – for the future

Elon Musk thinks it has a 90 percent chance of being for the good of humanity, while critics say it is certain to decimate jobs across the developed world.  Artificial intelligence, or AI, dominated the discussions at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit this year like never before, with increasingly upbeat – and dire […]

Delegates watch PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan speak at FII in Riyadh. He said Saudi Arabia is focusing on domestic investment

PIF signs Japan and Hong Kong pacts worth $52bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth up to $51 billion with five Japanese banks.  The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund said the agreements cover a variety of areas, including encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity.  The agreements were signed with Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, MUFG […]

Riyadh Air credit

Startup airline Riyadh Air secures $1.3bn credit facility

Riyadh Air, the Saudi airline that is due to start operations next year, signed a SAR5 billion ($1.3 billion) credit facility with a syndicate of banks on Wednesday, as it announced an order for 60 more aircraft. The kingdom’s second flag carrier, owned by the PIF sovereign wealth fund, has closed an inaugural Islamic revolving […]

At-Turaif in Diriyah. Restoration and other projects in the region are now due for completion in 2030

Diriyah delays completion date as projects vie for funds

The historical district of Diriyah, one of Saudi Arabia’s major giga-projects, will be completed in time for the World Expo in 2030 – three years later than previously announced, its CEO Jerry Inzerillo said on Wednesday.  The giga-projects, valued in total at more than $1.25 trillion, are competing for government and private sector resources amid […]

Manara Ma'aden Saudi mining

PIF’s Manara seeks long-term deals, not just a ‘quick buck’

The Saudi investment fund Manara Minerals is targeting long-term deals and is not looking to “flip a quick return” during the current market slump, the CEO of its parent company owner has declared. Prices in critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt have slumped since 2023, after an initial surge as the market recovered […]

Torbjorn Caesar of Actis says that 'we need to build another planet of power plants and associated infrastructure' Video length: 03:06

Time to shift the balance of power in renewable energy

Imbalances in capital investment in clean energy, plentiful sun and a doubling in global demand for electricity over the next 20 years mean that the renewable energy sector in the Middle East is a “fantastic investment opportunity”.  AGBI spoke to Torbjorn Caesar, chairman of Actis, a global investment company with a focus on sustainable infrastructure, […]

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas (front left) at the signing ceremony for the company's latest Airbus order. He says the airline intends to challenge travel websites such as Expedia and Booking.Com

Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants

Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […]

Multi-ethnic group of people on a business meeting in the UAE

PIF to back Brookfield Middle East fund

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to back Brookfield Asset Management’s new $2 billion Middle East fund, helping the Canadian investment firm pursue deals in the Gulf. The investment platform, known as Brookfield Middle East Partners, will target $2 billion from a range of investors and intends to focus on buyouts and structured solutions, […]

Vietnam Aramco signing ceremony

Aramco considers investment in Vietnam’s oil industry

Saudi Aramco has expressed interest in investing in Vietnam’s oil refinery sector and petroleum distribution, the south-east Asian country’s government says.  Vietnam’s prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, met Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser during the Future Investment Initiative summit in the Saudi capital.  “Vietnam has great potential in the region, therefore, Aramco wishes to […]

Locals playing boules by Lake Anosy in the centre of Antananarivo. Madagascar.Madagascar.

Emaar’s Alabbar eyes major investment in Madagascar

Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar is planning a major investment in Madagascar, marking the island nation as his next big venture. “Madagascar is the next new thing in my life,” Alabbar said at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on Tuesday. “It’s going to be a very big investment,” he said, but did not provide further […]

Acwa Power has signed a $690m deal with the National Bank of Kuwait to support its future project pipeline in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Acwa Power signs $1.8bn deals to promote renewables

Saudi renewable energy major Acwa Power has signed agreements worth $1.8 billion to develop renewable energy and battery storage projects, as well as research and development, across the GCC, China, Central Asia and North Africa. The agreements were signed during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. The first pact includes a $690 million agreement […]

Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser speaks at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh

Aramco predicts oil market expansion on China demand

Saudi Aramco is forecasting oil market growth in 2025 of 1.5 percent, driven by fundamental growth in China and the role of fossil fuels in underpinning the green energy transition.  A recent stimulus package failed to alleviate market concerns about China. Although it accounted for 70 percent of oil demand growth in 2023, Chinese demand […]

PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the Future Investment Initiative. He said the fund is reducing foreign investments and increasing AI spend Video length: 03:46

PIF renews focus on domestic investment and AI 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is planning to reduce its foreign investments to around a fifth of its total assets under management, as it focuses on domestic funding and artificial intelligence, its governor said on Tuesday.  “Initially we had less than 2 percent of investments internationally, that was with $150 billion assets under management,” Yasir […]

Blazer, Clothing, Coat

Richard Attias: ‘I feel more welcome here than in France’

Over a Parisian-length lunch in Riyadh, Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute, gives Frank Kane a taster of next week’s record-breaking investment gathering in Saudi Arabia – and explains the failure of leadership in today’s polarised world

Khalid Al Falih, Saudi Arabia's investment minister, and Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong's financial secretary, at the FII Priority summit

Saudi leaders gather in Beijing to boost $106bn trade

Saudi Arabia’s investment minister Khalid Al Falih is leading a delegation in Beijing this week as the kingdom looks to tighten ties with its largest trade partner. Government and private sector leaders will participate in the China-Saudi Investment Conference on Tuesday, as part of Al Falih’s six-day visit. China-Saudi trade stood at $106 billion in […]

Ford Mustang Mach-E at golden hour electric vehicle in the sun

Startup touts alternative EV batteries for Saudi industry

A startup developing non-lithium batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) says they are better suited to Gulf climates where flammability is a risk. But industry experts say it will be difficult to penetrate the car industry where lithium options are baked into budgets.  Mukesh Chatter, founder of Alsym Energy, argued his case to regional political and […]