Category: Business

Riyadh — The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises “Monsha’at” today signed a cooperation agreement to support small and medium industrial enterprises in the Kingdom, through their programs (Afaq and Tomooh), to enable SIDF’s current and new small and medium enterprises to benefit from the services and programs provided by “Monsha’at”, in addition to spreading awareness of the programs and products specified in the agreement, and exploring future aspects of cooperation between the two parties.

The agreement, signed on the sidelines of Monsha’at”-organized Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), aims to enable SIDF’s clients and owners of small and medium enterprises, to benefit from Monsha’at services and programs per its approved terms and conditions, as well as cooperation between the two sides in joint marketing and spreading awareness of their programs and products, per the mechanisms, terms and conditions approved by both parties.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Saudi Electricity Company, as a main sponsor, has taken part in the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), which began in Riyadh today, with the participation of entrepreneurs, investors, experts and decision-makers from 180 countries.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the CEO of the Saudi Electricity Company Eng. Khaled Al-Qunun, explained that the pavilion highlights the company’s achievements and investment opportunities in the electric power industry.

He added that the company provides more than 250 investment opportunities in the industry, worth SAR13 billion, as well as more than 86 investment opportunities for services worth SAR7 billion.

“The company’s pavilion at the GEC will showcase the new business development sector, which represents the company’s investment arm and aims to increase and diversify revenue in order to achieve Vision 2030,” he affirmed, highlighting the achievements of Innovation Energy Incubator.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading higher here today, gaining 04.21 points to close at 12,948.37 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 7.9 billion, while the toll of shares traded was 171 million, divided into over 380,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day losing 410.29 points, to close at 24,067.91 points, with a valuation of SAR 50 million and an overall tally of more than 570,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 3,058 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned the hostile attack that targeted Saudi Aramco’s petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah today.

In a statement, the Secretary-General of the GCC Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, indicated that the attack, which resulted in a limited fire in one of the tanks, without casualties or human losses, and the previous systematic and repeated acts of hostilities with the aim of targeting the security of energy supplies, does not target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its economic capabilities only, but rather the security of the GCC countries and regional security and stability as well as the international community, stressing the support of the GCC countries for all necessary and deterrent measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect its national capabilities and gains, stop such terrorist and sabotage attacks and address all parties that carry them out or provide support for them.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Doha– The State of Qatar has expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of targeting civilian, economic and vital facilities in several cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In a statement issued today, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that targeting vital facilities, especially those related to water desalination, electricity and energy, is a dangerous act of sabotage that contradicts all international norms and laws, threatens the daily life of citizens and represents an attack on humanity.

The ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm stance rejecting violence and targeting civilians and civilian facilities.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and Fund of Funds Company (Jada), a fully owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have formed a partnership to stimulate the Kingdom’s burgeoning start-up and innovation sector and support its economic diversification journey through “Catalyze Saudi”.

MISA, which aims to promote Saudi Arabia as a world-class investment destination, and Jada, which provides funding to Saudi innovative start-ups through commercially sustainable investments in venture capital and private equity funds, will host a series of Catalyze Saudi events with global and Saudi entreprenuers and investors, featuring networking, learning and engagement opportunities, with the first to be held this month in Jeddah and Riyadh under the theme of disruptive technologies. Illustrating its force for good, further events hosted by the platform this year will explore in-depth the private equity and healthcare sectors, plus more in the future.

Crucial to the engagement platform’s success, and to help further the platform’s mission and enable greater impact for the Kingdom, will be a diverse advisory board including leaders in venture capital and of large diversified family businesses.

The objective of the program is to connect leaders affiliated to government agencies, innovative start-ups institutional investors and leading family offices to participate in highly interactive roundtable discussions, and ultimately reinforce the impact and role of the private sector in the Saudi economy.

In remarks following the announcement, Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment, said: “Innovative start-ups are the bedrock of developed industrial economies – which is why Saudi Arabia placed support for the sector at the heart of its National Investment Strategy. We are committed to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and we know that access to finance is one of the key factors that enables growth of new enterprises. Private equity and venture capital funds can play a vital role in this process and we are grateful to Jada for their groundbreaking work in this area that is unlocking the potential of entrepreneurs across the Kingdom.”

Jada Chairman Mazen Aljubeir added: “Catalyze Saudi will be an engagement platform bringing people together for learning and mutual benefit. We hope this effort will help Saudi entrepreneurs and investors increase their access to international markets, capital and expertise, while also creating awareness among global leaders on the great opportunities in the Saudi market.”

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to increase SME contribution to GDP from 21% to 35% by 2030 and last year MISA launched the Kingdom’s first National Investment Strategy to unlock the vast investment potential on offer in the Kingdom for both domestic and international investors.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading higher here today, gaining 106.59 points to close at 12,875.80 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 8.3 billion, while the toll of shares traded was 188 million, divided into over 350,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day losing 113.46 points, to close at 24,789.34 points, with a valuation of SAR 61 million and an overall tally of more than 550,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 3,777 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Cairo– The Saudi Minister of State and Cabinet’s Member for Shura Council Affairs Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed and the Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, signed in Cairo today a joint report to agree on a draft agreement between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt about the Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s investment in Egypt, in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly.

The signing was attended by Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait; Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Osama bin Ahmed Naqli; PIF Deputy Governor and Head of the General Administration of Investments in the Middle East and North Africa Yazeed Al-Hamid and chief executive officer at The Sovereign Fund of Egypt Ayman Soliman.

The two sides stressed that this agreement based on the close historical ties that unite the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt as well as on directives of the leaderships of the two countries to strengthen cooperation that would support relations between the two countries with easy access to procedures related to investment in Egypt through a fund public investments.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) said that the Global Entrepreneurship Congress will be held in Riyadh from 27 to 30 March, 2022, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

The Monsha’at added that the Congress will discuss, during more than 100 sessions and with the participation of more than 150 speakers, a number of topics that aim to help entrepreneurs to expand their businesses around the world, provide them with the necessary skills to face crises and enhance the flexibility of practicing business. It also includes a large number of local and international entrepreneurs, in addition to senior officials, decision makers, experts and investors.

The Congress will witness a number of discussion sessions, and the participation of senior officials and experts including Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy; Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Minister of Investment; Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; and Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Kuwaiz, Chairman of the Capital Market Authority.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

New York– The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has received the membership of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for the period (2022-2028) after its nomination within the countries of Asia and Pacific, during the elections that took place in a meeting of the General Assembly last Monday in New York.

The Cabinet had earlier approved a memorandum of understanding which was signed on 16/4/1442AH between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), and the UN, represented by the Office of Legal Affairs, on the financial contribution in the UNCITRAL Trust Fund.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) approved appointing eight international experts in sustainability, as part of its efforts to lead and support changing tourism into an environment friendly industry.

The eight experts were chosen from the public and private sectors for what they enjoy of expertise in the tourism sustainability field, where the experts will work in Europe, Asia, and the US as ambassadors for STGC.

The center seeks to help reduce carbon emissions from tourist facilities, where the tourism sector, which represents around 10% of the GDP, accounts for 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, announced the establishment of STGC during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum that was held in October, 2021 in Riyadh.

The center receives the support of countries that contributed to its establishment: the UK, the US, France, Japan, Germany, Kenya, Jamaica, Morocco, Spain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to several organizations, including: United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), World Bank, SYSTEMIQ Company, World Resources Institute (WRI), and Harvard University that will offer its support for the center through research and capacity building, while the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will support the center to speed up the activities of the tourism sector to the climate neutrality.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Saudi Exports Development Authority organized a trade mission that included major Saudi manufacturers and exporters in the food and building materials sectors, to Amman, Jordan, as part of the efforts made by the Authority to develop and enhance cooperation between the two countries in several economic and commercial fields and sectors, raise the volume of trade exchange, and increase bilateral investments, which comes as an extension of the depth of their common historical relations, enhancing prospects for cooperation and consolidating bilateral relations, and provides Saudi exporters with opportunities available in the Jordanian market in all sectors, specifically in the building materials and food sectors, where the value of Saudi non-oil exports to Jordan reached SAR 6.9 billion in 2021, compared to SAR 4.7 billion in 2020.

This step comes as a continuation of the efforts of “Saudi Exports” to facilitate the comprehensive journey of exporters, identify and promote international business opportunities, link exporters with buyers, facilitate the access of national products to global markets, increase non-oil exports and raise their percentage from 16% to 50% of the total value of non-oil GDP, in line with the plans to diversify the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Source: Saudi Press Agency