Category: Business

Riyadh, Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih stressed that the mineral resources sector is among the most important resources that support countries’ economies, and that launching the International Mining Conference reflects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s interest in the mining sector in the world, its influence on the economic recovery and big impact on the future of several priority industries.

Participating in session of the International Mining Conference, he said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increasing the competitiveness in the sector through enacting laws and regulation. To speed up procedures for geological exploration and attracting investments, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed the quality and availability of geographical data through several initiatives, including the General program for Geological Survey, where efforts resulted in issuing 75 new exploration licenses after launching the new Mining Investment Bylaw in January, 2021.

Al-Falih noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set ambitious targets, where the mining sector now contributes to some $ 17 billion to the GDP, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is willing to triple this number by 2030, referring to the importance of holding such conferences to exchange expertise, boost benefits in the sector and seek to develop modern mining industries, expressing hope for the event to realize envisioned goals.

The ministry’s participation in the conference is part of its keenness to attract investments in the mining sector and enhance their flow into the national economy.

The ministry, through its participation in the accompanying “Invest in Saudi” pavilion, reviewed top promising investment opportunities in the fields of mining and mineral resources, whose development is among top priorities and due to the fact that the sector is the third biggest pillar for industries to diversify economic resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to holding several bilateral meetings with the aim of providing investors and opportunity to get acquainted with the available investments and partnerships, as well as the services and incentives it offers to investors.

The volume of mineral resources investments on the “Invest in Saudi” platform currently stands at 70 private opportunities in the mining and mineral sector with an investment volume exceeding $ 25 billion, while estimations put the value of mineral resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at $ 1.3 trillion.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading higher here today, gaining 178.72 points to close at 11,843.55 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 8 billion, while the toll of shares traded was 185 million, divided into over 340,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day gaining 297.77 points, to close at 26,143.59 points, with a valuation of SAR 162 million and an overall tally of more than 790,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 5,123 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha met here today with Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq Arkan Shihab Al-Shaibani and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of Iraqi Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abdulsattar Al-Janabi.

During the meeting, ways of strengthening cooperation between the two brotherly countries in the field of the digital economy and digital government were discussed.

The meeting reviewed the leading Saudi experience in the fields of digital transformation and the development of communications and infrastructure, which contributed to enhance achieving advanced positions by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this field, and supporting the expansion of the Saudi technology companies in the Iraqi markets.

The meeting was attended by a number of senior Saudi officials.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Saudi-Iraqi Technical Forum was held, in which the Technology Agency reviewed the trends and initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while some Saudi technology companies shed light on the promising investment opportunities, in addition to the technical services provided.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Washington, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that the electric carmaker will raise the U.S. price of its advanced driver assistant software dubbed “Full Self Driving” to $12,000 on Jan. 17.

The 20% price rise comes less than two years since Tesla raised Full Self-Driving (FSD) prices to $10,000 from $8,000 in 2020, Reuters reported.

“Tesla FSD price rising to $12k on Jan 17. Just in the US.” Musk tweeted.

Musk also added that the monthly subscription price will rise when FSD goes to wide release.

“FSD price will rise as we get closer to FSD production code release,” he tweeted.

Tesla has been expanding the release of a test version of its upgraded FSD software, a system of driving-assistance features – like automatically changing lanes and making turns, but the features do not make the vehicles autonomous.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

As part of “Saudi Day” celebrations at Expo 2020, Invest Saudi, the Kingdom’s investment promotion platform overseen by the Ministry of Investment (MISA), has hosted the Saudi Arabia Business Briefing to showcase game-changing investment opportunities in the Kingdom’s business ecosystem.

The event provided an opportunity for new and existing investors to explore the major untapped potential in the Kingdom, as new sectors continue to open up to investment and new structural reforms have streamlined the Saudi business environment, meeting the needs of a growing variety of investor types.

Consisting of remarks from a consortium of presenters across multiple industries and sectors, the briefing provided the chance to learn more about initiatives facilitated by Vision 2030 such as the National Investment Strategy, Privatization Program and giga projects including NEOM, the Red Sea Project and Diriyah Gate.

Speakers were followed by a networking session with key business officials, which allowed investors to conduct 1:1 meetings and delve further into the Kingdom’s attractive investment opportunities.

Reflecting on the event, Faysal Hamza, Deputy of Sector Development at the Ministry of Investment said: “Vision 2030 has fast-tracked the development of new and exciting sectors, whilst rapid technological change is transforming existing sectors, making Saudi Arabia one of the most sought-after places in the world to invest”.

“The combination of a major and growing economy, unprecedent transformation and a commitment to public and private collaboration means businesses in Saudi Arabia have the chance to pioneer sectors and transform industries”.

Waseem Khashan, Deputy of Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Investment added: “The Saudi Arabia Business Briefing provided an exciting opportunity for investors to learn more about the business ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, as well as how we are collaborating closely with investors to de-risk investments, ensuring the investment experience is positive and supporting long-term success”.

“As we enter a new year and reflect on the Kingdom’s unprecedented transformation under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s economy remains resilient, providing investors with long-term economic stability”.

“Our Kingdom is open to the world and we invite investors from across the international business community and domestic private sector to step into the world of opportunity that is Saudi Arabia”.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan bin Abdurrahman Al-Marshad met here today with Djibouti Secretary of State for Housing, Amina Abdi Aden and the accompanying delegation, currently on a visit to the Kingdom.

During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest and the existing development projects submitted by the Kingdom’s government through SFD, which aim to contribute to achieving sustainable development in the Republic of Djibouti, in addition to discussing the challenges facing the progress of development projects and sustainable solutions for them.

For her part, the Djibouti Secretary of State for Housing expressed her gratitude for the efforts made by the Kingdom’s government for its contribution and support to development projects in Djibouti through SFD to support friendly countries through development projects.

It is worth mentioning that the Fund provided (14) development loans in the Republic of Djibouti with the aim of financing a number of projects in the water, health, transport, energy and education sectors.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, met here today with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea Moon Seung-wook, who is currently visiting the Kingdom.

During the meeting, Al-Khorayef highlighted the industrial and mining sectors, as well as the mining investment system and opportunities in the Kingdom. Benefiting from the Korean experience in the fields of establishing and managing industrial cities was reviewed by the two ministers.

The Saudi Minister of Industry also discussed areas of cooperation and investment opportunities between the two countries in the fields of food industries, automobile industry, and shipbuilding, in addition to the manufacture of medical imaging devices, cosmetics, fashion, and leather products. Al- Khorayef invited the Korean companies to visit the industrial cities in the Kingdom, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and MODON.

It is noteworthy that the Kingdom’s non-oil exports to South Korea in 2020 amounted to SAR 3.2 billion, while the volume of imports from Korea to the Kingdom amounted to SAR14.4 billion riyals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading higher here today, gaining 29.28 points to close at 11,356.80 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 5.4 billion, while the toll of shares traded was 134 million, divided into over 280,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day losing 252.44 points, to close at 25,777.66 points, with a valuation of SAR 109 million and an overall tally of more than 590,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 4,526 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Beijing, Asian stock markets were mixed Monday on 2022’s first trading day after Wall Street ended last year with a double-digit gain, the Associated Press reported.

Hong Kong retreated while Seoul gained. Markets in Japan, China and Australia were closed.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6% to 23,252.69 while Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,990.80.

India’s Sensex opened up 1% at 58,809.99. Singapore, Jakarta and Malaysia advanced.

Also Monday, Singapore’s government announced its economy grew by 7.2% last year, rebounding from the previous year’s 5.4% contraction.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 56 cents to $75.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.78 on Friday to $75.21. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, gained 54 cents to $78.32 per barrel in London. It lost $1.75 the previous session to $77.78 per barrel.

The dollar advanced to 115.28 yen from Friday’s 115.09 yen. The euro declined to $1.1341 from $1.1383.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading higher here today, gaining 50.20 points to close at 11,331.91 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 4.4 billion, while the toll of shares traded was 129 million, divided into over 230,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Equity Market Index (NOMU) ended the day gaining 299.76 points, to close at 26,275.59 points, with a valuation of SAR 111 million and an overall tally of more than 650,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 4,757 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Seoul, South Korea emitted a total of 701.3 million tons of greenhouse gas in 2019, Yonhap quoted the environment ministry as saying Friday.

The 2019 figure, confirmed by the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, represents a 3.5 percent drop from the 2018 tally, according to the ministry.

The decrease came largely from a reduction in power plant emissions from 268.5 million tons to 248.7 million tons and alternative ozone layer depleting substances from 8.8 million tons to 6.3 million tons.

But road transportation and non-metal emissions increased by 2.75 million tons and 1.13 million tons, respectively.

By industry, the energy sector accounted for 87.2 percent, or 611.5 million tons, of the total emission. The energy sector’s emissions were down by 3.3 percent, or 21 million tons, from 2018 due to restrictions on coal thermal power generations imposed to reduce fine dust air pollution.

Industrial plants, and farming and waste sectors took up 7.4 percent, 3 percent and 2.4 percent of the total, respectively.

Nearly 380 tons of greenhouse gas were emitted per 1 billion won (US$841,000) of gross domestic product, down 5.6 percent from 401 tons tallied in 2018.

Gas emission per individual was 13.6 tons, down 3.7 percent from 14.1 tons recorded in 2018.

According to the ministry, the 2020 tally is expected to fall to a total emission of 648.6 million tons.

Source: Saudi Press Agency