Category: News

Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Co. has partnered with the Cityscape Global real estate exhibition in a bid to boost property activity in the Kingdom.

The event, scheduled from Sept. 10 to 13 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Mulham, will be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This partnership highlights the National Housing Co.’s commitment to the growth and development of the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia.

The company will occupy the largest pavilion in the exhibition, covering an area of 2,000 sq. meters, showcasing key projects that have contributed to increasing the real estate supply in the Kingdom. These include the Khuzam suburb and the Al-Fursan suburb.

The pavilion will also provide access to investment opportunities and the latest regulatory technical solutions through advanced technical systems.

Real estate development partners of the National Housing Co. will also participate in the exhibition, the SPA report added.

The event will bring together exhibitors from the real estate industry, and is set to attract those seeking investment opportunities in the sector.

It will feature projects related to Saudi Vision 2030 and host panel discussions on urban transformations, real estate opportunities, and innovations in architecture, design, and city planning.

Additionally, the exhibition will include major developments shaping the Kingdom’s real estate future, attracting thousands of potential real estate buyers, sector experts, and over 2,000 investors.

There will also be over 350 exhibitors and more than 250 international and local speakers who will share their views and experiences within the sector.

Saudi Arabia’s housing demand is expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, reaching 153,000 houses, up from 99,600 houses in 2021.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367196

Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmad Fahmi has said that Italian energy major Eni is planning to invest $7.7 billion in the country.

The announcement was made after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi, where he lauded the firm’s activities in his country.

The meeting was also attended by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla and senior Eni officials.

In August, El-Sisi revealed that Egypt will receive a $3.5 billion investment from UK multinational oil and gas company BP over the next three years.

During the meeting with BP CEO Bernard Looney, the president highlighted Egypt’s desire to strengthen cooperation with the company, including in emissions reduction, energy transition and green hydrogen production.

In August, a report from Knight Frank had suggested that sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East region could inject as much as $120 billion into Egypt over the next few years.

In its report, Knight Frank noted that major global powers including Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK, the UAE, South Korea, and China have renewed their investment interests in the African continent, especially after the recovery from the pandemic.

Acquisition

Affirming Egypt’s potential as a prospective investment destination, the UAE’s Global Investment Holding Co. has agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in tobacco manufacturer Eastern Co. for $625 million.

According to a statement from Egypt’s Cabinet published on Facebook, Global Investment Holding will also provide Eastern Co. with $150 million for the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing.

It is not clear whether this $150 million was an additional amount or was included in the $625 million purchase price.

The Cabinet statement added that this deal is a part of the government’s efforts to increase private investments in various sectors.

The Egyptian government had previously promised the International Monetary Fund that it would roll back the state’s involvement in the economy and allow private companies a much greater role as part of a $3 billion, 46-month financial support package, signed in December.

Wheat deal

Egypt’s state grains buyer bought about a half-a-million tons of Russian wheat in a private deal, four traders told Reuters, succeeding in negotiating lower prices than those offered in the more traditional tenders.

One of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, Egypt last year started shifting toward direct purchases instead of tenders after the war in Ukraine disrupted its buying.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities bought about 480,000 tons of Russian wheat from trading firm Solaris on Friday, at a price of about $270 a ton on a cost and freight basis, the traders said.

GASC was not immediately available for comment.

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia’s government to control domestic wheat prices.

Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton.

Source:https://arab.news/8phj7

Considering some 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s territory is largely desert and ill-suited for farming, few might expect the Kingdom to be the site of a new agricultural boom designed to boost domestic crop production and reduce dependence on imported foodstuffs.

As large swathes of the Arab world struggle with food insecurity and supply-chain disruptions, the Kingdom’s initiatives, investments and technological innovations are redefining what it means to achieve self-sufficiency in many food items across one of the world’s most arid regions.

Today, Saudi Arabia has achieved complete self-sufficiency in the production of dates, fresh dairy products and table eggs, according to figures from the General Authority for Statistics’ Agricultural Statistics Publication.

These figures also show that Saudi Arabia produces more than enough of these three food items to meet local demand — 124, 118, and 117 percent, respectively — meaning it has excess capacity for export.

The Kingdom has also made progress in growing potatoes, meeting 80 percent of local demand. Domestic poultry comprises 68 percent, tomatoes 67 percent, red meat 60 percent, carrots 50 percent, fish 48 percent and onions 44 percent.

Improving food self-sufficiency has required the Kingdom to navigate the twin obstacles posed by climate change, bringing with it new record temperatures and soil degradation, and water scarcity, amid depleted rainfall and limited natural freshwater reserves.

Jamal Al-Saadoun, CEO and vice chairman of the Red Sea Farms Cooperative, or Tamala, an initiative aimed at developing agriculture in the Red Sea region, told Arab News the Kingdom reached its level of food self-sufficiency “through planning and over a long period.”

Saudi Arabia’s journey to food self-sufficiency started in the 1980s. During that decade, Riyadh “began developing agricultural plans and focusing on important sectors and products such as dairy, dates, poultry and table eggs,” said Al-Saadoun.

It was supported by investors, assisted by consultations and boosted by a good domestic market for homegrown products. Some of these goods were even exported to the Kingdom’s neighbors, demonstrating the oil-rich country’s potential to become an exporter of foodstuffs rather than a mere importer and consumer.

Now Saudi agri-businesses and investors have adopted modern technologies to improve quality and yields, learning and exchanging best practices with counterparts in the industry around the world.

“The presence of many technical companies inside the Kingdom and regular participation in international exhibitions by the Ministry of Agriculture” are giving Saudis in the agricultural sector opportunities to meet specialists and learn about the latest technologies in their field, said Al-Saadoun.

Several economists have sought to emphasize the importance of food self-sufficiency in the face of chronic food insecurity, especially in countries that rely heavily on imports for domestic consumption.

As the global food system becomes more interconnected, the risk of food insecurity is on the rise. In this century alone, the importance of food self-sufficiency became evident during the 2007-08 world food price crisis.

More recently, destabilizing events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have again underlined the importance of food security and the need for many countries to pursue self-sufficiency to avoid price inflation and shortages.

Driven by the need to achieve self-sufficiency in keeping with its food-security strategy, the Saudi government has invested in modern desalination technologies and advanced irrigation techniques.

Such investments enable it to utilize its water reserves more effectively and avoid unnecessary wastage, particularly given its limited natural freshwater resources, especially groundwater.

Across most of the Arabian Peninsula, there is precious little rainfall and much of what there is runs off into desert sand or quickly evaporates.

An area covering more than 1,000,000 square miles contains almost no perennial rivers or streams, and the Kingdom’s southern section is covered by one of the largest deserts in the world.

Saudi Arabia occupies about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula and is one of its driest countries. Water resources are scarce and climate conditions severe. The conditions cause groundwater salinization, which is a common problem affecting the Kingdom’s agricultural sector.

As part of its investment in desalination technologies, Saudi Arabia has built plants along its coastlines that convert sea water into freshwater, which is then used for irrigation and other agricultural needs.

In addition to reducing the use of its freshwater reserves, this process has made it possible to cultivate crops in drier, water-scarce regions, potentially giving the Kingdom more arable land for agriculture.

To prevent the exploitation of aquifers, Riyadh has also imposed strict regulations against groundwater extraction. By taking these proactive measures, Saudi Arabia is working to sustain and preserve this vital resource.

The Kingdom has achieved notable self-sufficiency in various crops, especially those requiring modern technologies, largely thanks to its integrated water management system. This approach has noticeably reduced the water consumption needed for agriculture from 86 percent to 70 percent.

Saudi authorities are also exploring the option of localized vertical-farming technologies and hydroponics — the science of growing plants without soil and with limited amounts of water.

These innovations boost the domestic cultivation of essential crops, such as wheat, barley and dates, and simultaneously reduce reliance on foreign sources for these staples.

Despite these successes, the Kingdom still relies heavily on imports for much of the food consumed by the Saudi public. However, authorities recognize that the Kingdom cannot achieve complete food self-sufficiency by remaining dependent on the international market.

Consequently, over the summer, the Kingdom’s Agricultural Development Fund approved funding for small farmers in greenhouse vegetable production, fish and shrimp farming, and poultry breeding. Under this scheme, farmers were loaned $400 million in funding to support what many call “local-for-local” goods.

Al-Saadoun of Tamala highlighted the government’s support for agricultural cooperatives and initiatives to develop agriculture and livestock farming with a view to employ modern technologies, sustainable irrigation systems and organic farming practices.

Such initiatives include developing agricultural and livestock farming in the Red Sea region. In recent years, multiple centers for agricultural development have emerged throughout the coastal area, with small local farms adopting more advanced practices to boost yields.

Companies and associations like Tamala are playing a crucial role in helping such farmers transition to modern and sustainable farming methods. They aim to facilitate the development of high-quality produce while conserving vital resources.

Although Saudi Arabia is boosting local production, this does not mean it is turning its back on foreign imports. Rather, the Kingdom is diversifying its sources of food to guard against future systemic shocks.

Indeed, in a 2017 paper, “Food self-sufficiency: Making sense of it, and when it makes sense,” published by the journal Food Policy, the author argues that “policy choice on this issue is far from a straightforward binary choice between the extremes of relying solely on homegrown food and a fully open trade policy for foodstuffs.”

Saudi Arabia’s experience is a striking example of a country vigorously pursuing its goal of achieving food self-sufficiency and tackling food insecurity in an unpredictable and uncertain world.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367371/saudi-arabia

For Siwar Derbeli a national rice shortage is not just another inconvenient symptom of Tunisia’s stretched national finances but a source of hunger because the coeliac disease she suffers from means it is one of the few staples she can comfortably eat.
Shortages of imported goods sold at subsidised rates have been increasing in Tunisia since last year, with wheat, sugar, cooking oil and dairy products periodically disappearing from supermarket shelves along with some medicines.
Although rice is not the most common staple in Tunisia, where bread, pasta and couscous are more frequently eaten, its lack of gluten makes it indispensable for the country’s estimated 100,000 people with coeliac disease — an autoimmune condition that prompts a dangerous response to gluten.

“You come home and can’t find the basic food you need to eat. It’s a very unfortunate situation,” said Derbeli, 18.
Her mother, Hasna Arfaoui, was cooking Derbeli’s evening meal with expensive gluten-free pasta that is hard to afford for Arfaoui, an unemployed widow with three children who used to work as a cleaner.
“We have been facing difficulties with her diet, and it has been very tiring for us. The specialized food she needs is expensive and we often struggle to afford it. Basic ingredients like rice are missing,” she said.

The government has denied that shortages are due to the crisis in public finances, with talks for a foreign bailout stalled and credit ratings agencies warning that Tunisia may default on sovereign debt.
However, economists, political analysts and Tunisia’s influential labor union have all said the government is delaying or stopping imports of subsidised goods to help cope with a $5 billion budget deficit despite public hardship.
Monji ben Hriz, president of the Tunisian Association for Coeliac Disease, said no ship was due to offload rice until December and that state-held stocks had already run out.
Some privately imported rice is available, but at a much higher cost that is prohibitive for many Tunisians.
“People are now enduring real difficulties sourcing rice and there are those who have changed their diet for this reason, jeopardizing their health,” he said.

Source:https://arab.news/zk77b

In a bid to further deepen economic and trade ties, Saudi Arabia and Italy will sign 18 cooperation agreements across various fields, said Khalid Al-Falih, the Kingdom’s minister of investment.

Speaking at the Saudi-Italian Investment Forum in Milan on Sept. 4 at the Gallia hotel, Al-Falih said that both countries can complement and leverage each other’s strengths to build a better future.

During the speech, Al-Falih invited Italian firms to come and operate in the Kingdom, noting that 150 licensed companies from the European nation are already functioning in Saudi Arabia.

“But while Italy clearly belongs in the list of top 10 economies globally, it is only in the top 20 as an investor in the Kingdom, and the value of our bilateral non-oil trade amounts to a mere €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) — which means we are far from reaching the full potential of our partnership,” added Al-Falih.

According to the minister, Saudi Arabia and Italy should specifically focus on expanding the scale and quality of joint investments to further deepen the strategic relationship between the nations.

“In the context of areas of complementarity and shared interests, I’d like to emphasize a handful that are of particular significance to Italy: energy and sustainability; advanced manufacturing and supply chains; culture and sports; and innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Al-Falih.

Talking about the energy sector, the minister noted that Saudi Arabia and Italy could become partners in green technologies, as the Kingdom leads the sustainable journey in the region from the front.

“With regards to energy and sustainability, the Kingdom is an ideal partner, including for decarbonized hydrogen – blue and green – given our plans and projects to lead the world in clean energy production, just as we have been global leaders in traditional energy for 80 years,” said Al-Falih.

He further added: “Our green hydrogen project at NEOM through ACWA Power and Air Products is by far the largest of its kind in the world and also Aramco has the world’s most ambitious program for products and export of blue hydrogen.”

Reiterating Saudi Arabia’s aim to become a global tourism destination, Al-Falih said that the Kingdom wants to attract 100 million visitors by 2030.

“I believe we have the right offerings — including AlUla, the Red Sea project, the Qiddiya entertainment park, as well as concert halls, cultural centers, and film and music festivals for our vibrant, young, and rapidly growing population,” he said.

Al-Falih added: “But achieving these ambitious targets will require investments exceeding €250 billion — and we can clearly also learn a lot from you in this space.”

He went on to say that Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product has already achieved a cumulative growth rate of 66 percent since the launch of Vision 2030.

Speaking to Arab News after his address to the forum, Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia has become one of the top 10 countries in attracting foreign investment.

“The size of foreign investments is satisfactorily good,” the minister said, adding that such ventures by non-Saudi entities increased by over 30 percent in 2022 compared to the previous 12 months, and is likely to rise during this year.

He revealed that his ministry will soon announced the number of investments the Kingdom has managed to attract.

Al-Falih went on to say: “Saudi Arabia is not only attracting investments in petrochemicals and energy (sectors). We are also attracting investments in sectors like digital technology, health, tourism, culture, and logistics.

“The world’s biggest companies are now investing in the Kingdom, and these companies see Saudi Arabia as an investment-attracting environment.”

Commenting on the MoUs signed in Milan, Al-Falih said: “Today’s MoUs covered several sectors with energy, especially renewable energy, on top of these sectors.

“We also signed agreements in the health (sector), and this is a good thing since Italy is an advanced country in the health sector. There were also agreements in construction and industry sectors.”

Meanwhile, Al-Falih invited Italy’s Minister of Enterprise Adolfo Urso to Riyadh to consolidate cooperation between the two countries and foster collaboration between companies.

Mufleh Al-Shammari, communication and media vice president at the National Transformation Program Center, told Arab News that the NTP had had a successful forum, and expressed his enthusiasm about the event and the organization’s role in helping the Saudi investment environment evolve.

“NTP aims to develop the necessary infrastructure and create an environment that enables the public, private, and non-profit sectors to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” he said, adding: “Launched in 2016, NTP is assigned with 35 percent of the Vision’s goals, which are 34 out of 96 strategic objectives. It works with seven leading entities and more than 50 participating entities, including the Ministry of Investment.”

When asked about NTP’s role in improving the investment environment, Al-Shammari said that Vision 2030 aims to position Saudi Arabia among the top 15 economies in the world, and NTP launched many platforms and initiatives to promote and attract high-quality investments to the Kingdom, including the “Invest Saudi” initiative which organizes forums around the world to market the Kingdom as an attractive destination for enterprise.

“Currently, it only takes one day and two documents to obtain an investment license in Saudi Arabia,” Al-Shammari said.

Al-Shammari also highlighted the results of NTP’s collaborative work with the Ministry of Investment, saying: “Saudi Arabia had the fastest growing economy of all G20 countries in 2022. In quarter one 2023, the Kingdom’s GDP growth reached 3.9 percent, surpassing most G20 countries.”

According to the organizing committee, the forum was attended by over 1,100 participants, of which 70 percent were from Italy and 26 percent from Saudi Arabia. The attendees included business leaders, government officials, policymakers, and investors.

Source:https://arab.news/47ydd

Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmad Fahmi has said that Italian energy major Eni is planning to invest $7.7 billion in the country.

The announcement was made after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi, where he lauded the firm’s activities in his country.

The meeting was also attended by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla and senior Eni officials.

In August, El-Sisi revealed that Egypt will receive a $3.5 billion investment from UK multinational oil and gas company BP over the next three years.

During the meeting with BP CEO Bernard Looney, the president highlighted Egypt’s desire to strengthen cooperation with the company, including in emissions reduction, energy transition and green hydrogen production.

In August, a report from Knight Frank had suggested that sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East region could inject as much as $120 billion into Egypt over the next few years.

In its report, Knight Frank noted that major global powers including Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK, the UAE, South Korea, and China have renewed their investment interests in the African continent, especially after the recovery from the pandemic.

Acquisition

Affirming Egypt’s potential as a prospective investment destination, the UAE’s Global Investment Holding Co. has agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in tobacco manufacturer Eastern Co. for $625 million.

According to a statement from Egypt’s Cabinet published on Facebook, Global Investment Holding will also provide Eastern Co. with $150 million for the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing.

It is not clear whether this $150 million was an additional amount or was included in the $625 million purchase price.

The Cabinet statement added that this deal is a part of the government’s efforts to increase private investments in various sectors.

The Egyptian government had previously promised the International Monetary Fund that it would roll back the state’s involvement in the economy and allow private companies a much greater role as part of a $3 billion, 46-month financial support package, signed in December.

Wheat deal

Egypt’s state grains buyer bought about a half-a-million tons of Russian wheat in a private deal, four traders told Reuters, succeeding in negotiating lower prices than those offered in the more traditional tenders.

One of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, Egypt last year started shifting toward direct purchases instead of tenders after the war in Ukraine disrupted its buying.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities bought about 480,000 tons of Russian wheat from trading firm Solaris on Friday, at a price of about $270 a ton on a cost and freight basis, the traders said.

GASC was not immediately available for comment.

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia’s government to control domestic wheat prices.

Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367376

In a significant development, Oman’s refinery and petroleum production saw a 13.5 percent uptick at the end of July 2023, according to a report by the country’s National Centre for Statistics and Information.

The data revealed that the production of standard-grade petrol M-91 escalated by 31.2 percent in comparison to the same period last year, reaching 1.22 million barrels. However, M-95 fuel exports plummeted by 84.9 percent in the same period.

On the other hand, diesel gas oil exports jumped by 26.9 percent year on year in July 2023 to about 11.95 million barrels.

Additionally, aviation fuel exports witnessed a 71.6 percent surge, amounting to 4.42 million barrels, and exports of liquefied petroleum gas reached 369,800 barrels.

Beyond fuel, Oman also reported increases in petrochemical exports during the month with paraxylene exports totaling 311,400 tons, gasoline exports standing at 97,500 tons, and polypropylene exports witnessing a 26.5 percent rise to 147,000 tons.

Domestic production statistics were equally robust in July 2023 as the production of standard-grade petrol swelled by 27.1 percent year on year to reach 9.61 million barrels, while its total sales hit 8.29 million barrels.

Diesel gas oil production soared 9 percent to reach 19.86 million barrels, with sales tallying at 8.11 million barrels.

Additionally, aviation fuel production surged by 64.6 percent to 6.85 million barrels, and LPG production increased by 41.4 percent to 4.91 million barrels in July 2023 compared to the same period last year.

The domestic petrochemical sector also witnessed gains with gasoline production skyrocketing by 260.1 percent to 93,500 tons, paraxylene production was steady at 305,400 tons, and polypropylene production grew by 14.4 percent to 156,700 tons.

Uptick in real estate market
Oman’s real estate market also experienced a significant uptick, with the total value of real estate transactions rising by 16.8 percent to reach 1.626 billion Omani rials ($4.2 billion) at the end of July 2023, compared to 1.392 billion rials recorded in the same period last year.

However, the value of sales contracts dipped by 10 percent, amounting to 619 million rials across 38,440 transactions. This also marked a 4.2 percent reduction in the number of sales contracts.

Source:https://arab.news/pbre9