MUST-READS

• Mobile esports reaches new heights in 2024 with a boost from Saudi Arabian investment

  It’s shaping up to be a banner year for the mobile esports industry, with an unprecedented amount of activity in the space in 2024. The secret to all this growth? A healthy amount of investment from Saudi Arabia. Mobile esports activity has been picking up gradually since 2021, but 2024 could be one of the most lucrative years yet for the esports teams and players participating in popular mobile games such as “PUBG Mobile” and “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang” (MLBB).

• Riyadh eyes significant investment in Pakistan, Saudi FM says
  Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Riyadh will be "moving ahead significantly" to invest in projects in Pakistan, days after Islamabad announced that the Kingdom had pledged to expedite $5 billion in investment.
  Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrived in Islamabad on Monday to lead a delegation on a two-day visit as part of efforts to boost economic cooperation.
  His Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar told a joint news conference that Pakistan gave extensive briefings to the delegation on potential investment projects.

• Pakistan’s premier calls for closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia to enhance investment in Pakistan

  Pakistan’s prime minister called for closer cooperation between Saudi Arabia and his cash-strapped Islamic nation to enhance Saudi investment in his country, a government statement said Tuesday. Shehbaz Sharif made his remarks during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan who arrived Monday in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss a range of issues, including how to help Pakistan overcome its economic crisis. The previous week, Sharif met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, one of Pakistan’s closest allies and a leading supplier of oil to Islamabad. According to Pakistani officials, Prince Mohammed had assured Pakistan that Saudi Arabia would invest $5 billion in Pakistan.

• Saudi banks’ foreign assets surge by 22%, reflecting robust international investments

  The foreign assets of Saudi Arabia’s commercial banks surged by 22 percent in February, reaching a total of SR347.63 billion ($92.7 billion), compared to the same month of the previous year. This notable increase, as reported by recent data from the Kingdom’s central bank, also known as SAMA, reflects a significant expansion in the institution’s international holdings and investments. Conversely, Saudi banks witnessed a 38 percent surge in foreign liabilities over the same period, increasing to SR288.22 billion. This rise, which encompasses various financial obligations to banks outside the Kingdom, resulted in the calculation of net foreign assets amounting to SR59.41 billion.

• Saudi industrial sector sees 63% surge in new investments

  Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector experienced a 63 percent increase in new investments in 2023, amounting to a SR15 billion ($3.99 billion) rise compared to the previous year. According to the annual report from the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, the cumulative funding last year reached SR415 billion, distributed across 891 projects encompassing both local and foreign ventures.

• Saudi Arabia, Pakistan accelerate implementation of $5 billion investment package

  This was announced in a joint statement following a meeting between Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on Sunday. This move is a significant step toward bolstering economic ties and is indicative of the strong relationship between the two countries.

• Saudi Arabia’s private equity investments reach $4B in 2023

  Saudi Arabia witnessed an increasing interest in private equity investments from 2019 to 2023, MAGNITT said in a recent report. The Kingdom's private equity investments reached a peak of nearly $4 billion in 2023, recording growth for three consecutive years since 2020.

• Saudi Arabia announces 6 mining investment opportunities

  Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources on Wednesday announced six new mining investment opportunities for local and international investors. It is part of the fifth round of mining bids for exploration licenses and encompasses gold, copper, zinc, lead, and silver ores in various regions of the kingdom, covering a total area of over 940 square kilometers, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Investment opportunities for exploration licenses include the "Al-Halahila" site in Najran, the "Jabal Qaran" site in Najran, the "Makman Hijab" in Riyadh, the "An-Nimas" site in Asir, the "Al-Mihah" site in Mecca, and the "Al-Hajirah" site in Asir.

• Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s $100 Billion Foreign Investment Quest Falters

  The short-term reality is more complicated. California-based Lucid is increasingly guzzling Saudi money to stay in business. Last week it got a $1 billion cash lifeline from the kingdom, on top of the $5.4 billion Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has already pumped in. Lucid, which counts the PIF as its top shareholder, had been held up as an example of foreign firms investing in Saudi Arabia’s multi-trillion-dollar “Vision 2030” economic transformation plan. But Lucid’s need for Saudi money is one sign the country’s rushed attempt at reinvention is being paid for out of pocket, with the kingdom relying heavily on its oil riches to entice firms in.

• Egypt’s Sisi starts third term pledging more investment, social spending
  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in for his third term on Tuesday in the country's new capital, the largest of the mega-projects that have come to symbolise his rule while stretching the country's finances.
  Speaking at the new parliament building, Sisi highlighted the challenges Egypt withstood in recent years while promising continued development, which many Egyptians say they feel excluded from.

• 10 of 997 results<< 1 2 3 … 100 >>