Via Cagan Koc and Dinesh Nair in mining.com: Saudi Arabia is looking for mining deals in a push to secure supplies of critical minerals for its industrialization plan, just as a wave of attempted consolidation sweeps the sector. Joining the consolidation drive “could be a good way of entering the market or getting at least access to different assets in a more structured way,” Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He didn’t elaborate whether this would be buying stakes in assets or buying companies outright. Deals have been on Saudi Arabia’s radar for a while as it pushes through with an ambitious economic transformation plan. The overseas drive has had limited results so far with just one major completed deal and another in the works in Pakistan, but recent dealmaking efforts by major companies may give the Saudis an opportunity to deploy their cash.

Via Ramadan Al Sherbini in gulfnews.com: Global demand for Saudi palm dates have increased, propelling the product’s exports to rise from 579 million tons in 2016 to about 1.5 billion tons in 2024, official figures have shown. Saudi Arabia boasts about 300 different types of dates, with more than 37 million palm trees producing more than 3 billion tons of dates annually, the Saudi news agency SPA reported, citing the National Centre for Palms and Dates. The number of factories of date products and processing industries has reached 137. Al Qassim in central Saudi Arabia tops the kingdom’s regions in terms of date production with more than 578,000 tons and having 10.7 million trees, the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has recently said.

Via Brett Samuels in thehill.com: President Trump held his first official call with a foreign leader since being sworn in for his second term with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a controversial figure who Trump on Thursday praised as a “fantastic guy.” Trump spoke with the crown prince Wednesday, according to a readout from the White House. The two discussed security concerns in the Middle East and stabilizing the region, as well as planned investments by Saudi Arabia in the United States.  The president, addressing political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, highlighted reports that Saudi Arabia plans to invest at least $600 billion in the U.S. in the coming years.  “I’ll be asking the crown prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion,” Trump said. “I think they’ll do that, because we’ve been very good to them.”

Via Jon Gambrell in yahoo.com: The comments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported early Thursday by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, came in a phone call with Trump. “The crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that,” the report said. The readout did not elaborate on where those investments and trade could be placed. The U.S. in recent years has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports, which once was the bedrock of their relationship for decades. Saudi sovereign wealth funds have taken large stakes in American businesses while also looking at sports as well. “The first foreign trip typically has been with the U.K. but … I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. “If Saudi Arabia wanted to buy another $450 billion or $500 — we’ll up it for all the inflation — I think I’d probably go.”

Via Daniel Fountain in arabnews.com: Prince Faisal bin Farhan said he would visit Lebanon, the first such trip by a Saudi foreign minister in more than a decade. The one-day trip on Thursday will mark the first visit by a high-ranking Saudi official to Lebanon since 2015, after years of strained relations due to Lebanon’s perceived alignment with Iran, its role in drug smuggling to Gulf countries, and ongoing instability. Prince Faisal described the recent election of a president in Lebanon, following a prolonged political vacuum, as a highly positive development. He said the Kingdom welcomed the potential formation of a government but emphasized the need for real reforms and a forward-looking approach to ensure sustainable progress. He reiterated that the future of Lebanon rested in the hands of its people, urging them to make decisions that steer the country in a new direction.

Via Christine Burke and Olga Voitova in yahoo.com: Saudi Arabia’s bond spree continued Wednesday as its sovereign wealth fund sold $4 billion of dollar debt. The Public Investment Fund priced notes with maturities of five years and 9 1/2 years, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified sharing private information. The premiums above US Treasuries are respectively 95 and 110 basis points — both 30 basis points less than initial price talk. The tighter pricing occurred as orders topped $16 billion, excluding joint lead manager interest, the person said, with demand has been equally split across the two notes. The deal followed a $12 billion bond by the Saudi government earlier this month, while the PIF signed a $7 billion Islamic loan with 20 banks around the same time.

in alarabiya.net: The top Saudi diplomat on Tuesday played down fears that the incoming Trump administration was looking for war with Iran and called on Tehran to engage with the US to address the issue of its nuclear weapon program. “I don’t see the incoming US administration as contributory to the risk of war. On the contrary, I think President Trump has been quite clear that he does not favor conflict,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Prince Faisal admitted that the Middle East was abundant in risk factors, but it also had huge potential. “I hope that the [Trump administration’s] approach will be met, also on the Iranian side, by addressing the issue of the nuclear program, by being willing to engage with the incoming administration in a way that can help us stay on track with this positive momentum,” he said.

in zawya.com: The GCC countries recorded a landmark year for fixed income issuances in 2024, with total bond issuance in the region rising to a record high of $103.4bn. This marks a 71% jump from $60.5bn worth of bond issuances in 2023, according to the GCC Fixed Income Market 2024 report published by Kuwait-based Kamco Investment. Corporate issuances led the way, with companies in the GCC raising a total of $70.1bn, reflecting a remarkable growth of 74% compared to 2023. Meanwhile, government bond issuances in the region also saw a strong year-on-year increase, totalling $33.3bn, a 65% rise from the previous year. At the country level, the UAE saw the most significant increase in issuances, with bonds totalling $49.7bn in 2024, compared to $31.2bn in 2023. Qatar followed closely, posting a rise of $13.4bn. The UAE also emerged as the region’s largest bond issuer, followed by Saudi Arabia with $30.8bn, and Qatar with $16.8bn.

Via Matthew Martin in yahoo.com: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is selling a technology services firm for 3.4 billion riyals ($907 million), boosting its coffers as it prepares to ramp up local spending. The Public Investment Fund will sell Thiqah Business Services Co. to Elm Co., according to a statement on Wednesday. The deal will consolidate two companies working on providing digital services in the kingdom. Elm said it would fund the transaction through its own resources and facilities. PIF, as the Saudi fund is known, owns a 67% stake in Elm after it sold shares in the company to the public in 2022. Elm’s stock has risen over 800% since then.

in jdsupra.com: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues to develop and promote initiatives to modernize and accelerate its economy and attract international investment. Align with this goal, on 11 January 2025, government entities in the KSA announced funding of SAR10 billion (£2.19 billion) for the Standard Incentives Programme to activate and support the industrial sector. The Standard Incentives Programme offers funding of up to 35% of the initial project investment (capped at SAR50 million for each qualifying project). The support is divided evenly across the project lifecycle, granting 50% during the construction phase and 50% during the production phase. This programme is initially offered to investments in transformative chemical industries, automotive manufacturing and parts, and machinery and equipment. Further successive phases of funding will be announced throughout 2025. The focus of this programme is to develop the manufacturing of products not currently produced in the KSA and develop national resources and talent.

Via Joumanna Bercetche & Abeer Abu Omar in theedgemalaysia.com: Saudi Arabia’s membership in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies is still being assessed more than a year after the kingdom was invited to join the alliance, according to the country’s minister of economy and planning. “The kingdom is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue,” Faisal Al-Ibrahim said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we have been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically,” he said. “We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made, and right now, we are in the middle of that.” Saudi Arabia’s hesitation to join BRICS group — made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa initially — is in contrast to most other countries that were invited to join the bloc in 2023. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates all agreed to inclusion as the alliance looks to expand its global influence.

Via Faisal Alibrahim in weforum.org: Global growth is forecast to reach modest levels of between 2.7%-3.2% in 2025. At the same time, macroeconomic risks such as inflation, debt and uneven recoveries persist. On top of this, splintering trade ties, technological disruptions to business and labour markets and the complexities of the energy transition are reshaping the foundations on which growth has traditionally been built. As high-growth ambitions collide with the hard realities of the geoeconomic landscape, we need a clear and irreversible pathway towards inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth. Opportunities to rebuild and reimagine economic development models in the wake of both the global financial crisis of 2008 and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic were not fully grasped. Now, we are compelled to course correct. We will only draft a new economic playbook that succeeds if we double down on global collaboration, not if we turn away from it.

Via Russell Leung in cnbc.com: LIV Golf announced a multiyear media rights agreement with Fox Sports to broadcast the pro golf tour to U.S. viewers, starting in February. The tour’s 14-tournament season will air on Fox, FS1 and other Fox networks, and will also stream on the Fox Sports and LIV Golf+ apps. The LIV Golf League features 13 teams of four golfers each, including two-time major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. The news comes a day after the Saudi-financed sports organization named Scott O’Neil, the former CEO of Merlin Entertainments and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, as its new CEO. He replaces Greg Norman, the tour’s first commissioner and CEO, who will remain informally involved with LIV. LIV Golf was previously broadcasted on the Nexstar Media Group-operated CW Network. The upstart golf league struggled to bring in big audiences on The CW.

Via Kyle Fitzgerald in thenationalnews.com: The International Monetary Fund on Friday lowered its growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa this year, largely reflecting a slowdown in Saudi Arabias economy due to Opec+ production cuts. The broader Mena economy is projected to grow by 3.5 per cent this year, according to the IMFs latest World Economic Outlook, half a percentage point down from its October update. Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and Opec’s top oil producer, is forecast to grow by 3.3 per cent in 2025, a downwards revision of 1.3 percentage points. Its economy is projected to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2026, which is down by 0.3 percentage points from the funds October forecast.

Via Sulafa Alkhunaizi in arabnews.com: The annual Joy Awards honored Arab talent with musical performances that serenaded a star-studded guest list at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday. The award show opened with a concert by Christina Aguilera, who performed “The Voice Within” and her hit song “Genie in a Bottle.” Musical icons Mohammed Abdo and Andrea Bocelli performed together, blending Gulf and Italian sounds. Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury and Canadian artist Michael Buble collaborated on a striking rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” performed in both English and Arabic. Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey were among the international and local celebrities who showcased their dazzling ensembles on the ceremony’s iconic lavender carpet on Saturday.