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Saudi Grants, Loans to Over 1000 Projects in 85 Countries

Saudi Grants, Loans to Over 1000 Projects in 85 Countries
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Saudi Grants, Loans to Over 1000 Projects in 85 Countries

Saudi Grants, Loans to Over 1000 Projects in 85 Countries

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) revealed that the kingdom has provided official development assistance (ODA) for over 1000 projects in 85 countries through a combination of loans and grants within the Just Transition Framework.

As part of the SFD’s contribution to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s G20 Presidency, SFD sponsored the International Institute of Finance G20 Conference and participated in a panel discussion at the IIF G20 Conference, held in Riyadh.

The Just Transition Framework discussed at the conference is closely aligned with SFD’s strategic ambition in financing international development projects, and in line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s G20 Presidency, and Vision 2030 objectives.

The Just Transition Framework is a natural progression for SFD and the projects it supports, as the framework seeks to ensure developing nations are included in the conversation surrounding the move towards impactful projects that support sustainable development.

SFD has supported renewable energy initiatives in the African continent, most recently the Samendini Dam in Burkina Faso. The Samendini Dam will enhance food security and agriculture production through the reclamation of land – estimated to benefit 250,000 farmers and local residents

In addition to supporting agriculture, the dam will also provide cleaner, more affordable power to the local community.

An excellent example of supporting the Just Transition Framework is how the dam addresses three key concerns: water stress, affordable and sustainable energy, and food security.

Since its establishment, SFD has provided official development assistance (ODA) for over 1000 projects in 85 countries through a combination of loans and grants.

In addition to larger infrastructure projects, SFD has developed standalone ODA programs, such as the ‘Saudi Program for Wells and Rural Development in Africa’. This program aims to mitigate the effects of drought in rural regions in a number of African countries.

Under the program, over 6,000 water facilities have been equipped, and 2.5 million people have benefited from access to cleaner, safer water.

Faisal al-Kahtani, Acting Director-General, Operations Department, discussed SFD’s role in financing the Just Transition. During the discussion, Kahtani reiterated the need to ensure developing nations were not left behind in the global transition to low-carbon economies.

Kahtani said: “Four sustainability-related issues fall under the broader Saudi G20 Agenda: carbon emissions, water stress, food safety, and affordable, sustainable energy. SFD has been supporting projects in these areas since 1975. SFD looks at a nation’s critical needs, whether those be in energy, water or other principal development areas and works to finance projects which address a particular need, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

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US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady in the Face of Trump Pressure

An eagle tops the US Federal Reserve building's facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. (Reuters)
An eagle tops the US Federal Reserve building's facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. (Reuters)
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US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady in the Face of Trump Pressure

An eagle tops the US Federal Reserve building's facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. (Reuters)
An eagle tops the US Federal Reserve building's facade in Washington, July 31, 2013. (Reuters)

The US central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged for a fourth straight policy meeting this week, despite President Donald Trump's push for rate cuts, as officials contend with uncertainty sparked by the Republican's tariffs.

While the independent Federal Reserve has started lowering rates from recent highs, officials have held the level steady this year as Trump's tariffs began rippling through the world's biggest economy.

The Fed has kept interest rates between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent since December, while it monitors the health of the jobs market and inflation.

"The hope is to stay below the radar screen at this meeting," KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk told AFP. "Uncertainty is still very high."

"Until they know sufficiently, and convincingly that inflation is not going to pick up" either in response to tariffs or related threats, "they just can't move," she said.

Since returning to the presidency, Trump has slapped a 10 percent tariff on most US trading partners. Higher rates on dozens of economies are due to take effect in July, unless an existing pause is extended.

Trump has also engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war with China and imposed levies on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles, rattling financial markets and tanking consumer sentiment.

But economists expect it will take three to four months for tariff effects to show up in consumer prices.

Although hiring has cooled slightly and there was some shrinking of the labor force according to government data, the unemployment rate has stayed unchanged.

Inflation has been muted too, even as analysts noted signs of smaller business margins -- meaning companies are bearing the brunt of tariffs for now.

At the end of the Fed's two-day meeting Wednesday, analysts will be parsing through its economic projections for changes to growth and unemployment expectations and for signs of the number of rate cuts to come.

The Fed faces growing pressure from Trump, citing benign inflation data, to lower rates more quickly, a move the president argues will help the country "pay much less interest on debt coming due."

On Wednesday, Trump urged Fed Chair Jerome Powell to slash interest rates by a full percentage point, and on Thursday, he called Powell a "numbskull" for not doing so.

He said Powell could raise rates again if inflation picked up then.

But Powell has defended US central bank independence over interest rates when engaging with Trump.

- 'Cautious patience' -

For their part, Fed policymakers have signaled "little urgency" to adjust rates, said EY chief economist Gregory Daco.

He believes they are unwilling to get ahead of the net effects from Trump's trade, tax, immigration and regulation policy changes.

Powell "will likely strike a tone of cautious patience, reiterating that policy remains data dependent," Daco said.

While economists have warned that Trump's tariffs would fuel inflation and weigh on economic growth, supporters of Trump's policies argue the president's plans for tax cuts next year will boost the economy.

On the Fed's path ahead, HSBC Global Research said: "Weak labor market data could lead to larger cuts, while elevated inflation would tend to imply the opposite."

For now, analysts expect the central bank to slash rates two more times this year, beginning in September.

The Fed is likely to be eyeing data over the summer for inflationary pressures from tariffs, said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics.

"They want to make sure that they're reading the tea leaves correctly," he said.

Swonk warned the US economy is in a different place than during the Covid-19 pandemic, which could change how consumers react to price increases.

During the pandemic, government stimulus payments helped households cushion the blow from higher costs, allowing them to keep spending.

It is unclear if consumers, a key driver of the economy, will keep their dollars flowing this time, meaning demand could collapse and complicate the Fed's calculus.

"If this had been a world without tariffs, the Fed would be cutting right now. There's no question," Swonk said.