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Saudi Crown Prince Launches Soudah Peaks Masterplan

Situated within an extraordinary natural and cultural environment in the Aseer region, the project is a key part of the Public Investment Fund’s efforts to diversify the economy.
Situated within an extraordinary natural and cultural environment in the Aseer region, the project is a key part of the Public Investment Fund’s efforts to diversify the economy.
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Saudi Crown Prince Launches Soudah Peaks Masterplan

Situated within an extraordinary natural and cultural environment in the Aseer region, the project is a key part of the Public Investment Fund’s efforts to diversify the economy.
Situated within an extraordinary natural and cultural environment in the Aseer region, the project is a key part of the Public Investment Fund’s efforts to diversify the economy.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of Soudah Development, launched on Monday the masterplan to develop Soudah and parts of Rijal Almaa into Soudah Peaks – a luxury mountain tourism destination set 3,015 meters above sea level on Saudi Arabia's highest peak.

Situated within an extraordinary natural and cultural environment in the Aseer region (southwest Saudi Arabia), the project is a key part of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) efforts to diversify the economy by expanding vital industries such as tourism, hospitality, and entertainment, and supporting Aseer development strategy.

Crown Prince Mohammed, Chairman of Soudah Development’s Board of Directors, stated that Soudah Peaks represents a new era of luxury mountain tourism by providing an unprecedented living experience while preserving the natural environment, cultural, and heritage richness.

It is strategically aligned with Vision 2030 goals of expanding tourism and entertainment, supporting economic growth, attracting investments, contributing more than SAR29 billion to the Kingdom’s cumulative GDP, and creating thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities.

The Crown Prince said: “The masterplan reaffirms our commitment to global efforts in preserving the environment and natural resources for future generations and aims to contribute to diversifying national income sources and building a strong economy that attracts local and global investments.”

“Soudah Peaks will be a significant addition to the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia and place the Kingdom on the global tourism map, whilst highlighting and celebrating the country’s rich culture and heritage. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the beauty of Soudah Peaks, explore its rich culture and heritage, and experience the authentic hospitality of the local community. Soudah Peaks will offer unforgettable experiences amidst lush greenery, above the clouds,” he added.

Soudah Peaks aims to offer high-end luxurious hospitality services to over two million visitors throughout the year by 2033. The masterplan is being designed to reflect the local traditional, and architectural styles, and will promote both the cultural and landscape heritage of the region.

The destination will be home to six unique development zones: Tahlal, Sahab, Sabrah, Jareen, Rijal, and Red Rock. Each will offer a range of world-class facilities including hotels, luxury mountain resorts, residential chalets, villas, premium mansion sites, entertainment and commercial attractions, as well as outdoor attractions dedicated to sports, adventure, wellness and culture.

Soudah Development will deliver 2,700 hospitality keys, 1,336 residential units, and 80,000 square meters of commercial space for Soudah Peaks by 2033. The masterplan will be developed over three phases, with 940 hotel keys, 391 residential units, and 32,000 square meters of retail space expected to be completed in 2027, within phase one.

Soudah Peaks is set across more than 627 square kilometers of awe-inspiring nature, with less than 1% of the land being acquired for building, reflecting Soudah Development’s commitment to protecting and preserving the environment, following best-in-class sustainability standards, and contributing to the efforts of the Saudi Green Initiative.

As a closed joint-stock company owned by PIF, Soudah Development aims to develop a unique luxury mountain tourism destination in Saudi Arabia, whilst preserving the natural environment and cultural heritage of the project area spread across Soudah and parts of Rijal Almaa.

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Business

Trump's Greenland Threat Puts Europe Inc back in Tariff Crosshairs

A worker adjusts European Union and US flags at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, November 11, 2013.
A worker adjusts European Union and US flags at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, November 11, 2013.
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Trump's Greenland Threat Puts Europe Inc back in Tariff Crosshairs

A worker adjusts European Union and US flags at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, November 11, 2013.
A worker adjusts European Union and US flags at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, November 11, 2013.

Just as European companies were getting used to last year's hard-won US trade tariff deals, President Donald Trump has put them back in his ​crosshairs with an explosive threat to place levies on nations that oppose his planned takeover of Greenland.

Trump on Saturday said he would put rising tariffs from February 1 on goods imported from EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland, a step major EU states decried as blackmail.

On Sunday, European Union ambassadors reached broad agreement to intensify efforts to dissuade Trump from imposing those tariffs, while also readying a package of retaliatory measures should the duties go ahead, EU diplomats said.

The shock move has rattled through industry and sent shockwaves through markets amid fears of a return to the volatility of last year's trade war, which was only eased with tariff deals reached in the middle of the year.

"This is a very serious situation, the scale of which is unknown," Gabriel Picard, ‌chairman of the French ‌wine and spirits export lobby FEVS, told Reuters.

He said the industry had already seen a ‌20% ⁠to ​25% hit ‌to US activity in the second half of last year from previous trade measures, and new tariffs would bring a "material" impact.

But he said what was happening went far beyond sectoral issues. "It is more a matter of political contacts and political intent that must be taken to the highest level in Europe, so that Europe, once again, is united, coordinated, and if possible speaks with one voice."

STAND-OFF COULD BRING BACK LAST YEAR'S TRADE WAR

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said additional 10% import tariffs would take effect next month on goods from the listed European nations — all already subject to tariffs imposed by the US president last year of between 10% and 15%.

The bloc - which had an estimated $1.5 trillion in goods and services trade with the US in 2024 - looks set ⁠to fight back. Europe has major carmakers in Germany, drugmakers in Denmark and Ireland, and consumer and luxury goods firms from Italy to France.

EU leaders are set to discuss options at an emergency ‌summit in Brussels on Thursday, including a 93 billion euro ($107.7 billion) package of tariffs on ‍US imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a ‍six-month pause.

The other is the so far never used "Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI), which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict ‍trade in services, in which the US has a surplus with the bloc.

Analysts said the key question was how Europe responded - with a more "classic" trade war tit-for-tat tariff retaliation, or an even tougher approach.

"The most likely way forward is a return to the trade war that was put on hold in high-level US agreements with the UK and the EU in summer," said Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo in London.

COMPANIES WILL LOOK TO TRADE WITH 'LESS PROBLEMATIC NATIONS'

German submarine maker ​TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard said the Greenland threat was perhaps the jolt that Europe needed to toughen its approach and focus on developing its own joint programmes to be more independent from the US.

"It is probably necessary... to get ⁠a kick in the shin to realise that we may have to suit up differently in the future," he told Reuters.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said the new threat created "another layer" of complexity for firms grappling with an already "chaotic" US market. Firms had little capacity to soak up new tariffs, she added.

"A trade war only creates losers," said Christophe Aufrere, director general of French autos association the PFA.

An official at a French industry association that represents the country's largest firms added the Greenland issue was turning tariffs into a "tool for political pressure", and called for the region to reduce its dependency on the US market.

Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, pointed out that some EU countries - Spain, Italy and others - were not on the tariff list, which would likely see "re-routing" of trade within the EU free trade bloc to avoid the taxes.

Analysts added the new tariffs - if imposed - would likely hurt Trump. They would push up US prices and lead to front-loading of exports before the tariffs kicked in, while encouraging companies to seek new markets.

"For Europe, this is a bad geopolitical headache and a moderately significant economic problem. But it could also backfire for Trump," said Holger Schmieding, London-based chief economist at Berenberg.

"Logic ‌still points to an outcome that respects Greenland's right to self-determination, strengthens security in the Arctic for NATO as a whole, and largely avoids economic damage for Europe and the US."

Business

IMF Upgrades Outlook for Surprisingly Resilient World Economy to 3.3% Growth this Year

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier//File Photo/File Photo
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IMF Upgrades Outlook for Surprisingly Resilient World Economy to 3.3% Growth this Year

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier//File Photo/File Photo

An unexpectedly sturdy world economy is likely to shrug off President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies this year, thanks partly to a surge of investment in artificial intelligence in North America and Asia, the International Monetary Fund said in a report out Monday.

The 191-nation lending organization expects that global growth will come in at 3.3% this year, same as in 2025 but up from the 3.1% it had forecast for 2026 back in October, The Associated Press reported.

The world economy "continues to show notable resilience despite significant US-led trade disruptions and heightened uncertainty,'' IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and his colleague Tobias Adrian wrote in a blog post accompanying the latest update to the fund's World Economic Outlook.

The US economy, benefiting from the strongest pace of technology investment since 2001, is forecast to expand 2.4% this year, an upgrade on the fund's October forecast and on expected 2025 growth — both 2.1%.

China — the world's second-largest economy — is forecast to see 4.5% growth, an improvement on the 4.2% the IMF had predicted October, partly because a trade truce with the United States has reduced American tariffs on Chinese exports.

India, which has supplanted China as the world's fastest-growing major economy, is expected to see growth decelerate from 7.3% last year (when it was juiced by an unexpectedly strong second half) to a still-healthy 6.4% in 2026.

Business

France Says Still Loyal to Syria Kurds, Hails Ceasefire

Syrian army personnel celebrate as government forces enter Raqqa city following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces, in Raqqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Syrian army personnel celebrate as government forces enter Raqqa city following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces, in Raqqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
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France Says Still Loyal to Syria Kurds, Hails Ceasefire

Syrian army personnel celebrate as government forces enter Raqqa city following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces, in Raqqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Syrian army personnel celebrate as government forces enter Raqqa city following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces, in Raqqa, Syria, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

France on Monday welcomed a ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces and stressed it remained loyal to the latter who spearheaded the battle against the ISIS group.

"France is faithful to its allies," the foreign ministry said, urging all sides to respect the ceasefire deal, which will also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations.