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Future Investment Initiative: Saudi Arabia Brings Together the World to Shape Tomorrow’s Economy

A file photo of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference in 2022. (SPA)
A file photo of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference in 2022. (SPA)
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Future Investment Initiative: Saudi Arabia Brings Together the World to Shape Tomorrow’s Economy

A file photo of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference in 2022. (SPA)
A file photo of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference in 2022. (SPA)

The Future Investment Initiative conference kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday with global and local investors stressing the importance of exploiting the available opportunities to advance international alliances and develop strategies that shape tomorrow’s economy.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, CEO of Skytower Eric Fang said the Future Investment Initiative will focus on the impact of investment on humanity as an interactive program designed to help investors reset pathways for their companies and for the global economy, while developing new strategies to cope with the challenges and opportunities of the new era.

Fang emphasized the need to discover new markets and expand the boundaries of economic growth, while adhering to environmental, social and governance standards. He stressed the importance of green development, including infrastructure, industry, manufacturing, supply chain and natural mineral resources, to be based on strong governance in order to achieve a positive impact on humanity.

The conference’s recommendations to address the challenges of economy, investment and trade should include a vision of adding value by creating a place to showcase ways to reduce carbon pollution, through re-engineering pollution from manufacturing, transportation, power generation and construction processes, he added.

Fang noted that hydrogen was a very useful commodity, but requires a lot of special processing because of its flammability. Ammonia, which consists of two hydrogen atoms and three nitrogen atoms, can be considered a non-flammable hydrogen carrier. Ammonia can also be broken down into hydrogen at the point of combustion.

In this context, he revealed cooperation between Skytower and its local partners in the special economic zone, such as King Abdullah Economic City, to build a hydrogen industry complex to manage all different types of hydrogen and ammonia technologies and modern manufacturing processes, in line with Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to promote artificial intelligence and robotics.

Chairman of the Saudi Excellence Holding Company Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Meleihi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conference, in its seventh edition, was a global opportunity that would attract Saudi, American and Chinese investments.

Al-Meleihi, who is the Saudi partner in Skytower Investment Company, the fruit of the Saudi-American-Chinese green energy alliance, said that the rapid development of Saudi Arabia has become a measure of global evolution and a model for future development plans.

“Through this partnership, we can use our zero carbon standards to develop recommendations for future industry standards in the Kingdom by working alongside the Future Investment Initiative,” he added.

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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.