Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi-Uzbek Committee Discusses Investment Opportunities Worth $31 Bn

Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Engineer Khalid al-Falih and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev during the meeting of the Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi-Uzbek Joint Committee is set to discuss 50 potential investment opportunities worth approximately $31 billion in Uzbekistan, Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih has announced.

The Committee held its sixth meeting in Riyadh, chaired by Falih from the Saudi side and the Deputy Prime Minister, Jamshid Khodjaev, from the Uzbek side.

Falih pointed out that these projects aim to achieve the target of $110 billion in foreign investments within the goals of the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy.

The Saudi Minister emphasized the compatibility of economic goals through Uzbekistan's National Development Strategy 2023-2030, the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and the National Investment Strategy.

He also pledged full support for the efforts of the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council, which plays a crucial role in bringing together the private sectors of both countries.

The meeting aimed to identify specific areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting discussed several topics related to developing bilateral cooperation in the economic, trade, and investment fields. It also reviewed the promising investment opportunities between the two countries and the business environment in both nations.

The meeting stressed the importance of strengthening joint work and pushing relations to new and promising horizons, boosting the economic and social partnership between the two countries and transferring it to a broader scope.

It also addressed the continued work to enable partnership between the private sector, encourage mutual investments, enhance trade exchange, and overcome any challenges facing the development of economic relations.

Furthermore, the two sides praised the joint projects and investments in energy, renewable energy, health, infrastructure, agriculture, and human resources development.

The meeting concluded with the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the private sectors of the two countries and the minutes of the sixth committee meeting that included multiple joint initiatives and work programs.



Record-Breaking Bitcoin Surges Towards $90,000 on Trump Boost

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
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Record-Breaking Bitcoin Surges Towards $90,000 on Trump Boost

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)

Bitcoin rallied to the verge of $90,000 on Tuesday, riding a wave of euphoria since the election of Donald Trump as US president on expectations his administration will be crypto friendly.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and touched $89,982 - a gain of around 30% since Nov. 5. It was last down 1.4% at $86,730.

Bitcoin is surging along with Elon Musk's automaker Tesla, which is up nearly 40% since voting results rolled in, as investors figure Trump's friends and interests will do well while he is in office.

"The crypto enthusiasts think they have a like-minded incoming president," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

"The thing about bitcoin at the end of the day is that there is no valuation anchor to it, it's hard to get a grip on fair value. So when sentiment is very positive, it does get carried away a lot more than other asset classes."

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

It is not clear how or when that could happen, but the possibility drove a speculative surge in crypto mining and trading stocks.

"I think it increases the chances that other nation states buy bitcoin in a bid to front run the US," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital.

"Additionally, I think it would be a crazy catalyst for the US listed bitcoin miners ... given possibilities of such entities getting nationalized."

Crypto miner Riot Platforms jumped nearly 17% on Wall Street on Monday. Fellow miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark leapt nearly 30%.

Software company and investor in bitcoin MicroStrategy announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10. Shares rose 26% on Monday.

"Obviously (it's) a clear Trump trade as he is so supportive of the industry, and this can only mean more demand both for crypto stocks as well as the currencies themselves," Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global in Sydney, said of the bitcoin rally.

"The fact that bitcoin was trading near all-time highs when the election result came through meant that it had clean sky above."

The euphoria extended across the crypto landscape with smaller tokens such as ether and dogecoin surging, although they dipped on Tuesday morning in Europe.

Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler whom Trump has said he will replace. Trump also unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.

"What we're seeing isn't just a price milestone; it's a signal that the market is warming to the idea of bitcoin as a more stable, even politically favored, asset," said Justin D'Anethan, head of Asia-Pacific business development at digital assets market maker Keyrock.