International Companies Gather in Riyadh to Explore Giga Saudi Projects

The Saudi Giga Projects 2024 kicked off on Monday in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Giga Projects 2024 kicked off on Monday in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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International Companies Gather in Riyadh to Explore Giga Saudi Projects

The Saudi Giga Projects 2024 kicked off on Monday in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Giga Projects 2024 kicked off on Monday in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

More than 600 investors and representatives of local and international companies gathered in Riyadh to explore the Giga projects that are currently being implemented in Saudi Arabia, namely NEOM, Qiddiya, The Red Sea, Roshen, and Diriyah.
The two-day Saudi Giga Projects 2024 kicked off on Monday, in the presence of government agencies, developers, contractors, consultants, suppliers and thought leaders, to discover the huge projects taking place in the Kingdom within the framework of Vision 2030.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, CEO of Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd., Mohammad Ashif, said that his company works with giant Saudi projects such as The Red Sea and Qiddiya, and provides services to the King Salman Park, with the aim to develop Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure in line with Vision 2030.
Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd. is a leading industrial group in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. It provides services in various sectors, including petrochemicals, oil and gas, fertilizers, steel, cement, water treatment, and power generation sectors.
Ashif stressed that Saudi Arabia is considered a model for the future of construction and infrastructure, and has achieved a 40 percent annual growth in this field during the past five years.
For his part, the regional account manager at MEED, the global business intelligence company, Alaa Khamis, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the volume of the Kingdom’s major projects will exceed $850 billion in 2023. He continued that the value of the contracts that were delivered last year amounted to about $65 billion, covering various sectors.
During the event, speakers discussed the latest trends and technologies in giant Saudi projects, pointing to a great interest by international companies to explore investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
The CEO of Asfar Tourism Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Fahad bin Mushayt, said that one of the company’s main goals focuses on empowering the private sector.
He also announced the full opening of the first resort in the city of Al Baha at the end of 2024.
The Saudi Giga Projects 2024 featured a dynamic program of keynote speeches and panel discussions presented by more than 30 speakers.
Participants listened to updates and in-depth insights about major Saudi giant projects, including Trojena, New Square, Diriyah, King Salman Park and Red Sea International.



Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's deeply distressed sovereign dollar bonds hit a fresh two-year high on Tuesday as investors bet that a potential ceasefire with Israel could improve the country's prospects.

The bonds, which are still trading below 10 cents on the dollar, have gained more than 3% this week. The 2031 maturity was biding at 9.3 cents on the dollar, its highest since May 2022, according to Reuters.

"Some investors are mulling if it is a right time to buy, since a ceasefire is the first step needed to at some point in time restructure bonds," said Bruno Gennari, emerging markets strategist with KNG Securities International.

Israel's cabinet is expected to convene on Tuesday to discuss, and likely approve, a US plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli airstrikes, which continued on Tuesday, have decimated Lebanon's infrastructure and killed thousands.

But the counterintuitive rally, the second since Israel began bombing the country in September, was driven by bets that the deal could jolt Lebanon's fractured political system and revive efforts to pull the country out of default.