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Saudi Arabia, China Discuss Investment Opportunities in Lithium, Copper Production

Alkhorayef is on an official visit to China as part of an economic tour in East Asia that included Singapore. (SPA)
Alkhorayef is on an official visit to China as part of an economic tour in East Asia that included Singapore. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, China Discuss Investment Opportunities in Lithium, Copper Production

Alkhorayef is on an official visit to China as part of an economic tour in East Asia that included Singapore. (SPA)
Alkhorayef is on an official visit to China as part of an economic tour in East Asia that included Singapore. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef discussed with Chinese mining companies on Friday boosting cooperation in the mining sector and joint investment opportunities in processing and producing lithium used in electric car batteries and processing and refining copper.

Assistant Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Planning and development Abdullah Ali Alahmari, CEO of the National Industrial Development Center, Saleh Al-Solami and CEO of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) Majed Al-Argoubi attended the meeting in China.

Alkhorayef is on an official visit to China as part of an economic tour in East Asia that included Singapore. The minister is heading a delegation of officials from the mineral wealth industry with a plan to strengthen bilateral ties, attract investments to the Kingdom, and discover investment opportunities in the industrial sector.

Alkhorayef reviewed with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Lithium Corporation the Kingdom's objectives in the electric car manufacturing sector, the available investment opportunities in the sector, and the importance of developing cooperation and exchanging knowledge and innovation in the sector, especially in the field of lithium production and processing.

The minister highlighted the Kingdom's plans to become a global hub for producing and exporting electric vehicles and develop its industry to produce 500,000 electric vehicles annually by 2030 as part of developing the infrastructure for the electric car industry in Saudi Arabia.

The automotive industry is one of the top promising sectors that the National Industrial Strategy has focused on developing, including the focus on manufacturing environmentally friendly vehicles, including electric cars.

Last year, the Kingdom issued a license for the first Saudi brand for manufacturing electric cars, "Ceer", and the first factory in the Kingdom for manufacturing electric vehicles, "Lucid", was inaugurated. Ceer, a joint venture between Taiwanese technology group Foxconn and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, signed a USD1.3 billion contract to establish an electric car complex in King Abdullah Economic City, scheduled to start production by 2025.

Alkhorayef’s visit to China follows a visit last month to Chile, the second largest producer of lithium in the world.

On investment in copper processing and refining, Alkhorayef met with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jiangxi Copper Company, which operates in the field of copper extraction, smelting and refining and plays a pivotal role in the global copper industry, and leads innovations and sustainability initiatives to meet the growing demand for copper globally.

Additionally, the minister held a series of meetings with leaders of major companies in the fields of smart manufacturing solutions, infrastructure development, and packaging. They discussed mutual investment opportunities in these sectors and the capabilities and incentives provided by the Kingdom to industrial investors.

Alkhorayef met with the Chief Strategy Officer at Biwin Storage Technology Company and reviewed opportunities for cooperation in the packaging sector.

He met with the Co-founder and CEO of HeyGears in Guangzhou, which specializes in applying 3D printing technology, ad creating comprehensive smart manufacturing solutions in multiple sectors, including consumer electronics, dentistry, healthcare, industrial, artistic and creative products. HeyGears provides technical support services in more than 30 countries.

Alkhorayef discussed with the CEO of Huawei Enterprise for Oil and Gas and Chairman of Huawei KSA initiatives to bolster digital skills and the potential to implement advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things, AI, and robotics, to improve manufacturing efficiency and productivity.

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Business

Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
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Iraq in Talks with Gulf States on Pipeline Exports beyond Hormuz

Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 
Workers carry out maintenance on a pipeline at a gas separation station in the Zubair oil field near Basra (AP). 

Iraq is in talks with Gulf countries to use their pipeline networks to secure alternative oil export routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz, the state oil marketer SOMO said Thursday.

The move is part of an emergency strategy by the oil ministry to tap regional infrastructure and bypass maritime chokepoints, ensuring Iraqi crude continues to reach global markets while offsetting higher transport costs linked to the current crisis.

Ali Nizar al-Shatari, head of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), said the ministry is prioritizing negotiations to access Gulf pipeline systems extending beyond the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Sea, allowing exports to avoid areas of military tension.

“The goal is to secure stable routes that guarantee efficient flows of Iraqi oil at lower transport costs,” Shatari said, adding that Iraq generated about $2 billion in oil revenues in March, up 28 percent from February.

He said SOMO exported around 18 million barrels of crude from Basra, Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region by using all available outlets, including southern ports that operated until early March and northern routes to Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

As part of efforts to diversify export options, Shatari revealed that the first shipments of fuel oil and Basra Medium crude successfully reached Syrian ports.

He noted that Iraq had signed a deal to export 50,000 barrels per day via this route, describing cooperation with Syria as “very significant,” with storage and security provided to ensure safe delivery to the port of Baniyas.

The route has proven effective and could become a permanent option after the crisis, he added.

Shatari further noted that the oil ministry is close to completing repairs on the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, which suffered extensive damage in previous years.

Technical teams have inspected the most difficult terrain, with about 200 kilometers (125 miles) still to be assessed in the coming days before full pumping of Kirkuk crude resumes.

In a notable logistical move, Iraq has begun pumping Basra crude northwards for export via Ceyhan.

Flows started at 170,000 barrels per day and are expected to stabilize between 200,000 and 250,000 bpd, helping offset disrupted southern exports and supply energy-hungry markets in Europe and the Americas.

Shatari said Iraq has benefited from rising global prices by selling Kirkuk crude — a medium-grade oil — at strong premiums.

He also confirmed the reactivation of an agreement with the Kurdistan region to reuse the pipeline through the region to Ceyhan, helping lift total exports to 18 million barrels in March.

This came despite a drop in production in Kurdistan fields to about 200,000 bpd due to security threats, he added.

 

 

Business

World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
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World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)

The war in the Middle East has pushed food commodity prices higher due to higher energy and fertilizer costs, the UN's food agency said Friday. 

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its Food Price Index, which measures the monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, had increased 2.4 percent in March from February. 

It was the second rise in a row, which the agency said was largely due to higher energy prices linked to conflict in the Middle East. 

Within the index, the category of vegetable oil saw the sharpest rise, of 5.1 percent over February, as palm oil prices reached their highest point since the middle of 2022, due to effects from spiking crude oil prices, FAO said. 

However, a "broadly comfortable" supply of cereal has cushioned the damaged from the conflict, FAO said. 

"Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero in a statement. 

But he warned that if the conflict goes on beyond 40 days and the high prices on fertilizer continue, "farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops". 

"Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next." 

Disruptions to production and supply chain routes had also introduced "additional uncertainty" into the outlook for wheat and maize, FAO found. 

Business

Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)

Turkish consumer price inflation was 1.94% month-on-month in March, while the annual figure fell to 30.87%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed ‌on Friday.

In ‌a Reuters ‌poll, ⁠monthly inflation was ⁠forecast to be 2.32%, with the annual rate seen at 31.4%, driven by ⁠a rise in ‌fuel prices ‌and weather-related pressures ‌on food inflation.

In ‌February, consumer prices rose 2.96% month-on-month and 31.53% year-on-year, broadly in ‌line with estimates and reinforcing expectations that ⁠the ⁠disinflation process may be stalling.

The data also showed the domestic producer index rose 2.30% month-on-month in March for an annual increase of 28.08%.