Saudi EXIM Bank, DL Hudson Sign $50 Million Credit Facility Agreement

The agreement was signed by Director General of the Finance Department at Saudi EXIM Bank Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith and Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited Moises Portillo, in London. (SPA)
The agreement was signed by Director General of the Finance Department at Saudi EXIM Bank Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith and Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited Moises Portillo, in London. (SPA)
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Saudi EXIM Bank, DL Hudson Sign $50 Million Credit Facility Agreement

The agreement was signed by Director General of the Finance Department at Saudi EXIM Bank Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith and Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited Moises Portillo, in London. (SPA)
The agreement was signed by Director General of the Finance Department at Saudi EXIM Bank Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith and Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited Moises Portillo, in London. (SPA)

The Saudi EXIM Bank signed Sunday a $50 million credit facility agreement with DL Hudson Limited, aiming to promote the growth of Saudi non-oil exports by connecting local exporters with international buyers in over 22 markets worldwide.

Under the agreement, Saudi EXIM Bank, through its International Buyer Finance Product, will provide financing to DL Hudson Limited to purchase Saudi products and distribute them to customers across various global markets.

The agreement was signed by Director General of the Finance Department at Saudi EXIM Bank Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith and Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited Moises Portillo, in London.

Al-Ghaith said: “This agreement comes within the framework of the bank's endeavor to provide financing solutions that contribute to the development of Saudi non-oil exports and boost their competitiveness in global markets.”

He highlighted the “agreement's role in promoting exports across several key national economic sectors and creating new trade opportunities for local exporters by linking them to many global markets.”

Saudi EXIM Bank, a development bank under the National Development Fund, plays a key role in diversifying the Kingdom’s economic base.

It strengthens the export system for national non-oil products and services by addressing financing gaps and minimizing export risks. These efforts support the growth of the non-oil economy in line with Saudi Vision 2030.



Pakistan PM Sharif Calls for Expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

 Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the venue of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan October 16, 2024. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via Reuters
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the venue of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan October 16, 2024. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via Reuters
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Pakistan PM Sharif Calls for Expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

 Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the venue of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan October 16, 2024. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via Reuters
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the venue of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan October 16, 2024. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via Reuters

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Wednesday for the expansion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to enhance regional cooperation.

He was addressing a heads of government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian security and political group formed in 2001, being held in Islamabad and attended by officials from 11 countries, including host Pakistan, China, Russia and India.

"Flagship projects like the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping...should be expanded focusing on developing road, rail and digital infrastructure that enhances integration and cooperation across our region," Sharif said in his speech as the chair of the meeting.

The BRI is a $1 trillion plan for global infrastructure and energy networks that China launched a decade ago to connect Asia with Africa and Europe through land and maritime routes. Beijing's rivals see the BRI as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.

Western countries, under the G7 platform, last year announced a $600 billion plans to launch a rival connectivity infrastructure development plan. BRI has also been criticized for increasing unsustainable debt in developing countries.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part of the BRI and has seen Beijing pump in billions of dollars into the South Asian country for road networks, a strategic port and an airport.

Sharif said CPEC would also help enhance cooperation, adding that 40 percent of the world's population lived in SCO's 10 full member states.

The SCO meeting is the highest-profile event hosted by the troubled South Asian nation in years. Seven prime ministers are attending, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Sharif also said stability in neighboring Afghanistan, which lies between South and Central Asia, was essential to fully realizing trade opportunities for the SCO member states.

Also in attendance is India' External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade with ties between the nuclear-armed rival neighbors continuing to be frosty.