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Saudi Economy Grows to $1.3 Trillion, Attracts 675 Regional Headquarters

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks at the Fortune Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh on Sunday. (Saudi Ministry of Investment)
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks at the Fortune Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh on Sunday. (Saudi Ministry of Investment)
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Saudi Economy Grows to $1.3 Trillion, Attracts 675 Regional Headquarters

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks at the Fortune Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh on Sunday. (Saudi Ministry of Investment)
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih speaks at the Fortune Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh on Sunday. (Saudi Ministry of Investment)

Saudi Arabia’s economy has doubled in size since the launch of Vision 2030, expanding from $650 billion to approximately $1.3 trillion. At the same time, the Kingdom has surpassed its regional headquarters target, attracting 675 major international companies and surpassing the original 2030 goal of 500.

Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced the figures on Sunday during the opening day of the Fortune Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh, which was being held in the Saudi capital for the first time on October 26-27. The event underscores Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a global economic hub and a center for shaping future business trends.

Al-Falih said that “the pace of innovation is unprecedented,” with advanced technologies driving a deep transformation in productivity, while sustainability is reshaping performance and emerging markets, particularly in the Global South, are redefining global demand.

“The challenge before us is not merely adapting to these changes,” he stressed, “but leading them in a rapidly evolving world.”

He noted that Saudi Arabia is redefining its role as a global investment destination and a long-term partner for leading international companies seeking sustainable growth. Since the launch of Vision 2030, the Kingdom has completed or is on track to deliver 85 percent of its initiatives by the end of 2024, meeting or exceeding most targets.

The contribution of non-oil activities to GDP has risen from 40 percent to 56 percent, while unemployment has fallen to below 7 percent. “We have opened new sectors, including logistics, tourism, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, healthcare, and clean energy,” Al-Falih said.

He added that the regional headquarters program, which aimed to attract 500 HQs by 2030, has already exceeded its goal with 675 established so far.

Anastasia Nyrkovskaya, CEO of Fortune, said Saudi Arabia has become “a major destination for business and investment,” which led the company to host its flagship event in Riyadh for the first time.

“Our journey began two years ago with a promise to bring Fortune’s key events here. That promise has now been fulfilled,” she said, referring to the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in May and the global forum taking place this week.

During a panel discussion, Al-Falih announced that Saudi Arabia would officially recognize Barclays’ regional headquarters in the Kingdom “within days.”

Addressing Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan, he said: “If you’ll allow me, we’ll make Barclays an official regional HQ within two days. I want to thank you for the trust you’ve placed in the Kingdom as a platform.”

Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said Saudi Arabia has exceeded its original tourism goal of 100 million visitors, reaching 116 million this year, up from 80 million in 2019. The revised target for 2030 is 150 million visitors, including 50 million international tourists, positioning the Kingdom among the world’s top 10 destinations.

The government is also expanding tourism infrastructure, including airports, hotels, and entertainment facilities, in preparation for major global events, such as the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

In remarks to Asharq al-Awsat, Hatim Alkahily, acting CEO of the General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences, said the sector has grown by 40 percent over the past four years, making it the fastest-growing among G20 countries.

The Kingdom hosted around 17,000 events in one recent year, cementing its position as a leading platform for international conferences and exhibitions, he stressed.

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Business

Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
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Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File

Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecast for Germany on Wednesday, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard.

A group of leading institutes slashed their joint GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September prediction of 1.3 percent.

Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power".

"The energy price shock triggered by the Iran war is hitting the recovery hard," said economist Timo Wollmershaeuser of the Ifo institute, adding that increased government spending was nevertheless "preventing a stronger slide", AFP reported.

Oil and natural gas prices have surged since the end of February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into war.

Iran has since closed the Strait of Hormuz to ships of countries it considers allied with the US and Israel, effectively blocking a sea lane that normally transports about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

Higher inflation in Germany would hit consumer spending, the institutes said, weighing on an already weak economy that has barely grown since a burst of pent-up demand after the Covid pandemic in 2022.

The government on Wednesday introduced rules allowing petrol stations to only raise prices once a day, at noon.

But motorist Sebastian, a 49-year-old estate agent who did not want to give his surname, told AFP at a Frankfurt petrol station that this was not enough to protect his spending power.

"Whether the price of petrol changes once a day or 10 times a day doesn't really matter," he said, adding it was "certainly not enough" to lower his costs.

Germany's economy, struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals, was in the doldrums even before US President Donald Trump last year imposed sweeping new tariffs before starting the Mideast war in late February.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office last May, vowed to borrow and spend hundreds of billions through a special infrastructure fund over coming years in what was dubbed a spending "bazooka" aimed at getting the economy back on its feet.

But the economists said that much of the money was simply paying for day-to-day spending.

"Government expenditure on consumption is rising much more sharply than investment," economist Oliver Holtemoeller of the Halle Institute for Economic Research said. "That was not the idea behind changing the financing rules."

The outlook for the longer term was also dire.

Citing low productivity, industrial decline and an ageing population, the institutes warned that Germany's economy would soon be unable to grow sustainably.

"We have also reassessed the structural changes in the German economy and, in particular, revised our forecast for industrial growth downwards," Wollmershaeuser said.

In an era when "demographic change is hitting with full force", he said, "potential growth will come to a standstill by the end of the decade, and we will have to get used to average GDP growth rates of zero percent".

Speaking to broadcaster Welt TV, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said the government was working on reducing labour taxes and energy costs but that Germans would have to get used to working more over the course of their lives.

"We need to make this country vigorous again," she said. "Germany needs to get its will to win back."

Business

19 Migrants Found Dead by Italian Coastguard off Lampedusa

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
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19 Migrants Found Dead by Italian Coastguard off Lampedusa

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

The bodies of 19 migrants were recovered from a boat off the coast of Lampedusa on Wednesday by the Italian coastguard, the island's mayor told AFP.

Mayor Filippo Mannino said seven other migrants, including two children, were being treated for "hypothermia and intoxication from hydrocarbon fumes".

The coastguard rescue was staged some 135 kilometers (85 miles) off the Italian island, according to news agency ANSA.

The coastguard did not respond to AFP requests for information.

The rescue operation occurred in the early hours of Wednesday inside Libya's search-and-rescue zone, ANSA reported.

"All are believed to have died of hypothermia," wrote the agency, which cited strong winds, rain, and temperatures of 10C, in the area.

Lampedusa is a key landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, with many dying trying the dangerous journey.

So far this year, 624 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.

Lampedusa's last migrant disaster occurred in August last year, when 27 people died in two shipwrecks off the coast.

According to the interior ministry, 6,117 migrants have landed on Italy's shores so far this year.

Business

Dollar Falls for Second Day as Middle East Ceasefire Expectations Rise

US dollar bills (Reuters)
US dollar bills (Reuters)
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Dollar Falls for Second Day as Middle East Ceasefire Expectations Rise

US dollar bills (Reuters)
US dollar bills (Reuters)

The dollar dropped for a second day on Wednesday as expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict grew after the US signalled that an end to the war could be near, even though markets remained on edge on fears of escalation.

The White House said US President Donald Trump would address the nation "to provide an important update on Iran" at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday).

Trump said on Tuesday the US could end its military campaign against Iran within two to three weeks, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Washington could see the "finish line" in the Iran war, according to Reuters.

Expectations that a ceasefire could be near have reversed some of the most popular trades since the war began in late February.

The yen recovered from this year's low of 160.46 per dollar, moving back through the psychologically important 160 level that had fanned concerns about intervention by Japanese authorities. The euro hit its highest level in a week.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last down 0.3% at 99.456, slipping to a one-week low after a 0.65% fall on Tuesday.

"Markets are increasingly buying into the notion of de-escalation in the Middle East overall," said Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen, FX analyst at Danske Bank.

"Markets are optimistic. We're seeing some relief with rates going lower, equities going higher and the price action in euro-dollar reflects that quite well."

The euro edged up 0.5% versus the dollar to $1.1603, after rising 0.8% on Tuesday.

The Japanese yen was up 0.1% at 158.46 per dollar. Sterling strengthened 0.7% to $1.3313.

At the same time, there were still signs of escalation in the conflict.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the next few days in the war against Iran would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal.

The dollar should remain supported by the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts, while the yen is being underpinned by rising expectations of a Bank of Japan hike in April, said Sho Suzuki, market analyst at Matsui Securities.

"We may see a tug-of-war between dollar strength and yen strength, with USD/JPY trading sideways in the upper 150s," he said.

The Australian dollar strengthened 0.7% to $0.6946. New Zealand's kiwi strengthened 0.4% to $0.5770.