Saudi Arabia Launches National Industrial Development and Logistics Program

Saudi Arabia launches the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia launches the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Launches National Industrial Development and Logistics Program

Saudi Arabia launches the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia launches the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program. (SPA)

The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) was inaugurated on Monday in a ceremony held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The program aims to transform Saudi Arabia into a leading industrial power and a global logistics platform.

Minister of Transport, Dr. Nabil bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi said that the Kingdom is witnessing, under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and follow up from Crown Prince Mohammed, a rapid and unique process of progress and development, represented by the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

He added that the vision is based on building a productive society, a prosperous economy and an ambitious nation.

He stressed that the NIDLP aims at integrating the capabilities of the Kingdom's state agencies, as well as attracting and encouraging local and international investments through the energy, industry, mining, and logistics. This will allow Saudi Arabia to become a leading industrial power and a global logistics platform.

Furthermore, Amoudi revealed that more than 300 initiatives are currently underway, stressing that the main driver of this program is the local and international private sector.

He said that the program supported all its initiatives with a wide range of potentials and incentives to attract more than SR1.7 trillion in local and international investments.

This will boost the contribution of the four main sectors to the Gross Domestic Program (GDP) to SR1.2 trillion. It will increase the contribution of the local content to more than SR700 billion and create 1.6 million new jobs and raise the volume of Saudi exports to more SR1 trillion.



Oil Falls on Demand Growth Concerns, Robust Dollar

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Falls on Demand Growth Concerns, Robust Dollar

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices fell on Friday on worries about demand growth in 2025, especially in top crude importer China, putting global oil benchmarks on track to end the week down nearly 3%.
Brent crude futures fell by 33 cents, or 0.45%, to $72.55 a barrel by 0730 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 32 cents, or 0.46%, to $69.06 per barrel, Reuters said.
Chinese state-owned refiner Sinopec said in its annual energy outlook released on Thursday that China's crude imports could peak as soon as 2025 and the country's oil consumption would peak by 2027 as diesel and gasoline demand weaken.
"Benchmark crude prices are in a prolonged consolidation phase as the market heads towards the year-end weighed by uncertainty in oil demand growth," said Emril Jamil, senior research specialist at LSEG.
He added that OPEC+ would require supply discipline to perk up prices and soothe jittery market nerves over continuous revisions of its demand growth outlook. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, recently cut its growth forecast for 2024 global oil demand for a fifth straight month.
Meanwhile, the dollar's climb to a two-year high also weighed on oil prices, after the Federal Reserve flagged it would be cautious about cutting interest rates in 2025.
A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies, while a slower pace of rate cuts could dampen economic growth and trim oil demand.
JPMorgan sees the oil market moving from balance in 2024 to a surplus of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, as the bank forecasts non-OPEC+ supply increasing by 1.8 million bpd in 2025 and OPEC output remaining at current levels.
In a move that could pare supply, G7 countries are considering ways to tighten the price cap on Russian oil, such as with an outright ban or by lowering the price threshold, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Russia has circumvented the $60 per barrel cap imposed in 2022 using its "shadow fleet" of ships, which the EU and Britain have targeted with further sanctions in recent days.