Saudi-British Business Council Launches Joint Ventures in Renewable Energy, Entertainment

Saudi-British Business Council Launches Joint Ventures in Renewable Energy, Entertainment
TT

Saudi-British Business Council Launches Joint Ventures in Renewable Energy, Entertainment

Saudi-British Business Council Launches Joint Ventures in Renewable Energy, Entertainment

The Saudi British Joint Business Council (SBJBC) said joint ventures in various sectors, including renewable energy and entertainment, are set to be launched later this year.

Saudi Co-Chair of the Council Sheikh Nasser al-Mutawa indicated that the British Department for International Trade confirmed its support for the Council and stated that British companies are ready to work in the Saudi market.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mutawa added business delegations with the participation of over 60 companies and officials from both countries have recently held meetings in London.

He pointed out that the talks included the integration of teams formed in line with the joint statement issued during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, to Britain in March 2018.

The co-chair indicated that the meetings reviewed the results of the programs and events that took place over the past five years and agreed on the follow up mechanism.

The Saudi delegation made a presentation on developments in various Saudi sectors since the announcement of Vision 2030.

Mutawa explained that the British delegation made a briefing on Brexit and UK’s separation from the EU, and reviewed cooperation between the two countries in the projects of Vision 2030 and in light of the agreements signed between the two parties.

The latest meeting discussed the results of events organized by the Council, including the Renewable Energy Symposium held in Riyadh, the Entertainment Projects Symposium, which was also held in the Saudi capital, the Entertainment Projects Symposium held in London, and the projects and events to be adopted during the second half of 2019.

Through the partnership strategy adopted by the Business Council, the UK aims to support Saudi projects and its future programs in all stages and in various fields through the transfer of expertise, knowledge and technologies, according to Mutawa.

Trade exchange between the two countries has reached about $13 billion, noted Muatawa.

The chairman said the next decade would see joint investments worth $100 billion.

There are 6,000 British companies dealing with Saudi Arabia and 200 joint-stock firms worth £11.5 billion, amid expectations for an increase in joint investments and trade in 2019.



Turkish Cenbank Inflation Forecasts Unchanged, Vows Tight Policy

Business and residential buildings are seen in Sisli district, in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
Business and residential buildings are seen in Sisli district, in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
TT

Turkish Cenbank Inflation Forecasts Unchanged, Vows Tight Policy

Business and residential buildings are seen in Sisli district, in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
Business and residential buildings are seen in Sisli district, in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya

The Turkish Central Bank has left its mid-point inflation forecasts for end-2024 and end-2025 unchanged at 38% and 14% respectively, Governor Fatih Karahan said on Thursday, vowing to maintain a tight monetary policy stance.
In a briefing on the bank's latest quarterly inflation report, Karahan said that inflation was projected to fall to 9% by the end of 2026.
"We will decisively maintain our tight monetary policy stance until price stability is achieved," he said. "By maintaining the cautious stance in monetary policy, we envisage that inflation will decline steadily in the rest of the year."
Turkish annual consumer price inflation eased to 61.78% in July, accelerating what is expected to be a sustained slide. Economists see end-year inflation around 42%, Reuters reported.
The bank has raised its policy rate by 4,150 basis points since June last year, but has kept it unchanged at 50% since March to allow the tightening to have an impact.
Karahan said a tight monetary policy stance could be maintained even when the time comes for rate cuts.
"We need to maintain the tight stance for a long time. This does not mean that interest rates will never be cut. A tight stance can be maintained with rate cuts," he said.
The lira was largely flat at 33.5225 to the dollar after his comments, having touched a record low of 33.6700 earlier this week.
EXPECTATIONS CRITICAL
Karahan said the bank's "decisive" monetary policy stance would support the downtrend in monthly underlying inflation amid rebalancing in domestic demand, real appreciation of the lira and the improvement in inflation expectations.
"The convergence of inflation expectations to the forecast range is of critical importance for disinflation," he added.
In its last quarterly report in May, the bank nudged up its year-end inflation forecast to 38% from a previous 36% due to an unexpectedly large rise in the first four months of the year.
The tightening cycle over the last year marked a stark turnaround after years of unorthodox economic policy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in the past urged low rates despite rising prices.
On July 26, Deputy Governor Cevdet Akcay told Reuters that the bank was not even considering a rate-cutting cycle at this time as easing too early could reignite inflation and extend the pain for an economy on the verge of disinflation.
As it seeks to cool the economy, the bank is also rebuilding foreign reserves which had plunged under previous economic programs that had sought to stabilize the lira.