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Saudi Arabia: SIDF Allocates $3.6 Bn to Develop Industrial Sector

During SIDF’s ceremony “Empowering the Private Sector” (Yazid al-Samrani)
During SIDF’s ceremony “Empowering the Private Sector” (Yazid al-Samrani)
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Saudi Arabia: SIDF Allocates $3.6 Bn to Develop Industrial Sector

During SIDF’s ceremony “Empowering the Private Sector” (Yazid al-Samrani)
During SIDF’s ceremony “Empowering the Private Sector” (Yazid al-Samrani)

Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) unveiled a new set of financial services and products that will enable the Saudi private sector to play its role in industrial development and logistics.

SIDF launched the new financial services and products under the slogan “Empowering the Private Sector” at the presence of a number of senior officials in government agencies and industry leaders from the private sector.

During the ceremony, it was revealed that $2.6 billion had been used to boost the industrial sector out of $3.6 billion allocated for 2019.

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and SIDF Chairman Bandar al-Khorayef announced the amendment of the Fund's Articles, noting that this will enable it to expand its financing activity to include a number of promising new sectors.

In the past 20 years, the Fund approved 2,186 loans, with a total value of over $3.7 billion, while the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reached 81 percent of the total number of loans approved.

The total number of direct jobs provided by projects funded by the SIDF in the same period was more than 187,000 jobs, and the value of the contribution of projects funded by the Fund in Saudi Arabia’s industrial GDP reached $50 billion, said Khorayef.

The Minister added that the new financing products launched by the SIDF will assist the ministry in supporting the industrial and mining sectors.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, Khorayef indicated that the expansion of acquisitions to include new companies comes from new products, noting that for the first time, Saudi companies will be able to acquire companies characterized by creativity and research and development of new products to bring to the Saudi market.

The Minister said the industry and logistics development program is the largest of Vision 2030's programs.

Empowering its subsidiaries through the provision of financing instruments is consistent with the new system, which allows the Fund to be innovative without any limitations on new products.

Regarding National Industrial Development and Logistics Vision Realization Program (NIDLP), Khorayef said that the program targets $453.3 billion, adding that all programs will be constantly revised, considering the Vision has been set with certain data, especially as the economy changes.

For his part, SIDF CEO Ibrahim Saad al-Mojel announced the new package of financial services and products, which will help meet the needs and support the industrial sector.

Mojel said that the Fund has redesigned its internal procedures to reduce the processing time of existing and new loan applications to an average of 4 to 5 months, while maintaining the quality of provided studies and consultations.

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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish stocks jumped on Monday, bonds climbed and the lira rallied against the euro as news the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group was ending its four decade-long insurgency in the country added to US-China trade cheer.

Global share markets were enjoying a strong surge after the US and China agreed to slash tariffs, but Turkish equities outstripped most other bourses as they jumped more than 3%.

A PKK member said it was ceasing all military operations "immediately" following the group's decision to disband, a move that could boost NATO member Türkiye's political and economic stability.

The lira was up 1.3% against the euro and steady against the dollar, while its international market bonds, which have been losing ground for the last six months, were up nearly 0.7 cents.

The PKK decision followed an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February to disband. It is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with US forces.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision to dissolve was "an important step toward a terror-free Türkiye".

There have been intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.

The PKK's move should now give Erdogan the opportunity to boost spending in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.

Analysts welcomed the PKK move but added a note of caution.

"It can only be good news," said Christopher Granville, managing director of EMEA & Global Political Research at investment advisory firm TS Lombard. "But is it decisive for the difficult Turkish investment case?"

He said the PKK issue was ultimately "secondary" to questions about Türkiye's recent arrest of Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and the broader direction of its macroeconomic policy.

Those concerns have weighed on Turkish markets this year.

MSCI's Türkiye equities index is down more than 13% compared to a near 8% rise in its pan-emerging market index., while lira-denominated government bonds have cost investors more than 8% on a total returns basis.

The cost of insuring Ankara's government debt using Credit Default Swaps (CDS) has also shot up, although Monday's rally saw that ease back.

"A continuation of the pullback (in CDS levels) ... may support banking stocks, which have been the negatively differentiated sector in BIST (Turkish stocks index) in the last 2 months," Garanti BBVA Yatirim's Director Ozgur Yurtdasseven said.

Turkish banking stocks were up 3.8% on the day, but remain more than 16% down on the year in lira terms and more than 20% in dollar terms.