عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Ras Al-Khair Announces $8.5Bn-Worth Opportunities

Ras Al-Khair Announces $8.5Bn-Worth Opportunities
TT
TT

Ras Al-Khair Announces $8.5Bn-Worth Opportunities

Ras Al-Khair Announces $8.5Bn-Worth Opportunities

The industrial city of Ras al-Khair, located in eastern Saudi Arabia, has revealed $8.5 billion-worth (SAR31.9 billion) investment opportunities.

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) disclosed 20 investment opportunities in the fields of mineral industries.

The Commission is assigned to plan, promote, develop and manage petrochemicals and energy-intensive industrial cities through successful customer focus and partnerships with investors, employees, communities, and other stakeholders.

During a virtual seminar on Thursday to review investment opportunities, the RCJY explained that these are focused on mining industries such as iron, aluminum, and copper, as well as marine industries, industrial fertilizers, glass and silica, and energy equipment and services.

Investment in these fields is expected to provide more than 7,000 jobs, the Commission noted.

Director of the Business Development Department at RCJY Abdullah Yassin al-Eid said offering investment opportunities in Ras al-Khair Industrial City affirms the support and empowerment of industrial projects.

He pointed to RCJY’s involvement in preparing general and industrial plans to develop the city.

This aims at accommodating a group of industrial sectors specialized in mining industries, in an attempt to link Ras al-Khair's products to the manufacturing industries to achieve added value.

It would also enhance local content, as well as working to find and provide job opportunities for Saudi youth.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
TT
TT

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.