13 Initiatives to Enhance Saudi Foreign Trade

13 Initiatives to Enhance Saudi Foreign Trade
TT

13 Initiatives to Enhance Saudi Foreign Trade

13 Initiatives to Enhance Saudi Foreign Trade

The Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade said it is working on 13 initiatives focused on supporting the Kingdom’s sectors within the framework of boosting foreign trade and resolving the challenges facing international investments. This falls within the framework of the national vision for transformation, Kingdom Vision 2030.

The announcement came during a workshop organized by the Saudi South African Business Council at the Council of Saudi Chambers in cooperation with the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade.

The workshop showcased a series of investment agreements between the Kingdom and South Africa and the latter’s economic benefits.

A number of experts from the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade attended the workshop, in addition to businessmen and Hisham al-Amoudi, the Saudi South African Business Council General Manager.

Al-Amoudi opened the workshop reaffirming the extensive efforts spent by the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade in resolving challenges facing international investments and working to boost bilateral partnerships according to Saudi Vision 2030.

For her part, Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade expert in private sector partnerships Nouf al-Hassoun affirmed that the Authority is working on 13 initiatives to support foreign Saudi business council.

Hassoun said that the initiatives are in their last phases of preparation before going into implementation.

She stressed that one of the Authority’s goals is to maximize the Kingdom’s international trade and investment gains, enable exports of non-oil goods, services and national investments to enter international markets, provide protection for Saudi products and services from harmful practices in international trade and attract foreign investment.

Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade expert in international relations Mohammed al-Sabhan said that the Authority has resumed negotiations to sign a free trade agreement with South Africa, the Southern African Development Community and the Gulf Cooperation Council.



Record-Breaking Bitcoin Surges Towards $90,000 on Trump Boost

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
TT

Record-Breaking Bitcoin Surges Towards $90,000 on Trump Boost

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)

Bitcoin rallied to the verge of $90,000 on Tuesday, riding a wave of euphoria since the election of Donald Trump as US president on expectations his administration will be crypto friendly.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and touched $89,982 - a gain of around 30% since Nov. 5. It was last down 1.4% at $86,730.

Bitcoin is surging along with Elon Musk's automaker Tesla, which is up nearly 40% since voting results rolled in, as investors figure Trump's friends and interests will do well while he is in office.

"The crypto enthusiasts think they have a like-minded incoming president," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

"The thing about bitcoin at the end of the day is that there is no valuation anchor to it, it's hard to get a grip on fair value. So when sentiment is very positive, it does get carried away a lot more than other asset classes."

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

It is not clear how or when that could happen, but the possibility drove a speculative surge in crypto mining and trading stocks.

"I think it increases the chances that other nation states buy bitcoin in a bid to front run the US," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital.

"Additionally, I think it would be a crazy catalyst for the US listed bitcoin miners ... given possibilities of such entities getting nationalized."

Crypto miner Riot Platforms jumped nearly 17% on Wall Street on Monday. Fellow miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark leapt nearly 30%.

Software company and investor in bitcoin MicroStrategy announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10. Shares rose 26% on Monday.

"Obviously (it's) a clear Trump trade as he is so supportive of the industry, and this can only mean more demand both for crypto stocks as well as the currencies themselves," Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global in Sydney, said of the bitcoin rally.

"The fact that bitcoin was trading near all-time highs when the election result came through meant that it had clean sky above."

The euphoria extended across the crypto landscape with smaller tokens such as ether and dogecoin surging, although they dipped on Tuesday morning in Europe.

Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler whom Trump has said he will replace. Trump also unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.

"What we're seeing isn't just a price milestone; it's a signal that the market is warming to the idea of bitcoin as a more stable, even politically favored, asset," said Justin D'Anethan, head of Asia-Pacific business development at digital assets market maker Keyrock.