Saudi Arabia's SALIC Ups Stake in Brazil's Minerva Foods

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia's SALIC Ups Stake in Brazil's Minerva Foods

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi investment firm SALIC said on Wednesday it had increased its stake in Brazilian meat company Minerva Foods to 33.83% from 25.5%.

SALIC, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co, fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, was launched in 2012 to secure food supplies for Saudi Arabia through mass production and investment.

"Minerva Foods is one of the largest meat production companies in South America and the second-largest exporter in Brazil as it produces more than one million tons of meat annually. Minerva Foods mainly serves the demands of foreign markets and during this year, it has already exported 750,000 tons of red meat to more than 100 countries around the globe," the Saudi-based Company said in statement.

This comes as Saudi Arabia consumes 550,000 tonnes of red meat a year, of which 70% is imported.

Since its formation in 2012, SALIC has been operating in the agricultural and livestock investment sector and working in countries that have comparative advantages, enabling it to meet the objectives set by the food security program through foreign investments, the provision of food products, and working with relevant government agencies to stabilize food commodity prices in the Kingdom.

In 1992, the Brazilian Group began to invest in the industrialization of beef and beef products, offering high quality meat. It currently operates 25 factories in South America.

In addition to its operational units in South America, Minerva Foods also has commercial offices in 9 countries to provide differentiated service in these regions.



IMF Eyes Revised Global Forecast, but Warns Trade Tensions Still Cloud Outlook

A hazy view of the skyline in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio.
A hazy view of the skyline in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio.
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IMF Eyes Revised Global Forecast, but Warns Trade Tensions Still Cloud Outlook

A hazy view of the skyline in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio.
A hazy view of the skyline in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Friday that risks related to trade tensions continue to cloud the global economic outlook and uncertainty remains high despite some increased trade and improved financial conditions.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said the fund would update its global forecast later in July given "front-loading ahead of tariff increases and some trade diversion," along with improved financial conditions and signs of continued declines in inflation.

In April the IMF slashed its growth forecasts for the United States, China and most countries, citing the impact of US tariffs on imports now at 100-year highs and warning that rising trade tensions would further slow growth.

At the time, it cut its forecast for global growth by 0.5 percentage points to 2.8% for 2025, and by 0.3 percentage points to 3%. Economists expect a slight upward revision when the IMF releases an updated forecast in late July.

According to Reuters, Gopinath told finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies who met this week in South Africa that trade tensions continued to complicate the economic outlook.

"While we will update our global forecast at the end of July, downside risks continue to dominate the outlook and uncertainty remains high," she said, in a text of her remarks.

She urged countries to resolve trade tensions and implement policy changes to address underlying domestic imbalances, including scaling back fiscal outlays and putting debt on a sustainable path.

Gopinath also underscored the need for monetary policy officials to carefully calibrate their decisions to specific circumstances in their countries, and stressed the need to protect central bank independence. This was a key theme in the G20 communique released by finance officials.

Gopinath said capital flows to emerging markets and developing economies remained sluggish, but resilient, in the face of increased policy uncertainty and market volatility. For many borrowers, financing conditions remained tight.

For countries with unsustainable debt, proactive moves were essential, Gopinath said, repeating the IMF's call for timely and efficient debt restructuring mechanisms.

More work was needed on that issue, including allowing middle-income countries to access the G20's Common Framework for Debt Restructuring, she said.