KSA Enables Private Sector to Invest In State Development Projects

Saudi Arabia seeks to enable the private sector to participate in government development projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia seeks to enable the private sector to participate in government development projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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KSA Enables Private Sector to Invest In State Development Projects

Saudi Arabia seeks to enable the private sector to participate in government development projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia seeks to enable the private sector to participate in government development projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Real Estate announced the signing of a MoU with the Projects Support Fund at the Ministry of Finance to enhance mutual cooperation in the field of partnerships with the private sector.

The memorandum gives the private sector the opportunity to invest in development projects in the sectors covered by the fund, namely education, health care and real estate development.

The governor of the Real Estate General Authority, Ihsan Bafakih, said on Thursday that the MoU reflected the Authority’s approach towards enhancing integration and partnership between all components of the government system in order to achieve the desired goals.

According to Bafakih, the Authority and the Fund seek, through the MoU, to achieve several goals, including contributing to financing real estate development projects, such as buildings and integrated service projects, in accordance with the financing policies approved by the Fund, in addition to qualifying private sector institutions and introducing them to the financial and technical requirements and providing an favorable environment to attract various qualitative investments.

On a different note, the National Debt Management Center at the Ministry of Finance (NDMC) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). The agreement was signed by Fahad Al-Saif, Chief Executive Officer of the NDMC, and Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of NEXI.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, who is also the chairman of the NDMC’s Board of Directors, said that the signing of the Memorandum came in parallel with the fifth Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 Ministerial Meeting and aimed to expand the opportunities of financing government projects implemented by Japanese companies in the Kingdom.



BRICS Countries Back Grain Exchange Idea

People walk past the Sandton Convention Center, which hosted the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa August 19, 2023. REUTERS/James Oatway
People walk past the Sandton Convention Center, which hosted the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa August 19, 2023. REUTERS/James Oatway
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BRICS Countries Back Grain Exchange Idea

People walk past the Sandton Convention Center, which hosted the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa August 19, 2023. REUTERS/James Oatway
People walk past the Sandton Convention Center, which hosted the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa August 19, 2023. REUTERS/James Oatway

The BRICS group of countries have supported an initiative to set up a grain exchange, Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut said on Friday.
The exchange would allow buyers to purchase directly from producers and has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of a BRICS summit to be held in Russia in October, Reuters said.
"We will work together with our colleagues on creation and development of this platform and the development of the possibility of settlements in national currencies of the BRICS countries," Lut said after a meeting of BRICS agriculture ministers held in Moscow.
The BRICS grouping, which includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa among others, accounts for more than 30% of global agricultural land, according to Russian export center Agroexport.
It also accounts for more than 40% of global cereal and meat production, nearly 40% of dairy products and more than 50% of total fish and seafood production.
"Last year, the association accounted for more than a third of Russia's exports of agro-industrial products - that's $15 billion," Lut said regarding BRICS countries.