Saudi Arabia: 20 Economic Zones Aimed to Attract National, Foreign Investments

 Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih addressing the conference on Thursday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih addressing the conference on Thursday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia: 20 Economic Zones Aimed to Attract National, Foreign Investments

 Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih addressing the conference on Thursday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih addressing the conference on Thursday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih said that the Kingdom has prepared regulatory legislation and identified 20 economic zones, six of which are in Riyadh, to promote an attractive environment for Saudi and foreign investors.

He also stressed that the private sector would be a key player in the development strategy for the city of Riyadh, revealing “very profitable opportunities for those who invest in the new strategy.”

A dialogue session entitled “The Future of Riyadh” was held within the Future Investment Initiative conference on Thursday, during which Al-Falih said that the integration between regions and projects in the Kingdom would be achieved by enabling the airports to link the logistical areas.

He added that his country has succeeded in maintaining the flexibility of the local economy, despite the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which strengthened local and foreign investors’ confidence in the Kingdom.

For his part, Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh, said that Saudi Arabia would soon announce the Riyadh strategy, revealing that the Middle East region, and the Kingdom in particular, would be a future hub for investments from around the world.

“Riyadh’s development strategy will make the city completely different from its current situation,” he said, noting that the authority was ready, through the strategic plan, to deal with the significant growth expected in the future.



French CMA CGM to Acquire Turkish Borusan's Logistics Subsidiary in $440 mln Deal

The CMA CGM Greenland container ship is seen at sea with Paris 2024 and the Olympic rings on it during the Olympics torch relay ahead Paris 2024 Olympic games, in Marseille, France, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
The CMA CGM Greenland container ship is seen at sea with Paris 2024 and the Olympic rings on it during the Olympics torch relay ahead Paris 2024 Olympic games, in Marseille, France, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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French CMA CGM to Acquire Turkish Borusan's Logistics Subsidiary in $440 mln Deal

The CMA CGM Greenland container ship is seen at sea with Paris 2024 and the Olympic rings on it during the Olympics torch relay ahead Paris 2024 Olympic games, in Marseille, France, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
The CMA CGM Greenland container ship is seen at sea with Paris 2024 and the Olympic rings on it during the Olympics torch relay ahead Paris 2024 Olympic games, in Marseille, France, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

French shipping giant CMA CGM's subsidiary CEVA Corporate Services has signed a deal to acquire Turkish conglomerate Borusan's logistics arm, Borusan Tedarik Zinciri Cozumleri ve Teknoloji, for $440 million, according to a filing by the Turkish company.

Borusan Yatirim said in the exchange filing that the price was subject to ordinary net cash and working capital adjustments, adding that the deal was subject to approval from competition authorities and other relevant regulatory bodies.

Borusan Tedarik operates the largest port in Türkiye's manufacturing hub of Gemlik, with an annual capacity to handle 1,500 ships and around 400,000 twenty-foot containers (TEU), a standard measure for shipping containers.

CMA CGM is the world's third-largest container line, Reuters reported.

Headquartered in Marseille, France, CEVA offers a broad range of end-to-end contract logistics and air, ocean, ground and finished vehicle transport in 170 countries worldwide thanks to its approximately 110,000 employees at more than 1,500 facilities.

CEVA said its planned acquisition of Borusan Tedarik, would nearly double its warehousing and distribution footprint in Türkiye, adding around 570,000 square metres to its existing 620,000 square metres of space.

The deal would also boost its domestic ground transport operations, with the combined activities expected to handle nearly 1 million domestic shipments annually, CEVA said in a statement on its website. Borusan Tedarik's network is set to strengthen CEVA's connections with Europe, the company added.

CEVA said Borusan Tedarik's strong ties in the automotive sector would help lift its finished vehicle logistics (FVL) operations into a top-three position domestically. The acquisition is also expected to expand CEVA's ocean freight capacity by 25% and place its air freight operations among the top five in Türkiye.