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MODON Sets Smart Technology Transformation Strategy for Saudi Industrial Environment

MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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MODON Sets Smart Technology Transformation Strategy for Saudi Industrial Environment

MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MODON establishes a strategy to help transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Over the last year, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) has been working under a strategy in harmony with the programs listed in the Kingdom’s plan for national transformation, Vision 2030.

Some of the core objectives of the plan are to transform Saudi Arabia into a promising industrial powerhouse, a global logistics platform and achieve sustainable and balanced development in the Kingdom.

Vision 2030 also promotes activating innovative technical transformation in the business environment of the industrial cities in the country.

In its latest report, MODON revealed it had established a strategy that paves the way towards the vision of it becoming an enabling industrial environment powered by smart technology transformation. This will aid in MODON contributing to the growth of the national economy.

MODON is working in collaboration with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) towards realizing the abovementioned goals.

The authority also contributes to developing non-oil revenues, generating new job opportunities, stimulating the private sector, and providing a safe environment for investors.

Also, it follows a unified framework that enhances coordination and control over performance, projects, and initiatives.

This method helps in achieving strategic goals, reducing risks, and contributing to increasing chances of success.

It does so through the governance of initiatives and projects and facilitating coordination with relevant authorities.

The authority works to ensure the smooth running of initiatives and offers a continuous follow-up to their implementation. It oversees stakeholder participation, corrective action, continuous improvement, and development of the plan’s outputs.

MODON was initially launched to adapt to the local and global variables and meet the growing needs for the primary environment required for the Kingdom’s industrial development.

The authority was also established to fulfill the future requirements and help the private sector play a more significant role in the development, operation and management of facilities and services.

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Saudi Tadawul to Open Fully to Direct Foreign Investment from Feb. 1

A view of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Reuters)
A view of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Reuters)
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Saudi Tadawul to Open Fully to Direct Foreign Investment from Feb. 1

A view of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Reuters)
A view of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced a landmark reform allowing all categories of foreign investors to invest directly in the Kingdom’s main stock market, Tadawul, starting February 1.

The move signals a strategic repositioning of the Saudi market as a highly competitive global investment destination.

The CMA has scrapped the “qualified foreign investor” requirement and abolished swap agreements, granting international investors full rights to direct share ownership.

The decision is underpinned by strong foreign investment momentum exceeding $157 billion and rising global confidence in the sustainability of Saudi economic growth.

The reform is also expected to increase Saudi Arabia’s weighting in major global indices, including MSCI and FTSE.

Under the new regulatory framework approved by the CMA’s board, the market shifts from “conditional openness” to “full openness.” Non-resident foreign investors will no longer be required to meet prior qualification criteria to access the main market.

The abolition of swap agreements - previously limiting investors to economic benefits without ownership - will allow foreign investors to hold shares directly and exercise full shareholder rights. This is expected to significantly boost liquidity and attract new institutional and individual investors.

According to the CMA, the amendments aim to expand and diversify the investor base, support capital inflows, and strengthen market liquidity.

By the end of the third quarter of 2025, international investors’ ownership in the Saudi market had surpassed SAR 590 billion ($157.3 billion), while foreign investment in the main market reached around SAR 519 billion, up from SAR 498 billion at the end of 2024. The Authority expects the new framework to draw additional international capital.

The steady rise in foreign investment, even before the reforms take effect, points to a potential surge in inflows in 2026 once the decision is implemented.

The announcement builds on earlier steps taken in July 2025, when the CMA eased procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain investor categories, including foreign individuals residing in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states or with prior residency in Saudi Arabia or other GCC countries.

The latest changes align with the CMA’s phased approach to market liberalization and follow the publication, in October 2025, of a draft regulatory framework for public consultation.

The Authority said further steps will follow to deepen market openness and strengthen Tadawul’s position as a global financial hub.

Business

China’s Top Diplomat Tours Africa with Focus on Strategic Trade Routes

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the ministerial conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China September 3, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the ministerial conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China September 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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China’s Top Diplomat Tours Africa with Focus on Strategic Trade Routes

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the ministerial conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China September 3, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the ministerial conference of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China September 3, 2024. (Reuters)

China’s top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Wednesday, focusing on strategic trade access across eastern and southern Africa as Beijing seeks to secure key shipping ​routes and resource supply lines.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Ethiopia, Africa's fastest-growing large economy; Somalia, a Horn of Africa state offering access to key global shipping lanes; Tanzania, a logistics hub linking minerals-rich central Africa to the Indian Ocean; and Lesotho, a small southern African economy squeezed by US trade measures, on this year’s trip, which runs until January 12.

Beijing aims to highlight countries it views as model partners of President Xi Jinping's flagship "Belt and Road" infrastructure program and to expand export markets, particularly in young, ‌increasingly affluent ‌economies such as Ethiopia, where the IMF forecasts growth of ‌7.2% ⁠this ​year.

China, ‌the world's largest bilateral lender, faces growing competition from the European Union to finance African infrastructure, as countries hit by pandemic-era debt strains now seek investment over loans.

"Foreign Minister Wang's visit aims to deepen political and mutual trust," a ministry spokesperson said, adding that the trip would "strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding between the two great civilizations of China and Africa."

Wang opened 2025 by visiting Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Nigeria.

FIRST DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO SOMALIA IN DECADES

His upcoming visit ⁠to Somalia will be the first by a Chinese foreign minister since the 1980s and is expected to provide Mogadishu ‌with a diplomatic boost after Israel became the first ‍country to formally recognize the breakaway ‍Republic of Somaliland, a northern region that declared itself independent in 1991.

Beijing, which reiterated its ‍support for Somalia after the Israeli announcement in December, is keen to reinforce its influence around the Gulf of Aden, the entrance to the Red Sea and a vital corridor for Chinese trade transiting the Suez Canal to Europe.

Further south, Tanzania is central to Beijing's plan to secure access to ​Africa's vast copper deposits. Chinese firms are refurbishing the Tazara Railway that runs through the country into Zambia. Li Qiang made a landmark trip ⁠to Zambia in November, the first visit by a Chinese premier in 28 years.

The railway is widely seen as a counterweight to the US and European Union-backed Lobito Corridor, which connects Zambia to Atlantic ports via Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

CHINA CHAMPIONS FREE TRADE IN LESOTHO

By visiting the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, Wang aims to highlight Beijing's push to position itself as a champion of free trade.

Last year, China offered tariff-free market access to its $19 trillion economy for the world's poorest nations, fulfilling a pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing.

Lesotho, one of the world's poorest nations with a gross domestic product of just over $2 billion, was among the countries hardest ‌hit by US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs last year, facing duties of up to 50% on its exports to the United States.

Business

Morocco to Ban Frozen Sardine Exports from February

Passengers walk in front of Fes Railway Station, decorated with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) theme colors and flags, in the Moroccan city of Fes, January 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Passengers walk in front of Fes Railway Station, decorated with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) theme colors and flags, in the Moroccan city of Fes, January 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Morocco to Ban Frozen Sardine Exports from February

Passengers walk in front of Fes Railway Station, decorated with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) theme colors and flags, in the Moroccan city of Fes, January 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Passengers walk in front of Fes Railway Station, decorated with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) theme colors and flags, in the Moroccan city of Fes, January 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Morocco will halt exports of frozen sardines from February ​1 to protect domestic supplies and contain prices, the cabinet member in charge of fisheries, Zakia Driouich, said.

Sardines are a staple for ‌Moroccan households, ‌and ‌the country ⁠is ​the ‌world's top exporter of the fish, thanks to its long Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.

The decision was triggered by a noticeable ⁠drop in supply, Driouich told ‌members of parliament ‍late on ‍Tuesday, without specifying how ‍long the ban would last.

Pelagic species such as sardines account for around 80% ​of Morocco's coastal fish resources, compared with 20% ⁠for white fish, she said.

The national canned-sardine industry (UNICOP) urged authorities in June to act against illegal fishing after reporting falling catches.

Morocco's sardine landings dropped 46% in 2024 to 525,000 metric tons, according ‌to official data.