RCU Signs Strategic Partnerships, 44 Multinational Companies Shift Regional Headquarters to Saudi Arabia

The Royal Commission for AlUla signs landmark agreements with AECOM and an international French consortium during the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. (PRNewsfoto/The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU))
The Royal Commission for AlUla signs landmark agreements with AECOM and an international French consortium during the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. (PRNewsfoto/The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU))
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RCU Signs Strategic Partnerships, 44 Multinational Companies Shift Regional Headquarters to Saudi Arabia

The Royal Commission for AlUla signs landmark agreements with AECOM and an international French consortium during the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. (PRNewsfoto/The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU))
The Royal Commission for AlUla signs landmark agreements with AECOM and an international French consortium during the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. (PRNewsfoto/The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU))

International experts participating in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference’s fifth edition in Riyadh called for investing more in humans over the coming period. Apart from increasing job opportunities and helping restore balance, this will push markets towards growth and progress.

During the conference’s second day, Saudi Arabia announced it had licensed 44 international companies to set up regional headquarters in the capital Riyadh under the kingdom’s push to become a regional commercial hub.

“We have noted a strong response from investors in recent years, which is driving increases in foreign direct investment. As investment grows, we expect to see these investors expand their presence in the local market,” said Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment.

“I am delighted by the number of multinational companies that have chosen to relocate to Riyadh, demonstrating that our national capital is becoming an increasingly attractive place to do business and developing into an investment destination of choice,” said Al-Falih.

The Regional Headquarters Attraction Program of Multinational Companies is expected to yield significant local benefits to Saudi Arabia’s economy.

“By 2030, the program will contribute $18 billion to the local economy and create around 30,000 new jobs,” said Fahd Al-Rasheed, chief executive of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC).

“It is estimated that for every job attracted through the program, two-and-a-half jobs are created indirectly in the base economy.”

The initiative will also provide opportunities for local talent to work with multinational companies, he said.

Meanwhile, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) signed landmark agreements with AECOM and an international French consortium comprising Egis, Assystem and Setec.

The agreements with AECOM and the international French consortium set out a comprehensive development timeline based around three phases that lead up to 2035.

Phase 1 development amounts to SAR 57+ Bn / USD 15+ Bn invested in AlUla’s core 20km historical area. This incorporates social, economic and sustainability projects in five unique hubs with a focus on infrastructure, hospitality, arts & culture, and social and community development.

Signing the agreements at the fifth edition of the FII in Riyadh, RCU CEO Amr AlMadani said: “These new long-term strategic partnerships are critical to realizing our ambition of creating a global benchmark for sustainable tourism.”

These partnerships will accelerate business and investment opportunities from 2022 onwards and demonstrate the pace of progress to revitalize AlUla as a responsible, sustainable and community-inclusive destination.



Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

 People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

 People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish stocks jumped on Monday, bonds climbed and the lira rallied against the euro as news the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group was ending its four decade-long insurgency in the country added to US-China trade cheer.

Global share markets were enjoying a strong surge after the US and China agreed to slash tariffs, but Turkish equities outstripped most other bourses as they jumped more than 3%.

A PKK member said it was ceasing all military operations "immediately" following the group's decision to disband, a move that could boost NATO member Türkiye's political and economic stability.

The lira was up 1.3% against the euro and steady against the dollar, while its international market bonds, which have been losing ground for the last six months, were up nearly 0.7 cents.

The PKK decision followed an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February to disband. It is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with US forces.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision to dissolve was "an important step toward a terror-free Türkiye".

There have been intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.

The PKK's move should now give Erdogan the opportunity to boost spending in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.

Analysts welcomed the PKK move but added a note of caution.

"It can only be good news," said Christopher Granville, managing director of EMEA & Global Political Research at investment advisory firm TS Lombard. "But is it decisive for the difficult Turkish investment case?"

He said the PKK issue was ultimately "secondary" to questions about Türkiye's recent arrest of Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and the broader direction of its macroeconomic policy.

Those concerns have weighed on Turkish markets this year.

MSCI's Türkiye equities index is down more than 13% compared to a near 8% rise in its pan-emerging market index., while lira-denominated government bonds have cost investors more than 8% on a total returns basis.

The cost of insuring Ankara's government debt using Credit Default Swaps (CDS) has also shot up, although Monday's rally saw that ease back.

"A continuation of the pullback (in CDS levels) ... may support banking stocks, which have been the negatively differentiated sector in BIST (Turkish stocks index) in the last 2 months," Garanti BBVA Yatirim's Director Ozgur Yurtdasseven said.

Turkish banking stocks were up 3.8% on the day, but remain more than 16% down on the year in lira terms and more than 20% in dollar terms.