Saudi Arabia Studies Impact of Key Activities on Competition

A Saudi initiative to study key sectors, including agricultural production and measure the impact of competition, Asharq Al-Awsat
A Saudi initiative to study key sectors, including agricultural production and measure the impact of competition, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Studies Impact of Key Activities on Competition

A Saudi initiative to study key sectors, including agricultural production and measure the impact of competition, Asharq Al-Awsat
A Saudi initiative to study key sectors, including agricultural production and measure the impact of competition, Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi General Authority for Competition has approved an initiative to study the agricultural and fish products sector, as well as the building and construction sector. The study will investigate the impact of establishments operating in the mentioned sectors on competition.

The Authority’s board of directors agreed to take action to investigate, gather evidence, and investigate two facilities operating in the public construction sector that may have colluded in bids and offers in a government project.

It also decided to file a criminal case against the two facilities for violating the competition law and its executive regulations.

This came during the 75th meeting of the board, headed by Dr. Ahmed Al-Khulaifi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Competition.

The meeting was held in the presence of the CEO and members of the board.

The Authority’s board of directors addressed several topics on its agenda, issued a number of decisions and directives, and approved entrusting the CEO with approving a number of the Authority’s policies, rules and manuals.

Moreover, the board reviewed the results of the study regulating the relationship between competition authorities and sectoral regulators, and the results of the investigation into collusion in a number of government projects with four establishments operating in the contracting and services sector.

In other news, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, represented by the National Entertainment Committee, signed a contract with a consulting firm to study and analyze the entertainment and leisure sector in Saudi Arabia.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.