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Saudi Arabia to Attract Investments Worth $32 Bln in Mining, Minerals Sector

Saudi Arabia is expanding mining investments to benefit from its natural wealth of minerals. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is expanding mining investments to benefit from its natural wealth of minerals. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Attract Investments Worth $32 Bln in Mining, Minerals Sector

Saudi Arabia is expanding mining investments to benefit from its natural wealth of minerals. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is expanding mining investments to benefit from its natural wealth of minerals. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said Friday that the ministry has a goal to attract investments worth $32 billion to its mining and minerals sector through nine new projects.

The projects are aimed at supporting supplies of mineral products to local and international markets.

Alkhorayef added that the ministry is currently studying 145 applications for exploration licenses from foreign companies.

The ministry has secured $6 billion for a steel plate mill complex and electric vehicle battery metals plant, he revealed.

The Kingdom is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil under its national transformation plan, Vision 2030, initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Mining is one of the sectors that has been identified for expansion.

The nine projects include a $4 billion steel plate mill complex for the shipbuilding, oil and gas, construction and defense sectors and a green flat steel complex that will supply the automotive, food packaging, machinery and equipment, and other industrial sectors. Both projects are already underway, as is a $2 billion EV battery metals plant.

Alkhorayef said the projects would create over 14,000 jobs.

“These targeted investments represent an important 'down payment' in our efforts to move beyond exploration and extraction and into the creation of integrated value chains, a central focus of our overall mining strategy,” said the minister.

“The investments will continue to position the Kingdom as a mining production and logistics hub for a region that stretches from Africa to Asia, while also supporting the transformation of our mining sector so it can achieve its potential,” he added.

AlKhorayef stressed that the investments are aligned with Vision 2030 and are made in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Energy.

They seek making the mining sector the third pillar of the national industry in accordance with the objectives of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP).

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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.