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Saudi Arabia Signs 100 Investment Deals Worth $4Bn during Q1

Investments increase in Saudi Arabia amid foreigners' interest in the market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Investments increase in Saudi Arabia amid foreigners' interest in the market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs 100 Investment Deals Worth $4Bn during Q1

Investments increase in Saudi Arabia amid foreigners' interest in the market (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Investments increase in Saudi Arabia amid foreigners' interest in the market (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has signed 101 investment deals during the first quarter of this year, amounting to $4 billion.

Supervised by the Ministry of Investment, the deals are expected to provide more than 5,000 new job opportunities.

The Kingdom is the sixth among the G20 economies with the highest foreign exchange reserve.

A recent report issued by the Ministry, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, said the Kingdom has one of the fastest recovering economies from the effects of the pandemic, with a 9.6 percent growth in gross domestic product during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of 2021.

The report indicated that the Kingdom provided opportunities for investors, making it easier to access untapped sectors by providing an attractive investment environment.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia grew by 257.2 percent to reach $19.3 billion in 2021.

The Kingdom's industrial production index (IPI) continued to rise for the eleventh consecutive month, with a 24.8 percent increase in March, compared to 2021, the highest growth in the past three years.

The report indicated that the IPI increase was primarily driven by a 26.6 percent increase in mining activity after the Kingdom increased its oil production to more than 10 million barrels per day in March.

Foreign exchange reserves maintained their strength during Q1, reaching $45.7 billion in April, making Saudi Arabia the sixth-highest foreign exchange reserves among G20 economies.

The interest of foreign investors in the Kingdom rose to historical levels in the first quarter, with 9,383 new licenses.

This significant increase is due to the Kingdom's efforts to improve the investment environment and increase investor confidence after the global economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era.

The number of companies that decided to open their regional headquarters in Riyadh has increased, and several small foreign-owned enterprises and institutions want to regulate their commercial status within the anti-concealment law in the Kingdom.

The Ministry of Investment added that after revoking the company licenses that regulated their status, it issued 1.2 thousand investment licenses in the first quarter of this year, a 153.7 percent growth compared to the same period in 2021.

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Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
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Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco

Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with Gulf Cryo, a regional leader of end-to-end industrial gases and decarbonization solutions in the MENAT region, to conduct testing of lower-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture & utilization technologies under Saudi Arabian climate conditions enabling future commercial deployment.

The agreement underscores Aramco’s desire to develop a lower carbon emission future through investing in research and technology development, to support business growth and meet global energy demand while reducing scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions to net-zero by 2050 from its wholly own operated assets.

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. The testing and assessment will be conducted at Gulf Cryo's newly established Applications and Technologies Center (ATC) at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a press statement said Thursday.

Aramco’s senior vice president of Technology Oversight and Coordination (TOC), Ali A. Al-Meshari, said: “This collaboration is important in advancing our early stage technologies to the next phase of development, which will help create local ecosystem for accelerating technology deployment leveraging in-kingdom talent and infrastructure.”

As for Gulf Cryo Vice Chairman, Eng. Abdel Salam Al Mazro, he said that “the project will leverage the capabilities of our Center to deliver groundbreaking lower-carbon hydrogen and decarbonization solutions, tailored to the unique needs of Aramco.”

In addition to driving technological advancements in decarbonization, this collaboration supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to enhance localization and build local capabilities. The facility is planned to be ready for commissioning by the end of 2025, the statement added.