عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Foreign Capital Represents 39% of Saudi Industrial Sector Investments

The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program aims to achieve integration between the targeted sectors, namely industry, mining, energy and logistics. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program aims to achieve integration between the targeted sectors, namely industry, mining, energy and logistics. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Foreign Capital Represents 39% of Saudi Industrial Sector Investments

The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program aims to achieve integration between the targeted sectors, namely industry, mining, energy and logistics. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program aims to achieve integration between the targeted sectors, namely industry, mining, energy and logistics. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said on Sunday that foreign or joint capital investments represent about 39 percent of the total investments in the industrial sector in the Kingdom.

The ministry also revealed that the total number of existing and under construction factories until the end of last May reached 15 percent.

The number of factories with foreign investment in Saudi Arabia reached 839 by the end of May 2022, the ministry said, representing approximately 8 percent of the total number of factories, with investments estimated at more than SR65 billion (USD 17.3 Billion).

The number of joint venture factories in Saudi Arabia reached about 787, constituting 7 percent of the total factories, with investments estimated at more than SR464 billion.

Meanwhile, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NDLP) has managed to contribute 690.7 billion riyals (USD184 billion) to the Saudi economy during the past year.

The program’s economic activities contributed about SR413.5 billion (USD110 billion) to the real GDP, with a growth rate of 9 percent compared to 2020, in addition to SR231 billion (USD61 billion) for non-oil commodity exports, with a growth of 37 percent.

Saudi Arabia launched the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program in 2019 with the aim of transforming the Kingdom into a leading industrial power and a global platform for logistics services, and achieve integration between the targeted sectors, namely industry, mining, energy and logistics.

According to a recent report by NDLP, the value of re-export operations improved by the end of 2021 to reach SR43.5 billion (USD11.6 billion), compared to SR35.3 billion (USD9.4 billion) in the previous year.

The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program is one of the most important and largest of the thirteen programs in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, in terms of its expected positive impact on the Saudi economy.

By 2030, the program aims to increase the contribution of its four sectors - industry, mining, logistics and energy - to the GDP to SR1.2 trillion (USD320 billion), stimulate investments worth more than SR1.7 trillion (USD453.3 billion), and raise the volume of non-oil exports to more than one trillion riyals (USD266 billion), as well as developing the labor market by creating 1.6 million new jobs.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Firm Dollar Keeps Pound, Euro and Yen Under Pressure

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
TT
TT

Firm Dollar Keeps Pound, Euro and Yen Under Pressure

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo

The US dollar charged ahead on Thursday, underpinned by rising Treasury yields, putting the yen, sterling and euro under pressure near multi-month lows amid the shifting threat of tariffs.

The focus for markets in 2025 has been on US President-elect Donald Trump's agenda as he steps back into the White House on Jan. 20, with analysts expecting his policies to both bolster growth and add to price pressures, according to Reuters.

CNN on Wednesday reported that Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a series of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries. On Monday, the Washington Post said Trump was looking at more nuanced tariffs, which he later denied.

Concerns that policies introduced by the Trump administration could reignite inflation has led bond yields higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note hitting 4.73% on Wednesday, its highest since April 25. It was at 4.6709% on Thursday.

"Trump's shifting narrative on tariffs has undoubtedly had an effect on USD. It seems this capriciousness is something markets will have to adapt to over the coming four years," said Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at InTouch Capital Markets.

The bond market selloff has left the dollar standing tall and casting a shadow on the currency market.

Among the most affected was the pound, which was headed for its biggest three-day drop in nearly two years.

Sterling slid to $1.2239 on Thursday, its weakest since November 2023, even as British government bond yields hit multi-year highs.

Ordinarily, higher gilt yields would support the pound, but not in this case.

The sell-off in UK government bond markets resumed on Thursday, with 10-year and 30-year gilt yields jumping again in early trading, as confidence in Britain's fiscal outlook deteriorates.

"Such a simultaneous sell-off in currency and bonds is rather unusual for a G10 country," said Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank.

"It seems to be the culmination of a development that began several months ago. The new Labour government's approval ratings are at record lows just a few months after the election, and business and consumer sentiment is severely depressed."

Sterling was last down about 0.69% at $1.2282.

The euro also eased, albeit less than the pound, to $1.0302, lurking close to the two-year low it hit last week as investors remain worried the single currency may fall to the key $1 mark this year due to tariff uncertainties.

The yen hovered near the key 160 per dollar mark that led to Tokyo intervening in the market last July, after it touched a near six-month low of 158.55 on Wednesday.

Though it strengthened a bit on the day and was last at 158.15 per dollar. That all left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, up 0.15% and at 109.18, just shy of the two-year high it touched last week.

Also in the mix were the Federal Reserve minutes of its December meeting, released on Wednesday, which showed the central bank flagged new inflation concerns and officials saw a rising risk the incoming administration's plans may slow economic growth and raise unemployment.

With US markets closed on Thursday, the spotlight will be on Friday's payrolls report as investors parse through data to gauge when the Fed will next cut rates.