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Saudi Arabia Issues 3 Ministerial Decisions to Organize Types of Work

Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi participates in a panel discussion within the activities of the Riyadh Economic Forum on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi participates in a panel discussion within the activities of the Riyadh Economic Forum on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Issues 3 Ministerial Decisions to Organize Types of Work

Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi participates in a panel discussion within the activities of the Riyadh Economic Forum on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi participates in a panel discussion within the activities of the Riyadh Economic Forum on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi announced three ministerial decisions to organize work types, as well as ongoing preparations for a project to review the legislations in force.

He noted that more than 2.2 million Saudi male and female citizens currently work in the private sector - the highest number in history, revealing that women’s economic participation has reached 35.6 percent this year, compared to 17.7 percent before the adoption of Vision 2030.

During a session on “the prospects and challenges of the new field of work — freelance work, flexible work and remote work” organized as part of the activities of the 10th edition of Riyadh Economic Forum, Al-Rajhi said that the ministry targets to announce 11 decisions on localization before the end of 2022.

He added that the employers’ rate of compliance with the Saudi Nationalization Scheme (Saudization) has reached 98 percent, while compliance with the Wage Protection Program was about 80 percent.

The Saudi minister pointed to the establishment of the Future Work Company in the fourth quarter of 2019, which seeks to link the private sector with individuals in the market and empower young men and women and develop their skills. The project is part of the ministry’s endeavor to organize and stimulate the freelancing sector in the Kingdom, he underlined.

According to Al-Rajhi, the average economic value of self-employment in the Kingdom is estimated at SR7.4 billion in 2021.

He noted that the ministry issued three organizational decisions for different types of work, and was currently working on a project to review legislation.

Meanwhile, Engineer Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, chaired a panel discussion on a study to link the Saudi regions with railways and evaluate its impact on the tourism and logistics services.

Al-Jasser pointed to the importance of the study, as it aligns with the national strategy for transport and logistics.

The discussion, which was held within the activities of the Riyadh Economic Forum, focused on ways to benefit from achieving the objectives of the general strategy for public transport and Vision 2030, with the aim to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub linking the three continents, upgrading transport services, and strengthening the tourism services system.

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Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

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
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Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

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 dollar hit new multi-month highs against the euro and the pound on Thursday, the first day of 2025 trading, as it built on last year's strong gains on expectations US interest rates will remain high relative to peers.

The euro fell to as low as $1.0314, its lowest since November 2022, down around 0.3% on the day. It is now down nearly 8% since its late September highs above $1.12, one major victim of the dollar's recent surge.

Traders anticipate deep interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank in 2025, with markets pricing in at least four 25 basis point cuts, while not being certain of even two such moves from the US Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.

The dollar was hitting milestones across the board and the pound was last down 0.65% at $1.2443, its lowest since April, with its fall accelerating after it broke through resistance around $1.2475.

"It's more of the same at the start of the new calendar year with the dollar continuing to extend its advances in anticipation of Trump putting in place friendly policies at the start of his term," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG.

US President-elect Donald Trump's policies are widely expected to not only boost growth but also add to upward price pressure. That will lead to a Fed cautious about cutting rates too much further, in turn underpinning US Treasury yields and boost dollar demand.

A weaker growth outlook outside the US, conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war have also added to demand for the dollar.

The dollar also reversed an early loss on Thursday to climb against the Japanese yen, and was last up 0.17% at 157.26.

It reached a five-month high above 158 yen in late December, potentially putting pressure on the Bank of Japan, which is expected to raise interest rates early this year, but possibly not immediately.

"If dollar/yen were to break above 160 ahead of the next BOJ meeting, that could be a catalyst for the BOJ to hike in January rather than wait until March," said Hardman.

"Though for now markets are leaning towards March after the dovish comments from (governor Kazuo) Ueda at his last press conference."

Even those who are more cautious about sustained dollar strength think it could take a long time to play out.

"The dollar may be vulnerable – but only if the US data confound market expectations that the Fed doesn’t cut rates more than once in the first half of this year, and not by more than 50bp in the whole of 2025," said Kit Juckes chief FX strategist at Societe Generale in a note.

"There's a good chance of that happening, but it seems very unlikely that cracks in US growth will appear early in the year – hence my preference for taking any bearish dollar thoughts with me into hibernation until the weather improves."

China's yuan languished at 14-month lows as worries about the health of the world's second-biggest economy, the prospect of US import tariffs from the Trump administration and sliding local yields weighed on investor sentiment.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc, another victim of the recent dollar strength, gave back early gains to last trade flat at 0.90755 per dollar.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars, however, managed to break away from two-year lows touched on Tuesday. The Aussie was 0.36% higher at $0.6215 having dropped 9% in 2024, its weakest yearly performance since 2018.

The kiwi rose 0.47% to $0.5614.