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Saudi Arabia to Adopt Strategy to Stimulate Development, Innovation and Research

The Sustainable Partnership Conference was launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, in the presence of Saudi ministers. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Sustainable Partnership Conference was launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, in the presence of Saudi ministers. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Adopt Strategy to Stimulate Development, Innovation and Research

The Sustainable Partnership Conference was launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, in the presence of Saudi ministers. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Sustainable Partnership Conference was launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, in the presence of Saudi ministers. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Senior Saudi government officials revealed serious trends towards activating development, innovation and research within the framework of the country’s transformation plan, disclosing the imminent completion of a strategy dedicated to research and development.

The Ministry of Education launched on Wednesday in Riyadh, the first dialogue conference, entitled “Integration and Sustainable Partnerships, which underlined the possibility of developing the research and innovation system in Saudi universities to contribute to the Kingdom’s investments and economy.

The speakers, including ministers and officials, called for the importance of integration between various sectors, by linking the research and innovation system in universities with the private sector to help achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

In this context, Saudi Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih disclosed the imminent completion of an integrated strategy for research and development in the Kingdom.

He added that public spending on universities in research and development must be commensurate with the capabilities of universities, which gives them a great responsibility to gain government’s confidence.

Al-Falih underlined the need to transform research minds in Saudi universities into an investment value, pointing to the importance of investing in research, development and innovation, to further boost the overall economy.

For his part, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef stated that the innovation strategy would support the domestic product and increase the Kingdom’s exports.

A budget will be allocated for research and development in all government agencies, he revealed, pointing to important elements that encourage the Kingdom to have ambitions goals.

Al-Khorayef noted that restructuring the research, development and innovation system and achieving harmony between all sectors contributed to enhancing opportunities and strengthening economic returns. In this regard, he stressed the importance of linking research and innovation with industry, energy, military and technical industries.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim stated that the ministry was keen to achieve the sustainable development goals, and was in charge of coordinating efforts in the public and private sectors, to achieve the goals of Vision 2030.

Minister of Education Youssef Al-Bunyan affirmed that Saudi Arabia has valuable opportunities to compete in the global market.

“We have promising opportunities for training and employing young people, to create an innovative generation,” he told the conference.

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Japan's Nikkei Falls, Australia and New Zealand Dollars Tumble amid Israel's Strike on Iran

Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Russian Rouble pictured in Warsaw, January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Russian Rouble pictured in Warsaw, January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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Japan's Nikkei Falls, Australia and New Zealand Dollars Tumble amid Israel's Strike on Iran

Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Russian Rouble pictured in Warsaw, January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Russian Rouble pictured in Warsaw, January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

The Australian and New Zealand dollars tumbled on Friday as Israel's strike on Iran hammered global stocks and drove investors into safe-haven assets, with domestic bond yields diving to over a month lows.

The commodity-sensitive currencies often track global risk sentiment and tend to take a hit when equity markets slide.

The Aussie plunged 0.9% to $0.6474, having risen 0.5% overnight to as high as $0.6534. It was already showing signs of fatigue as the currency has been unable to break a key resistance level of $0.6550 overnight even as the greenback slid due to another round of soft data.

For the week, it is down 0.3%.

The kiwi dollar dropped 1% to $0.6011. It gained gaining 0.7% overnight, hitting a high of $0.6071. Support comes in around $0.5990, while resistance is at the multi-month top of $0.6080. For the week, it is down 0.1%.

Israel said early on Friday that it struck Iran. Oil prices jumped over 6%, Wall Street futures dropped over 1%, while safe-haven currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc rose.

Local bonds also rallied. Australia's ten-year government bond yields slid 11 basis points to 4.133%, the lowest since May 1, while New Zealand's ten-year government bond yields dived 8 bps to a six-week low of 4.529%.

Sean Callow, a senior analyst at ITC Markets, said the trend for the Aussie is still up given the pressure on the US dollar from a sluggish US economy and investor unease over the U. policy outlook.

"Investors are likely to expect that Israel's strikes will be contained to a relatively short period, not something that will dictate market direction multi-week," he said.

Also, Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, mirroring moves in US stock futures, oil and other stock markets on news that Israel had conducted a military strike on Iran.

As of 0106 GMT, the Nikkei was down 1.5% at 37,584.47.

The broader Topix fell 1.28% to 2,7473.9.

"The market was selling stocks on caution for geopolitical risks, but the news was not driving a fire sale because investors still wanted to monitor the development of the attacks," said Naoki Fujiwara, a senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 5.5% to drag the Nikkei the most. Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing lost 2.1%.

Exporters fell as the yen strengthened, with Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor falling 2.75% and 1.5%, respectively.

All but three of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes fell.

Energy sectors rose as oil prices jumped, with oil explorers and refiners gaining 3.6% and 2.2%, respectively.

The utility sector rose 0.7%.