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Saudi Crown Prince Announces Diriyah as PIF’s Fifth Giga-Project

The Diriyah project represents a cultural and economic value for Saudi Arabia and enhances the Kingdom's position as a tourist destination regionally and internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Diriyah project represents a cultural and economic value for Saudi Arabia and enhances the Kingdom's position as a tourist destination regionally and internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Crown Prince Announces Diriyah as PIF’s Fifth Giga-Project

The Diriyah project represents a cultural and economic value for Saudi Arabia and enhances the Kingdom's position as a tourist destination regionally and internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Diriyah project represents a cultural and economic value for Saudi Arabia and enhances the Kingdom's position as a tourist destination regionally and internationally (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Crown Prince and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) Mohammed bin Salman announced on Monday designating Diriyah as the fifth giga-project owned by the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.

The Diriyah tourism project aligns with PIF’s strategy for achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s plan for national transformation, Vision 2030.

Vision 2030 aims to diversify the local economy by contributing to the development and empowerment of vital sectors such as tourism and culture. Overall, this works to enhance the Kingdom’s position regionally and internationally as a leading tourist and cultural destination.

Diriyah’s designation is a step that reflects the state’s interest in culture and investment, specialists affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Moreover, the project’s addition to PIF’s portfolio promotes a sustainable economy, creates partnership opportunities with the private sector and attracts foreign capital, all of which contribute to the Kingdom’s GDP.

The announcement comes as an extension and affirmation of the Crown Prince’s efforts about all the main elements that make up the national identity and Saudi culture.

The Diriyah project adds historical, cultural, and political value to the Kingdom’s 300-year history.

Diriyah is a globally significant destination that includes the Turaif district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“The Crown Prince's announcement strengthens partnership with the private sector and attracts foreign capital to enter into this giant project (Diriyah) and explore new investment opportunities,” Abdul Mohsen Al-Hokair Group’s CEO, Majed Al-Hokair, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The project enhances the Kingdom’s position regionally and internationally and constitutes a historical, cultural and economic value for Saudi Arabia,” Al-Hokair added.

He also noted that including Diriyah as the fifth giga-project by PIF enhances qualitative and sustainable development projects in the Kingdom.

“Diriyah is the center of heritage and culture and the cradle of the first Saudi state,” asserted Al-Hokair.

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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Honda and Nissan Start Merger Talks in Historic Pivot

Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Makoto Uchida, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda and Takao Kato, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, attend a joint press conference on their merger talks, in Tokyo, Japan, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan's auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world's best known car makers, Reuters said.
The integration would create the world's third-largest auto group by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also give the two companies scale and a chance to share resources in the face of intense competition from Tesla and more nimble Chinese rivals, such as BYD.
The merger of the two storied Japanese brands - Honda is Japan's second-largest automaker and Nissan its no. 3 - would mark the biggest reshaping in the global auto industry since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA merged in 2021 to create Stellantis in a $52 billion deal.
Smaller Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is top shareholder, was also considering joining, the companies said. The chief executives of all three companies held a joint press conference in Tokyo.
"The rise of Chinese automakers and new players has changed the car industry quite a lot," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told the press conference.
"We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we'll be beaten," he said.
The two companies would aim for combined sales of 30 trillion yen ($191 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen through the potential merger, they said.
They aimed to wrap up talks around June 2025 and then set up a holding company by August 2026, at which time both companies' shares would be delisted.
Honda has a market capitalisation of more than $40 billion, while Nissan is valued at about $10 billion.
Honda will appoint the majority of the holding company's board, it said.
Combining with Mitsubishi Motors would take the Japanese group's global sales to more than 8 million cars. The current No. 3 group is South Korea's Hyundai and Kia .
Honda and Nissan have been exploring ways to bolster their partnership, including a merger, Reuters reported last week.
The two companies said in March they were considering cooperation on electrification and software development. They agreed to conduct joint research and widened the collaboration to Mitsubishi Motors in August.
Last month, Nissan announced a plan to cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global production capacity after sales plunged in the key China and U.S. markets. Honda also reported worse-than-expected earnings due to declining sales in China.
Like other foreign carmakers, Honda and Nissan have lost ground in the world's biggest market China to BYD and other local brands that make electric and hybrid cars loaded with innovative software.
In a separate online press conference with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on Monday, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said he did not believe the Honda-Nissan alliance would be successful, saying the two automakers were not complementary.
Ghosn is wanted as a fugitive in Japan for jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon. His 2018 arrest for financial wrongdoing pitched Nissan into a crisis.
French automaker Renault, Nissan's largest shareholder, is open in principle to a deal and would examine all the implications of a tie-up, sources have said.
Taiwan's Foxconn, seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but the Japanese company rejected it, sources have told Reuters.
Foxconn decided to pause the approach after it sent a delegation to meet with Renault in France, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Shares in Honda ended the day up 3.8%, Nissan rose 1.6% and Mitsubishi Motors gained 5.3% after the news reports on the details of the planned merger, while the benchmark Nikkei closed up 1.2%.