Jubail, Yanbu Sign $11.4-Billion-Worth Investment Agreements in Mining

The Future Minerals Forum witnessed the signing of major agreements to promote the mining industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Future Minerals Forum witnessed the signing of major agreements to promote the mining industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Jubail, Yanbu Sign $11.4-Billion-Worth Investment Agreements in Mining

The Future Minerals Forum witnessed the signing of major agreements to promote the mining industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Future Minerals Forum witnessed the signing of major agreements to promote the mining industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) - the two largest industrial cities in the Kingdom – have announced five agreements worth more than 43 billion riyals ($11.4 billion) to establish projects in Ras Al-Khair Minerals City and Yanbu Industrial City.

The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum, which concluded on Thursday in Riyadh.

RCJY signed an agreement worth SAR38 billion with Red Sea Industrial Aluminum Company (RSA) to set up a non-ferrous foundry for casting aluminum. The project will target local and global markets and create approximately 5,517 job opportunities.

The factory will also stimulate manufacturing industries, provide future localization opportunities and achieve the 2030 mining strategy, with a project area of 703.8 hectares and an investment volume of SAR38 billion.

The second agreement provides for the lease of industrial land with EV Metals Arabic Industrial Company for the production of high purity chemicals required for active ingredients in the cathode of electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage.

The Royal Commission in Ras Al-Khair City for Mining Industries signed three investment agreements, including an agreement with the Saudi Manufacturing Industries Holding Company, for the allocation of a site of 157,000 square meters to establish and operate a factory for the production of aluminum foil and coils.

An agreement was also concluded with the Tamouh Development and Investment Company to allocate a land of 130,000 square meters to establish and operate a factory for the production of high-density aluminum fluoride, with an investment value of 474 million riyals. The project is expected to provide more than 127 job opportunities.

The third agreement was signed with the Petroleum Protection Services and Construction Company to allot a site with a total area of 10,000 square meters to establish and operate a ready-mixed concrete factory for marine uses, which will support the port and marine industries sector with an investment of 5 million riyals and will create 75 job opportunities.



Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.