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Saudi Arabia Mobilizes Local, Int'l Investors to Convert Waste into Economic Value

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Mobilizes Local, Int'l Investors to Convert Waste into Economic Value

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadhli at the inauguration of the Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia hosted an “Investment Forum in the Waste Management Sector” with the participation of over 300 local international investors from 25 countries aiming to transform waste from an environmental burden into an economic value.

Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) Abdurrahman al-Fadhli, inaugurated the Forum, which holds many promising investment opportunities for economic development in the Kingdom.

MWAN CEO Abdullah al-Sbaei said that the Forum aims to introduce the transformation journey in the waste management sector, stimulate investment, and value the participation of the private sector.

Sbaei indicated that the transformation is the most important building block on which waste management and environmental sustainability are established, asserting the Kingdom’s endeavor to transform the sector from a load into an economic value.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Saudi Downtown Company, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MWAN to cooperate in programs and initiatives related to waste management.

The MoU also targets training, raising the level of performance of technical personnel, ensuring compliance with legislation and controls, and boosting joint work to improve the services provided to residents and visitors of Downtown Company projects in 12 cities in the Kingdom.

Downtown Company board member Naif al-Hamdan and MWAN CEO signed the MoU.

Hamdan explained that the agreement aims to develop integrated plans and programs to achieve sustainability and optimal use of resources and enhance the quality of life through the 12 projects.

The agreement comes within the framework of the Company’s strategy for environmental, social, and corporate governance practices, whose objectives include sustainability, community participation and interaction, and efficient use of resources.

Downtown Company aimed to achieve these goals by adopting best governance practices, practical cooperation with all relevant parties, formulating policies, using modern technologies, and spreading awareness.

It focuses on developing and establishing urban destinations and centers with a sustainable economic and social impact in 12 cities: al-Madinah, al-Ahsa, al-Khobar, Buraydah, al-Taif, Arar, Hail, Tabuk, Dumat al-Jandal, Jizan, Najran, and al-Baha.

The projects will be built on a total area of more than 10 million square meters. They aim to provide a platform to enhance lifestyles and promote economic growth and offer diverse choices of shopping, business, and living experiences that improve the quality of life and catalyze development.

Meanwhile, MWAN concluded a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Saudi Chambers at the Forum to enhance economic sustainability by stimulating investment and improving the quality of waste management.

The agreement aims to ensure environmental protection and public health, reduce waste production by applying the best technical practices of circular economy, increase public awareness to reduce waste production, and encourage reuse and recycling.

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Business

Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has introduced greater flexibility into its investment environment, allowing government entities, under strict controls to safeguard spending efficiency and ensure the delivery of critical projects, to seek exceptions to contract with international companies that do not have regional headquarters in the kingdom.

The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority notified all government bodies of the mechanism to apply for exemptions through the Etimad digital platform.

The step is designed to balance enforcement of the “regional headquarters relocation” decision, in force since early 2024, with the needs of technically specialized projects or those driven by intense price competition.

Under a government decision that took effect at the start of 2024, state entities, including authorities, institutions and government-affiliated funds, are barred from contracting with any foreign commercial company whose regional headquarters in the region is located outside Saudi Arabia.

According to the information, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority informed all entities of the rules governing contracts with companies that lack a regional headquarters in the kingdom and related parties.

Government entities may request an exemption from the committee for specific projects, multiple projects or a defined time period, provided the application is submitted before launching a tender or initiating direct contracting procedures.

Submission mechanism

In two circulars, the authority detailed how to submit exemption requests and clarified the cases in which contracting is permitted under the controls. It said the exemption service was launched on the Etimad platform in November 2025.

The service is available to entities that float tenders through Etimad. Requests for tenders launched before the service went live, as well as those issued outside the platform, will continue to follow the previously adopted process.

Etimad is the kingdom’s official financial services portal run by the Ministry of Finance, aimed at driving digital transformation of government procedures and boosting transparency and efficiency in managing budgets, contracts, payments, tenders and procurement. The platform streamlines transactions between state entities and the private sector.

Technical criteria

When issuing the contracting controls, the government made clear that companies without a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, or related parties, are not barred from bidding for public tenders.

However, their offers can only be accepted in two cases: if there is no more than one technically compliant bid, or if the offer ranks among the best technically and is at least 25% lower in price than the second-best bid after overall evaluation.

Contracts with an estimated value of no more than 1 million riyals ($266,000) are also exempt. The minister may, in the public interest, amend the threshold, cancel the exemption or suspend it temporarily.

More than 700 headquarters

More than 700 multinational companies had relocated their regional headquarters to Riyadh by early 2026, exceeding the initial target of attracting 500 companies by 2030. The program seeks to cement the kingdom’s position as a regional business hub and to localize global expertise.

When announcing the contracting ban, Saudi Arabia said the move was intended to incentivize foreign firms dealing with the government and its affiliated entities to adjust their operations.

It aims to create jobs, curb economic leakage, raise spending efficiency and ensure that key goods and services procured by government entities are delivered inside the kingdom with appropriate local content.

The government said the policy aligns with the objectives of the Riyadh 2030 strategy unveiled during the recent Future Investment Initiative forum, where 24 multinational companies announced plans to move their regional headquarters to the Saudi capital.

It stressed that the decision does not affect any investor’s ability to enter the Saudi economy or continue working with the private sector.

 

Business

IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said its board ​would review a staff-level agreement for a new $8.1 billion lending program for Ukraine in coming days.

IMF spokeswoman Jule Kozack told reporters that Ukrainian authorities had completed the prior actions needed to move forward with the request ⁠of a new ⁠IMF program, including submission of a draft law on the labor code and adoption of a budget.

She said Ukraine's economic growth in 2025 ⁠was likely under 2%. After four years of war, the country's economy had settled into a slower growth path with larger fiscal and current account balances, she said, noting that the IMF continues to monitor the situation closely.

"Russia's invasion continues to take a ⁠heavy ⁠toll on Ukraine's people and its economy," Kozack said. Intensified aerial attacks by Russia had damaged critical energy and logistics infrastructure, causing disruptions to economic activity, Reuters quoted her as saying.

As of January, she said, 5 million Ukrainian refugees remained in Europe and 3.7 million Ukrainians were displaced inside the country.

Business

US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Wall Street stocks retreated early Thursday as worries over US-Iran tensions lifted oil prices while markets digested mixed results from Walmart.

US oil futures rose to a six-month high as Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"We'd call this an undercurrent of concern that is bubbling up in oil prices," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said of the "geopolitical angst."

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent at 49,379.46, AFP reported.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent to 6,849.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 percent to 22,621.38.

Among individual companies, Walmart rose 1.7 percent after reporting solid results but offering forecasts that missed analyst expectations.

Shares of the retail giant initially fell, but pushed higher after Walmart executives talked up artificial intelligence investments on a conference call with analysts.

The US trade deficit in goods expanded to a new record in 2025, government data showed, despite sweeping tariffs that Trump imposed during his first year back in the White House.