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Saudi Arabia Allocates $8b to Support Entrepreneurs, Venture Capital

Business incubators and accelerators in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Business incubators and accelerators in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allocates $8b to Support Entrepreneurs, Venture Capital

Business incubators and accelerators in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Business incubators and accelerators in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi authorities allocated $8 billion to support entrepreneurs and venture capital, and the Saudi Venture Investment Company intends to increase the investment allocation in the coming years by $1.6 billion.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monshaat) signed an agreement to establish incubators and business accelerators to develop the industrial and mining sectors and logistical services.

The agreement was signed on the last day of the Biban 23 Forum, organized by Monshaat.

The Ministry's official spokesman, Jarrah al-Jarrah, explained that the agreement aims to set a framework for joint action between the two parties and unify efforts with the relevant authorities.

Jarrah noted that this would help boost coordination and effective joint action and achieve the desired goals of small and medium enterprises' development initiatives.

He stated that the agreement would involve the authority in the projects undertaken by the Ministry to establish incubators and business accelerators related to small and medium enterprises in the targeted sectors.

It would also promote cooperation and joint coordination in a project to study and implement industrial and mining incubators and accelerators.

Based on the agreement, the two parties will exchange experiences, information, reports, and studies related to the entrepreneurship environment for the targeted sectors, according to the regulations and policies.

Furthermore, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund signed a cooperation agreement with Monshaat to provide advisory support to SME owners of small and medium enterprises on launching industrial programs.

The agreement aims to provide new entrepreneurial opportunities by transforming promising ideas and innovations into successful industrial projects and provide entrepreneurs with the basic skills to identify and develop investment ideas.

It also assists in preparing a feasibility study, enabling them to establish and launch their industrial projects.

The Fund aims to provide its support and expertise in qualifying SME owners to enter the industrial sector, ensuring the projects have added value and played an active role in developing the local economy.

Also, at Biban 23, the Saudi Social Development Bank asserted its commitment to enhance entrepreneurship and support small and medium-sized enterprises with $6.3 billion in financing over the next three years.

CEO Ibrahim al-Rashid said the bank's strategy is to boost economic productivity within programs and products to provide financing solutions for emerging enterprises, develop support services, offer financing alternatives, and encourage economic activity in less developed regions.

The E-Commerce Council launched several initiatives with international universities, training centers, and significant leading companies to provide training programs for those wishing to learn sector skills.

It also aims to provide job opportunities in related companies, empower entrepreneurs, and facilitate business start-ups.

Biban 23, under the theme "Fostering Tangible Opportunities," continued its fifth and final day with a series of workshops and sessions aimed at enhancing entrepreneurship and stimulating entrepreneurial skills through specialized programs in increasing administrative, financial, and technical efficiencies. The forum also aims to support individuals with ideas to launch their projects.

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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%.