Saudi Arabia Raises Minimum Limit for Entities Reporting Economic Concentration

"Muqawil” platform provides many services that facilitate procedures for contractors in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
"Muqawil” platform provides many services that facilitate procedures for contractors in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Raises Minimum Limit for Entities Reporting Economic Concentration

"Muqawil” platform provides many services that facilitate procedures for contractors in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
"Muqawil” platform provides many services that facilitate procedures for contractors in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi government has raised the minimum limit of annual sales at which entities should notify the authority of economic concentration transactions to SAR 200 million ($53.3 million) from SAR 100 million ($26.6 million).

The decision was based on the annual review made by the General Authority for Competition (GAC), which considered the best international practices.

This came under the approval of GAC’s board of directors to amend Article No. 2 of the executive regulations of the Competition Law to read: “Entities seeking to join an economic concentration transaction – or the persons legally authorized to represent them - must notify the Authority at least 90 days prior to the completion of such transaction, if the total value of the entities' annual sales exceeds SAR 200 million.”

The amendment was approved during the 80th board meeting, with other resolutions adopted.

The GAC board followed up on the preliminary results of investigations into the motor sector, issuing several directives.

It also reviewed the investigation results of a lawsuit related to two entities in the food delivery and restaurants sectors, approving a settlement.

The board approved another settlement between two entities operating in the construction sector and nodded to exempting two entities operating in the electric vehicles (EV) sector for exclusive and unified contracts.

In other news, the Saudi Contractors Authority revealed that over 1,000 e-contracts worth more than SAR 308 million ($82.1 million) have been concluded on the Kingdom’s “Muqawil” platform, launched in 2021.

According to the Authority, 600 contracts have been signed for the implementation of framed structures without materials. Meanwhile, the contracts for implementation with materials reached 300.

The value of the highest contract concluded on Muqawil exceeded SAR 50 million ($13.3 million).

Muqawil also recorded SAR 10,000 ($2.6 thousand) as the lowest value of a typical contract concluded on the platform.



World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's beleaguered economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 fiscal year largely due to the devastating impact of a powerful earthquake in late March, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The World Bank said direct damages to property and infrastructure from the 7.7 magnitude quake were estimated at $11 billion, or 14% of the nation's gross domestic product, estimating that economic output would be about $2 billion lower than it otherwise would have been because of the quake.

The quake affected more than 17 million people, with nine million severely impacted, the World Bank said. The death toll has topped 3,700, according to Myanmar's ruling junta.

"The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar's people," Melinda Good, Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar, said a statement.
"Recovery efforts are essential to help the most vulnerable populations."

A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment on the report.

In December, the World Bank had projected Myanmar's economy would shrink 1% in the 2024/25 fiscal year that ended in March due to the severe flooding in the country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, sparking a civil war. There have been international efforts to stall the conflict, but rebels have accused the junta of breaching a ceasefire called to allow relief efforts to reach earthquake-affected areas.

The hardest-hit regions of Mandalay and Naypyidaw were expected to lose up to one-third of their production between April and September before a partial recovery in the second half of the fiscal year, the World Bank said.

The earthquake could increase the national poverty rate by 2.8 percentage points, pushing more households into poverty, the report stated. A survey before the quake estimated the poverty rate at 31% in 2024.

"Myanmar's compounding crises have put household coping mechanisms under severe stress," said Kim Edwards, Senior Economist and Program Leader for Thailand and Myanmar.