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1,040 Saudi Firms Operating in Turkey

Merchants chat in front of a currency exchange office at the historical Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, January 12, 2017. (Reuters)
Merchants chat in front of a currency exchange office at the historical Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, January 12, 2017. (Reuters)
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1,040 Saudi Firms Operating in Turkey

Merchants chat in front of a currency exchange office at the historical Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, January 12, 2017. (Reuters)
Merchants chat in front of a currency exchange office at the historical Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, January 12, 2017. (Reuters)

A total number of 1,040 Saudi firms continue to operate in Turkey, with a trade exchange of USD8 billion between the two countries, according to Senior Turkish Adviser Dr. Mustafa Kokso.

The trade exchange target is USD20 billion after the diversification of the economic basket, Kokso told Asharq Al-Awsat, noting that Saudi Arabia and Turkey require new investment means that go in tandem with Saudi Vision 2030 and Turkish aspirations.

Kokso expressed Turkey’s interest in the Kingdom’s infrastructure, including airports and trains, and investment in economic buildings for low-income households, adding that the Saudi investments in Turkey take place through 1,040 firms.

Furthermore, economist Hadeel Abu al-Aoula listed some of the investment advantages resulting from trade exchanges, saying they consolidate the state’s economy and place it among the best investors and exporters globally.

Saudi Arabia placed seventh in 2017 among prime investing states in Turkey.

Abu al-Aoula stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Turkish-Saudi economic cooperation is passing through a phase of prosperity and mounting growth, opening new dimensions for further ambitious bilateral projects.

The economist added that the Kingdom is providing legal assistance for investors through assigning a number of lawyers in its embassy in Ankara or its consulate in Istanbul. It also supplies investors with any information that facilitates goal-oriented investment operations serving both countries.

Speaking about major Turkish industries that attract Saudis, Abu al-Aoula mentioned machines, food, minerals, consumer products and the fabric industry.

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World Bank Warns that US Tariffs Could Reduce Global Growth Outlook

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Workers build risers in Freedom Plaza ahead of the Inauguration on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect former Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will be sworn in on January 20. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Workers build risers in Freedom Plaza ahead of the Inauguration on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect former Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will be sworn in on January 20. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP
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World Bank Warns that US Tariffs Could Reduce Global Growth Outlook

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Workers build risers in Freedom Plaza ahead of the Inauguration on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect former Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will be sworn in on January 20. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Workers build risers in Freedom Plaza ahead of the Inauguration on January 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect former Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will be sworn in on January 20. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP

The World Bank on Thursday warned that US across-the-board tariffs of 10% could reduce already lackluster global economic growth of 2.7% in 2025 by 0.3 percentage point if America's trading partners retaliate with tariffs of their own.
Such tariffs, promised by US President-elect Donald Trump, could cut US growth - forecast to reach 2.3% in 2025 - by 0.9% if retaliatory measures are imposed, the bank said, citing economic simulations. But it noted that US growth could also increase by 0.4 percentage point in 2026 if US tax cuts were extended, it said, with only small global spillovers.
Trump, who takes office Monday, has proposed a 10% tariff on global imports, a 25% punitive duty on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamp down on drugs and migrants crossing borders into the US, and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
The World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospect report, issued twice yearly, forecast flat global economic growth of 2.7% in 2025 and 2026, the same as in 2024, and warned that developing economies now faced their weakest long-term growth outlook since 2000, Reuters said.
The multilateral development bank said foreign direct investment into developing economies was now about half the level seen in the early 2000s and global trade restrictions were five times higher than the 2010-2019 average.
It said growth in developing countries is expected to reach 4% in 2025 and 2026, well below pre-pandemic estimates due to high debt burdens, weak investment and sluggish productivity growth, along with rising costs of climate change.
Overall output in emerging markets and development economies was expected to remain more than 5% below its pre-pandemic trend by 2026, due to the pandemic and subsequent shocks, it said.
"The next 25 years will be a tougher slog for developing economies than the last 25," World Bank chief economist Indermit Gil said in a statement, urging countries to adopt domestic reforms to encourage investment and deepen trade relations.
Economic growth in developing countries dropped from nearly 6% in the 2000s to 5.1% in the 2010s and was averaging about 3.5% in the 2020s, the bank said.
It said the gap between rich and poor countries was also widening, with average per capita growth rates in developing countries, excluding China and India, averaging half a percentage point below those in wealth economies since 2014.
The somber outlook echoed comments made last week by the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, ahead of the global lender's own new forecast, to be released on Friday.
"Over the next two years, developing economies could face serious headwinds," the World Bank report said.
"High global policy uncertainty could undercut investor confidence and constrain financing flows. Rising trade tensions could reduce global growth. Persistent inflation could delay expected cuts in interest rates."
The World Bank said it saw more downside risks for the global economy, citing a surge in trade-distorting measures implemented mainly by advanced economies and uncertainty about future policies that was dampening investment and growth.
Global trade in goods and services, which expanded by 2.7% in 2024, is expected to reach an average of about 3.1% in 2025-2026, but to remain below pre-pandemic averages.