عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Establishing Qiddiya Investment Company Supports Saudi Entertainment Industry

Qiddiya Sign (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Qiddiya Sign (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Establishing Qiddiya Investment Company Supports Saudi Entertainment Industry

Qiddiya Sign (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Qiddiya Sign (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has incorporated Qiddiya as a standalone business entity called Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a key step in testablishing a new phase of the entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment registered QIC, which will oversee the development of Qiddiya, as a closed joint-stock company, wholly owned by the Kingdom’s sovereign investment fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to a Ministry of Culture and Information statement released on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month attended the launch ceremony of the project, which was announced in April last year as one of the three major projects of Vision 2030.

Covering 334 square kilometers, about 2.5 times the size of Walt Disney World, Qiddiya will shape Saudi Arabia’s multi-sector economy, help secure sustainable growth and improve the quality of services to citizens.

Qiddiya is one of the entertainment projects that will change investments in entertainment sector all around the world. QIC will allow the domestic economy to recapture a market share of billions of dollars spent annually by Saudis on foreign tourism. These funds will remain inside the country to be reinvested for the benefit of citizens.

Qiddiya CEO Michael Reininger explained that Qiddiya will be a fully independent entity, and will draft its own budget, aiming to move forward with this project that has the potential to enrich the lives of all Saudis.

“This step brings us closer to the day when we can satisfy the demand of a powerful and untapped Saudi market for new and accessible activities. It is for these future visitors – the nearly two thirds of the Kingdom’s population under 35, the more than 7 million people who reside within 40 kilometers of our location on the doorstep of Riyadh – that we at Qiddiya Investment Company aspire to build a better future filled with culture, sports, entertainment, and opportunity,” he said.

By the third phase of the project between 2026 and 2035, the entertainment city would have been established and will provide 11,000 housing units, in addition to the raise in gross domestic product, while the number of visitors to the entertainment city is expected to reach 31 million visitors.

Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) was established on May 10 2018 to lead the development of Qiddiya, a leading entertainment destination in Saudi Arabia, as a center for activities, discovery and participation.

Qiddiya is envisioned as a gigantic entertainment hub with facilities divided into six main components: amusement parks; sports tracks, auto and motorcycle racing areas on desert and asphalt tracks; indoor ski slopes and water parks; natural attractions; and cultural and heritage events. The project includes resorts, hotels, restaurants and residential units.

As a key component of Vision 2030, Qiddiya will provide many opportunities that contribute to economic diversification and enhance the quality of life for Saudi citizens. The project is located just 30 minutes from the capital, Riyadh, and laid its foundation stone in April 2018, and the first phase will be completed in 2022.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Oil Prices Climb after Declining for 4 Consecutive Sessions

FILE PHOTO: Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, after an attack by Houthi militants, on the Red Sea, September 12, 2024 in this handout image. EUNAVFOR ASPIDES/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, after an attack by Houthi militants, on the Red Sea, September 12, 2024 in this handout image. EUNAVFOR ASPIDES/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Oil Prices Climb after Declining for 4 Consecutive Sessions

FILE PHOTO: Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, after an attack by Houthi militants, on the Red Sea, September 12, 2024 in this handout image. EUNAVFOR ASPIDES/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, after an attack by Houthi militants, on the Red Sea, September 12, 2024 in this handout image. EUNAVFOR ASPIDES/Handout via REUTERS

Oil prices gained on Tuesday after declining for four consecutive sessions as investors awaited developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week after more supplies emerged through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

The Brent crude futures November contract rose $1.29, or 1.29%, to $101.63 a barrel at 0758 GMT. The WTI October contract, which expires on Tuesday, climbed 92 cents, or 0.96%, to $96.70 a barrel, Reuters reported.

The more actively traded November contract was up 80 cents, or 0.87%, at $93.17 a barrel.

Tehran and Washington exchanged threats on Sunday, though US President Donald Trump said he would be open to ⁠meeting Iranian President Masoud ⁠Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN meeting.

The rebound in crude suggests traders need fresh developments on supply risks or diplomatic efforts before pushing prices materially lower, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

Over the weekend, Iran also reportedly conveyed its conditions to mediators for re-engaging in negotiations.

"Oil exports from the Middle East have recovered but remain well below pre-conflict averages," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Hansen said he does not see much further downside in oil prices until there is increased supply through the Strait of Hormuz, particularly refined products, where the real crunch remains.

Separately, an armed group closed valve seven on Libya's Sharara crude pipeline to Zawiya port on Monday, resulting in a significant decline in production at the Sharara oilfield, Libya's National Oil Corporation said in a statement.

Production at the field has fallen by around 200,000 barrels per day and is currently between 100,000 and 105,000 bpd, two engineers at the field told Reuters.

 

Business

Binance Reportedly Under US Scrutiny Over Possible Iran Sanctions Violations

FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT
TT

Binance Reportedly Under US Scrutiny Over Possible Iran Sanctions Violations

FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

US federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance violated sanctions on Iran by failing to prevent certain trading activity on its platform, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Here are a few details:

The probe is being led by the Manhattan US attorney's office, with the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington ⁠also involved, Bloomberg News ⁠reported, adding that authorities are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed the trading.

Binance said in a statement that it has a zero-tolerance approach to sanctions violations. "We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and ⁠we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors."

The DOJ declined to comment to Reuters, while the Manhattan US attorney's office could not immediately be reached for a comment outside regular business hours.

Binance has faced US scrutiny in the past. In 2023, Binance's then-chief Changpeng Zhao stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking US ⁠anti-money ⁠laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion settlement resolving a years-long probe into the world's largest crypto exchange.

The US government earlier this month imposed sanctions on firms and individuals it says are helping Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East, intensifying its campaign to isolate Iran economically.

Business

World Bank, IMF Back Changes to Debt Framework for Poor Countries

01 November 2009, US, Washington: The logo of the World Bank is seen at the headquarters in Washington. (dpa)
01 November 2009, US, Washington: The logo of the World Bank is seen at the headquarters in Washington. (dpa)
TT
TT

World Bank, IMF Back Changes to Debt Framework for Poor Countries

01 November 2009, US, Washington: The logo of the World Bank is seen at the headquarters in Washington. (dpa)
01 November 2009, US, Washington: The logo of the World Bank is seen at the headquarters in Washington. (dpa)

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund said on Monday that both their executive boards had approved proposed reforms of their joint framework for evaluating the debt of low-income countries to reflect a more complex and riskier environment.

A joint review, the first since 2017, recommended changes in several areas, including beefing up the analysis of domestic debt held by poor countries, and broadening consideration of long-term development challenges, including climate change. It stopped short of calling for a wholesale redesign.

The reforms are intended to refine how the IMF and World Bank measure a country's debt-carrying capacity and provide new tools to better differentiate between countries facing some risk of debt stress and those whose debt is deemed unsustainable.

The World Bank and IMF said they would also work ‌to enhance the tools ‌and stress tests used to ensure the consistency and accuracy of forecasts, while ‌encouraging ⁠countries to improve reporting ⁠and transparency of their debt data. They left the discount rate used in making assessments unchanged at 5%.

"Overall, our goal is a very practical one. It is to help countries identify vulnerabilities earlier and also more precisely, so that they can make better-informed financing choices and better-informed policy choices," said Allison Holland, who worked on the new debt sustainability framework and now serves as deputy director in the IMF's African Department.

Holland said recent shocks had reversed improvements in the debt landscape seen since 2021, taking the number of countries at high risk or already in debt distress back ⁠to pre-pandemic levels.

"Around 14% of low-income countries are in debt distress, and another 33% ‌are at high risk. About 23% of emerging market countries are at ‌high risk of overall sovereign stress," she said.

The revised framework could help inform a debt restructuring requested earlier this month ‌by Senegal in exchange for a $2.2 billion IMF bailout two years after a hidden debt scandal that pushed ‌it into crisis. The IMF has said it will assess Senegal's debt sustainability using the current framework, "while taking into account the implications of the transition" to the new one.

The IMF has not provided details on how the revised framework — with consideration of domestic debt — could affect Senegal's debt restructuring.

TAKING EFFECT IN SECOND HALF OF 2027

The changes, which will become operational in the second half ‌of 2027, should help countries better assess how much they can invest in needed development and climate adaptation measures while containing debt vulnerabilities over the long ⁠term, the IMF and World ⁠Bank said.

A review completed in July confirmed that the debt sustainability framework, first introduced in 2005, had worked well to identify debt distress episodes ahead of time and help countries make informed borrowing and lending decisions.

But it recommended changes to account for higher debt levels in many low-income countries and a shift in financing sources to include more domestic and external borrowing on commercial terms. The IMF and World Bank have a separate framework for assessing the debt sustainability of advanced and emerging market economies that will be reviewed in coming years.

The IMF said near- and medium-term economic projections that feed into the analyses had generally been reliable, but longer-term forecasts of exports and revenues had shown some "optimism bias" and left data gaps, including for state-owned enterprises.

The new framework introduces a long-term module to add granularity to risk assessments, as well as specific thresholds for overall public debt stress.

But IMF board members agreed to temporarily hold off publishing the models used to assess unsustainable debt to give time to adjust to the new methodologies. Stand-alone staff notes would be used to share data with the board for now, it said.