Saudi General Investment Authority Launches Venture Capital Platform

Guests at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh. (SPA)
Guests at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh. (SPA)
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Saudi General Investment Authority Launches Venture Capital Platform

Guests at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh. (SPA)
Guests at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh. (SPA)

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) launched on Wednesday VENTURE by Invest Saudi, a new initiative aimed at attracting global venture capital firms to the Kingdom, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

Sultan Mofti, SAGIA’s Deputy Governor of Investment Attraction and Development, said: “The economic and social transformation of Saudi Arabia is taking place at a rapid pace, guided by Vision 2030. The continued prosperity of the Kingdom depends on fostering innovation, attracting foreign investment and enabling private sector growth.”

“Across the globe, venture capital firms are key to nurturing entrepreneurship, promoting innovation, and unlocking value.”

Launched at the Financial Sector Conference taking place in Riyadh, the VENTURE by Invest Saudi platform will also provide streamlined licensing procedures for venture capital portfolio companies.

Offering an “instant license” in under three hours, VENTURE by Invest Saudi will enable companies to more easily tap into the Saudi market. So far, more than 20 venture capital firms have signed agreements under the VENTURE by Invest Saudi platform, representing the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Kuwait and a number of other countries.



Norway Wealth Fund Divests from Israel's Bezeq over West Bank Settlements

FILE PHOTO: A view of new buildings around the Israeli settlement Talmon B near the Palestinian town of Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of new buildings around the Israeli settlement Talmon B near the Palestinian town of Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman/File Photo
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Norway Wealth Fund Divests from Israel's Bezeq over West Bank Settlements

FILE PHOTO: A view of new buildings around the Israeli settlement Talmon B near the Palestinian town of Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of new buildings around the Israeli settlement Talmon B near the Palestinian town of Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman/File Photo

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, has sold all of its shares in Israel's Bezeq as it provides telecoms services to the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, it said late on Tuesday.
The decision comes after the fund's ethics watchdog, the Council on Ethics, adopted a new, tougher interpretation of ethics standards for businesses that aid Israel's operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Reuters reported.
Bezeq is Israel's largest telecoms group.
"The company, through its physical presence and provision of telecom services to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, is helping to facilitate the maintenance and expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law," the Council on Ethics said in its recommendation to divest.
"By doing so the company is itself contributing to the violation of international law," it added.
The watchdog said it noted that the company had said it was also providing telecoms services to Palestinian areas in the West Bank, but that did not outweigh the fact that it was also providing services to Israeli settlements.
The watchdog makes recommendations to the board of the Norwegian central bank, which has the final say on divestments.
The fund has now sold all its stock in the company.