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'Artificial Intelligence' Will Drive Global Economic Growth, Sharjah FDI Forum 2019

Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr. Sultan al-Qasimi during the inauguration of the Foreign Direct Investment Forum on Monday, November 11, 2019, in the presence of UAE Minister of Economy Sultan al-Mansouri (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr. Sultan al-Qasimi during the inauguration of the Foreign Direct Investment Forum on Monday, November 11, 2019, in the presence of UAE Minister of Economy Sultan al-Mansouri (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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'Artificial Intelligence' Will Drive Global Economic Growth, Sharjah FDI Forum 2019

Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr. Sultan al-Qasimi during the inauguration of the Foreign Direct Investment Forum on Monday, November 11, 2019, in the presence of UAE Minister of Economy Sultan al-Mansouri (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr. Sultan al-Qasimi during the inauguration of the Foreign Direct Investment Forum on Monday, November 11, 2019, in the presence of UAE Minister of Economy Sultan al-Mansouri (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Topics on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence dominated discussions in the fifth edition of the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Forum, 2019.

Participants in the forum stressed the importance of applying these trends in the process of stimulating foreign investments and attracting capital.

Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, Supreme Council member, inaugurated the forum on Monday under the theme “Future Trends in Foreign Direct Investment.”

The forum aims at addressing the changes faced by the global economy through a series of factors that constitute the main drivers of future investment trends.

These include applications of the fourth industrial revolution, environmental sustainability and renewable energy, the future of financial technology, sources of finance to accelerate the companies’ sustainable growth, the future of digital technologies and their impact on the global economy and the future of education and rehabilitation cadres to promote digital growth.

The fifth edition of the annual event has attracted more than 54 corporate business leaders, public sector representatives and government officials from across the region and the world, and 1,500 participants.

All will attend 12 sessions, including eight dialogue sessions, four private sessions, five workshops and a Dubai Financial Market (DFM) forum on the IPO.

UAE Minister of Economy Eng. Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said his country has attained a good rise in the cumulative foreign investment balance by the end of 2018, which exceeded $140.3 billion by eight percent.

He added that the UAE was ranked the second place globally in signing of international bilateral investment agreements, and third in the world with regard to new FDI projects announced.

Referring to the forum’s theme, the Minister highlighted that advancing the UAE’s digital economy was among the top KPIs for UAE Vision 2021 as well as that of 2071.

“The 2018 FDI law offered us a big jump in FDI inflows. We attracted more than 122 foreign direct investments in a variety of sectors including agriculture, renewable energy, and others.”

Over the past 20 years, the world has witnessed rapid and qualitative leaps due to the progressive development of technologies, said Marwan bin Jassim al-Sarkal, executive chairman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

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Business

Saudi Aramco Reportedly Sells Oil from Jafurah Field as Huge Project Starts

Saudi Aramco's Jafurah project. Photo: Aramco
Saudi Aramco's Jafurah project. Photo: Aramco
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Saudi Aramco Reportedly Sells Oil from Jafurah Field as Huge Project Starts

Saudi Aramco's Jafurah project. Photo: Aramco
Saudi Aramco's Jafurah project. Photo: Aramco

Saudi Aramco sold oil from its $100 billion Jafurah project in the first reported export from the massive natural gas development, Bloomberg reported.

Jafurah is Aramco’s first unconventional field, developed using the type of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, techniques pioneered in the US shale patch.

The deposit, which Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser calls the company’s crown jewel, will produce massive amounts of natural gas once at capacity, expected in 2030. It also has plentiful volume of liquid fuels that will boost the company’s returns, Nasser has said.

The oil that Aramco sold is condensate, a light oil liquid that’s often found in gas deposits, according to traders with knowledge of the purchases. It will go to buyers in Asia for loading later this month or in early March, Bloomberg quoted the traders as saying.

Business

Industry Ministry: Saudi Arabia Saw 220% Surge in Mining Licenses in 2025

The surge highlights the appeal of the mining investment environment in the Kingdom. SPA
The surge highlights the appeal of the mining investment environment in the Kingdom. SPA
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Industry Ministry: Saudi Arabia Saw 220% Surge in Mining Licenses in 2025

The surge highlights the appeal of the mining investment environment in the Kingdom. SPA
The surge highlights the appeal of the mining investment environment in the Kingdom. SPA

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced record growth in the number of new mining exploitation licenses issued in 2025, showing a remarkable increase of 220% compared to 2024.

The surge highlights the appeal of the mining investment environment and the ministry's ongoing efforts to promote the exploration and utilization of the Kingdom's mineral resources, which are valued at over SAR9.4 trillion.

Jarrah Al-Jarrah, the ministry’s spokesperson, revealed that total investment in these new licensing projects has exceeded SAR44 billion, focused on the extraction of high-quality mineral ores, including gold and phosphate.

Al-Jarrah emphasized that the ministry is dedicated to facilitating mining investments and streamlining the process for both local and international investors, thereby supporting sector development and maximizing returns.

This effort aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to position mining as the third pillar of national industry and a key contributor to economic diversification.

The Saudi mining sector made significant progress in the 2024 annual survey of mining companies conducted by the Fraser Institute of Canada.

The Kingdom improved its position in the Mining Investment Attractiveness Index, moving up from 114th place in 2013 to 23rd place globally. This achievement underscores the effectiveness of regulatory and legislative reforms within the sector.

Business

UK Economy Barely Grew in Q4 as Budget Uncertainty Weighed

The financial district of the City of London (Reuters)
The financial district of the City of London (Reuters)
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UK Economy Barely Grew in Q4 as Budget Uncertainty Weighed

The financial district of the City of London (Reuters)
The financial district of the City of London (Reuters)

Britain's economy barely grew in the final quarter of 2025 as activity fared worse than initially estimated during the run-up to finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget, official figures showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.1% in the October-to-December period, the same slow pace as in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists polled by Reuters, as well as the Bank of England, had forecast 0.2% fourth-quarter growth compared with the ‌previous three months.

The ‌period was marked by rampant speculation about tax increases ‌ahead ⁠of Reeves' budget ⁠on November 26. The ONS revised down monthly GDP data for the three months to November to show a 0.1% contraction rather than 0.1% growth.

Some more recent data have suggested that uncertainty has lifted for consumers and businesses.

"Looking at various surveys, there were some tentative signs that sentiment turned a corner and started to improve after the budget last year, which could help deliver a pick-up in activity this ⁠year," Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen, said.

"However, recent ‌political uncertainty may see that sentiment bounce reverse."

Prime ‌Minister Keir Starmer has had to fight to keep his grip on Downing Street this ‌week due to fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Thursday's figures underscored why ‌investors think that the Bank of England is more likely than not to cut interest rates again in March.

The monthly GDP data showed a sharp downward revision to growth.

The data suggested hesitancy on the part of businesses during the fourth quarter as their investment fell ‌by almost 3% - the biggest quarter-on-quarter drop since early 2021, driven largely by volatile transport investment.

Economist Thomas Pugh at ⁠tax and consultancy ⁠firm RSM said the overall weakness in business investment suggested budget uncertainty held back investment and spending.

Manufacturing was the biggest driver of the increase in output, despite the fact that car output was still recovering from September's cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover, while the dominant services sector was flat. Construction output contracted by 2.1%.

In 2025 as a whole, Britain's economy grew by an annual average 1.3%, the Office for National Statistics said, compared with 0.9% in France, 0.7% in Italy and 0.4% in Germany.

British economic growth per head contracted by 0.1% for a second quarter, although it rose by 1.0% for 2025 as a whole.

In December alone, the economy grew by 0.1%, the ONS said, as expected in the Reuters poll. That left the size of the economy back at its level of June 2025.