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KSA: Group of Investors Briefed on 100 Privatization Opportunities

KSA: Group of Investors Briefed on 100 Privatization Opportunities
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KSA: Group of Investors Briefed on 100 Privatization Opportunities

KSA: Group of Investors Briefed on 100 Privatization Opportunities

Saudi Arabia has hosted a huge banking and investment group in Riyadh, including 67 banks and financial companies that were briefed on up to 100 potential privatization opportunities in the Saudi public sector.

Spokesman of the National Center For Privatization (NCP) Hani al-Sayegh noted that the center is exploring more opportunities that can be privatized in government institutions.

There is a list of 100 current opportunities, he added, saying that the access of giant investment firms to privatization and the public-private partnership has been facilitated.

The gathering encompassed a number of executive managers of local and international banks as well as financial companies operating in the kingdom. Representatives of 67 commercial and investment banks and financial firms also attended.

This meeting showcased current investment opportunities to be issued from sectors targeted with privatization. It also shed light on the features and components of these sectors and presented the NCP’s plans to attract international and local investors to take part in the privatization opportunities.

Sayegh affirmed that convening with banks and financial companies is vital because of their role as partners in boosting privatization and public-private partnership via funding, consultations, and producing innovative financial products.

He stressed that banks play a positive role in stimulating international and local investments, introducing new prospects in the national economy, and upgrading services provided to citizens and residents.

Sayegh said this was the third meeting for NCP with the business sector since the beginning of the year. The first was with businessmen in a number of commercial chambers in the kingdom and then with businessmen in Eastern Province.

The center aims to hold meetings with various business sectors to establish a knowledge base for the private sector and to support public-private partnerships, in addition to supporting privatization opportunities.

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Business

G7 Energy Ministers Confirm Readiness to Release Oil Stockpiles

Out of service signs are pictured on unleaded petrol and diesel fuel pumps at a petrol service station in Cambridge, eastern England on March 09, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Out of service signs are pictured on unleaded petrol and diesel fuel pumps at a petrol service station in Cambridge, eastern England on March 09, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
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G7 Energy Ministers Confirm Readiness to Release Oil Stockpiles

Out of service signs are pictured on unleaded petrol and diesel fuel pumps at a petrol service station in Cambridge, eastern England on March 09, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Out of service signs are pictured on unleaded petrol and diesel fuel pumps at a petrol service station in Cambridge, eastern England on March 09, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Energy ministers from the Group of Seven nations confirmed readiness to ⁠take necessary steps to support ⁠global energy supplies, ⁠including possible joint release of strategic oil stockpiles, Japan's Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa told a ⁠briefing on ⁠Tuesday.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) hosted a meeting of G7 energy ministers at its headquarters in Paris, chaired by Minister Roland Lescure of France, which holds the G7 presidency.

At the virtual meeting, the agency provided an update on its view of the situation in global oil and gas markets, which have been significantly affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

Lescure said the group is prepared to release emergency stockpiles if required.

“We are ready to take the necessary measures, including drawing on strategic reserves to stabilize the market,” Lescure said.

“We are not there yet,” he told reporters in Brussels, after hosting a meeting of G7 finance ministers.

“We are monitoring the markets, the impact on the macroeconomy but also on our citizens,” he said, adding that coordination among major economies remains central to the response.

“Everyone is willing to take measures to stabilize the market, including the US,” Lescure said.

“We have asked the IEA to elaborate scenarios for a potential oil stock release, we need to be ready to act at any moment,” he added.

For its part, the agency said in a statement, “We discussed all the available options, including making IEA emergency oil stocks available to the market. IEA Member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.”

European governments are on edge about the prospect of a repeat of the energy crisis they faced in 2022 after Russia ⁠invaded Ukraine, when prices surged to record peaks, forcing some industries to shut down operations.

The EU imports more than 90% of its oil and around 80% of its gas, making European countries highly ⁠exposed to fluctuations in global oil and gas prices.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is due to propose measures to tackle the politically sensitive issue at an EU summit next week.

Being “completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports” of fossil fuels puts Europe at a disadvantage to other regions, von der Leyen said in a speech.

“Developments in the Middle East remind us once again of the risks of relying still too much on fossil fuels,” von der Leyen said, adding that reducing Europe's nuclear energy sector was a “strategic mistake.”

On Tuesday, the EU called on member states to help consumers and businesses by lowering taxes on energy where possible, as war in the Middle East saw oil and gas prices surge.

“If you are at all able to lower taxes on energy, especially on electricity, there is a huge potential” to reduce consumer bills, EU's energy chief Dan Jorgensen said at Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Jorgensen said cutting taxes could help ease the financial burden on households as rising energy costs continue to affect consumers across the union.

According to the European Commission Joint Research Center, around 48 million people in Europe, roughly one in ten, cannot afford to heat their homes adequately.

Business

CEO: Exxon Evacuated Non-essential Middle East Staff

An Exxon gas station sign in Dallas, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
An Exxon gas station sign in Dallas, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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CEO: Exxon Evacuated Non-essential Middle East Staff

An Exxon gas station sign in Dallas, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
An Exxon gas station sign in Dallas, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Exxon Mobil has evacuated non-essential employees from its operations in the Middle East, CEO Darren Woods said in an interview on Tuesday, as the US-Israel war on Iran continues.

Some operations have been scaled back to manage oil inventory levels as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been challenged, he said. ⁠Exxon is a ⁠minority partner in oil and gas projects in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

"Our first and highest priority is making sure our people remain safe, and we evacuated folks who weren't critical or essential to the operations that we were providing support for," Reuters quoted Woods as saying.

Traffic ⁠through the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway between Iran and Oman that sees one-fifth of the world's oil supply pass through it, has effectively halted after Iran threatened to attack tankers that attempt to pass.

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.

With exports strained, oil producers have ⁠cut output ⁠at some oilfields as storage capacity runs out.

"The ability to manage ... inventory becomes very challenged, and many of the operations are pulling back simply to manage inventory levels as the logistics in the supply chain and the flow through the Strait get worked (through) with time," Woods said.

About 20% of Exxon's oil and gas production is in the Middle East, according to analysts from Jefferies. Nearly 60% of the US oil major's liquefied natural gas business is concentrated in the region, according to TD Cowen.

Business

EU Opposes Removing Oil Sanctions on Russia to Cool Energy Prices

Pumpjacks operated by Aera Energy work the wells at the Midway-Sunset field near Taft in Kern County, California, on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Pumpjacks operated by Aera Energy work the wells at the Midway-Sunset field near Taft in Kern County, California, on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
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EU Opposes Removing Oil Sanctions on Russia to Cool Energy Prices

Pumpjacks operated by Aera Energy work the wells at the Midway-Sunset field near Taft in Kern County, California, on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Pumpjacks operated by Aera Energy work the wells at the Midway-Sunset field near Taft in Kern County, California, on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said Tuesday the European Union did not support removing sanctions on Russian oil despite soaring energy prices, AFP reported.

"We must continue to exert maximum pressure on Russia," he said when asked about US President Donald Trump's announcement he will waive some sanctions on oil, warning easing restrictions would "reinforce Russia's capacity to wage war, undermining Ukraine".