French Companies Seek to Invest in Saudi Tourism, Food Sectors

Cars drive past the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
Cars drive past the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
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French Companies Seek to Invest in Saudi Tourism, Food Sectors

Cars drive past the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
Cars drive past the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

A number of specialized companies and businessmen in France are seeking to enter the Saudi market through investments in the sectors of tourism, food, and some different industries.

According to the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce, interested companies have started collecting information about procedures that allow them to invest in the Kingdom.

They have appointed economic consultants to carry out feasibility studies and determine the targeted sectors and the appropriate mechanisms, taking advantage of the diversity of opportunities available at this stage.

In parallel, the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - issued recently - revealed the rise in foreign direct investment flows in Saudi Arabia by 7 percent for the second year in a row to reach $4.6 billion despite the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The report noted that the Kingdom represented one of the main destinations for foreign direct investment in the West Asia region, with its acquisition of the majority of inflows in the past year, before the current economic downturn began as a result of the pandemic.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Secretary-General of the Arab-French Chamber, Dr. Saleh al-Tayyar, said that a number of major companies in France and abroad were preparing for the post-coronavirus phase.

He added that French companies and businessmen were interested in investing in the Saudi market, and were studying the mechanisms and the relevant financial obligations.

Tayyar also emphasized that the Kingdom was proceeding according to a clear methodology and strong and promising development plans, despite the circumstances that the world is going through as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia’s policies have managed to curb the repercussions of the pandemic on the national economy and have become a source for attracting foreign investments.



IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
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IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa

The International Monetary Fund expects to have to provide up to $50 billion in immediate financial assistance to countries affected by the Middle East war, its managing director said on Thursday, with the crisis likely to have lasting economic effects.

"Given the spillovers of the Middle East war, we expect near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to rise to somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, with the lower bound prevailing if the ceasefire holds," Kristalina Georgieva said, according to prepared remarks shared with AFP.

She added that food insecurity due to transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the war was expected to affect at least 45 million people.

"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," she said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold on Thursday.

The IMF will pare its global growth forecast for 2026 based on the impact of the crisis, with spiraling energy costs hitting some vulnerable economies harder than others.

Georgieva said that even in the Fund's "most hopeful scenario," infrastructure damage, supply disruptions and a loss of market confidence among other "scarring effects" meant growth would be less than expected.

She highlighted the "asymmetric" effects of the crisis, hitting low-income energy importers with limited fiscal space much harder than others.

"Spare a thought for the Pacific Island nations at the end of a long supply chain, wondering if fuel will still reach them in the wake of such a severe disruption," she said.


Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
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Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field signed a 15-year deal to sell natural gas to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, one of the ⁠partners in Aphrodite said on ⁠Thursday.

NewMed Energy said a binding term sheet was signed for ⁠the sale of all of the natural gas quantities recoverable from the Aphrodite reservoir with the national Egyptian gas company.

The term could ⁠be ⁠extended by another five years, Reuters quoted it as saying.

Last month, Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework agreement for cooperation on gas.


Simsek: Türkiye Ready with Other Measures if War Shock Persists

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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Simsek: Türkiye Ready with Other Measures if War Shock Persists

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

The impact on Türkiye's economy of the conflict in the Middle East may be temporary and reversible if the recent ceasefire holds, and authorities are ready with a different set of tools if the shock persists, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

In an interview on broadcaster Haberturk, Simsek ⁠said authorities are prepared ⁠with a new response beyond steps already taken if the newly agreed US-Iran ceasefire does not hold.

According to Reuters, he did not detail the potential response but said authorities' "main scenario" was for a month-long ⁠war, adding that a three-month conflict would be bad.

This week's ceasefire has mostly halted the more than five-week war that gripped the Middle East and sent energy prices soaring, although Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing the deal.

Simsek said the central bank's reserves had fallen by $48.7 billion since ⁠the ⁠war began and that some $162 billion remained. They will rebound to pre-crisis levels once the war ends, he said.

If the ceasefire does not hold, he said, the risks included global recession and stagflation, and in any case it would likely take months for disrupted global supply chains to return to pre-war levels.