Saudi Arabia Signs Cooperation Agreements to Develop Contracting Sector

The opening ceremony of the FPF saw the signing of several MOUs with the Saudi Contractors Authority. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The opening ceremony of the FPF saw the signing of several MOUs with the Saudi Contractors Authority. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs Cooperation Agreements to Develop Contracting Sector

The opening ceremony of the FPF saw the signing of several MOUs with the Saudi Contractors Authority. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The opening ceremony of the FPF saw the signing of several MOUs with the Saudi Contractors Authority. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majed Al-Hogail said that the Future Projects Forum (FPF) will contribute to raising the efficiency and competitiveness of contractors and enable them to keep pace with the latest technologies to implement development projects within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The Forum, which kicked off in Riyadh on Monday, will also enhance communication between the local and international public and private sectors, according to the minister.

Secretary-General of the Saudi Contractors Authority Thabet Al-Sweid said the FPF, which extends over three days, would feature various projects pertaining to oil and gas and others within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

He added that the virtual conference is attended by more than 10,000 local and foreign contractors and stakeholders, in addition to 39 entities, including ministries and companies, such as Aramco, SABIC, the Red Sea Project and Amaala.

The director of Mega Projects at SABIC, Dhaifallah Al-Maliki, noted that the company was seeking to support contractors in raising the quality of projects in terms of safety and execution speed.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on all sectors, Maliki said, stressing that SABIC has contributed to fighting its repercussions out of its social responsibility, with a budget equivalent of 123 million riyals.

The company has also encouraged local contractors to enhance their participation in the local content and contribute to the implementation of the best standards in the economic activity.

For his part, Khaled Al-Saif, Chairman of the Saudi Contractors Authority, said that the forum aims to raise the efficiency and competitiveness of contractors, and to keep pace with the technical requirements and capabilities necessary to implement future projects within Saudi Vision 2030.

Amaala, a premium tourist project that extends along the northwest coast of the Kingdom, signed an MOU with the Saudi Contractors Authority, to cooperate in several areas, including the establishment of an electronic platform for project sharing.

The opening ceremony of the FPF saw the signing of several MOUs with the Saudi Contractors Authority, including an agreement with the Center for Legal Studies and Research to activate joint cooperation between the two sides.



Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
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Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, anchored by stability in European equities and US stock futures, a day after bullion's sharp decline amid a tech-led selloff.

Spot gold was steady at $2,742.37 per ounce by 12:05 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,746.70.

"After the drop yesterday, with gold likely being used to cover losses in other asset classes, stable equity markets in Europe are keeping gold stable too," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, Reuters reported.

Gold fell over 1% on Monday, marking its steepest drop since Dec. 18, as investors rushed to liquidate bullion to offset losses triggered by a sharp pullback in technology stocks, spurred by DeepSeek's low-cost, low-power AI model, casting doubt on the dominance of traditional AI giants.

Investors' focus is now set upon the Federal Reserve's first meeting this year, scheduled to start later in the day.

Policymakers are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the end of the two-day meeting.

However, US President Donald Trump saying he wants borrowing costs to be lowered cast some doubt over the independence of the Fed's decision.

"Market uncertainty should still support demand for gold over the coming months, we still look for higher prices later this year, driven also by further rate cuts by the Fed," Staunovo added.

Trump's policies, in addition to being perceived as inflationary, could potentially trigger trade wars, increasing safe-haven demand for bullion.

Gold prices look set for a record-breaking year due to heightened economic uncertainty and inflation concerns, a Reuters poll showed.

However, analysts downgraded their 2025 price forecasts for platinum and palladium as demand struggles to improve significantly.

Spot silver fell 0.1% to $30.17 per ounce, palladium was down by 0.1% to $959.75 and platinum also shed 0.1% to $946.05.