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Al-Falih: We Have Quadrupled Foreign Investment Flows

25 May 2022, Switzerland, Davos: Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, speaks during the "Saudi Arabia Outlook" session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. (World Economic Forum/dpa)
25 May 2022, Switzerland, Davos: Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, speaks during the "Saudi Arabia Outlook" session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. (World Economic Forum/dpa)
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Al-Falih: We Have Quadrupled Foreign Investment Flows

25 May 2022, Switzerland, Davos: Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, speaks during the "Saudi Arabia Outlook" session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. (World Economic Forum/dpa)
25 May 2022, Switzerland, Davos: Khalid al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, speaks during the "Saudi Arabia Outlook" session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. (World Economic Forum/dpa)

It might seem somewhat strange for one of the biggest electric car producers to open a factory in one of the world’s major oil-producing countries, but it actually boils down to the story of the most exciting economic transformation of the 21st century.

“It is one of the most exciting projects for us, and a project that I am personally proud of,” said Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih about Lucid Motors opening a factory for assembling electric automobiles in Saudi Arabia.

During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, al-Falih said that he expects the size of the Saudi economy to grow to between $1.7 and $1.8 trillion by 2030, placing Saudi Arabia among the 15 largest economies in the world.

Al-Falih praised significant improvement in the performance of investment indicators. He pointed out the doubling of foreign direct investment flows by about four times in recent years.

The minister highlighted the series of reforms pursued by Saudi Arabia in its business environment and investment systems.

He also revealed that Saudi Arabia aims to attract more than $100 billion in foreign investments by 2030.

A trillion dollar economy

Voicing great optimism about economic growth in the Kingdom, al-Falih said the Saudi economy is on the right path to cross the threshold of one trillion dollars in 2022, compared to about $650 billion before launching its national economic transformation plan Vision 2030.

In addition to economic growth, he stressed the importance of examining the composition of the Saudi economy.

“The oil and gas sector will remain important during the next three decades and will continue to grow, but its contribution to the economy will decline,” he went on to say.

“The year 2021, for example, witnessed a growth of non-oil activities by 6%, while the growth of oil activities amounted to about 0.2% due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” he added.

Promising sectors

The minister expected non-oil industries to grow significantly in the coming years, pointing out that the contribution of the tourism sector, for example, to the gross domestic product will exceed 10% by 2030.

Al-Falih believes that the growth of new and promising sectors would contribute to stimulating investment in entire value chains, such as: tourism, hotels, entertainment, retail, logistics, culture, and others.

He shed light on the importance of the information technology sector, adding that it is expected to witness significant growth in coming years.

“As a sector in itself, it provides infrastructure that serves all other sectors,” said the minister, citing the two examples of financial technology (Fintech) and e-commerce.

Moreover, al-Falih highlighted the importance of the logistics sector as one of the promising sectors in the plan for growth and diversification of the Saudi economy.

He predicted that significant investments will be made in this sector, which includes several areas such as transporting people, goods, and commodities, and distributing parcels by air, sea, and land.

Al-Falih also believes that the value chains associated with the health sector are “very large,” and include scientific research, entrepreneurship, health technology, and others.

The official pointed to some other sectors that will play a pivotal role in supporting growth. They include education, modern agriculture, and water.

“We traditionally view them as a burden on the state, but this will transform as they witness privatization, and become attractive to investment. This will allow these sectors to generate their own revenue,” al-Falih told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Renewable energy

Despite predicting a growing demand for oil and gas on a world scale, al-Falih explained that the new restructuring of the Saudi economy necessitates the growth of renewable energy at a rate greater than oil and gas.

Renewable energy sources, whether solar or wind, aim to produce electricity with a capacity that meets 50% of domestic demand in the medium term, clarified al-Falih, adding that there are plans for converting it into energy for export through interconnection cables .

Factors encouraging investment

Al-Falih underscored the important role played by private investments, part of which is led by the Public Investment Fund, in developing economic sectors.

The minister considered that the regulatory environment may be the first obstacle to foreign investment in some sectors, pointing to the most prominent reforms that have been pursued in terms of improving the investment atmosphere.

“We have made it possible for foreign investors to have full ownership of businesses in most sectors, access investment opportunities and conclude partnerships with Saudi investors if they wish to do so,” said al-Falih.

“We have also facilitated entering the Saudi market and obtaining licenses,” he added.

Al-Falih said his ministry is working today to ensure clarity and transparency in all sectoral strategies which are available online in both Arabic and English.

“I am proud that we have been able to multiply foreign investment flows in the Kingdom by about four-fold in recent years (from about $ 5 billion to $ 20 billion in 2021),” he remarked.

He revealed that Saudi Arabia aims to attract more than $100 billion in foreign investments by 2030, pointing out that work is in full swing to enhance investment incentives in non-traditional knowledge-based sectors (such as health technology, education and modern agriculture), by strengthening digital infrastructure, talent development, and research.

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Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.

Business

Aljadaan: Emerging Markets Account for 70% of Global Growth

Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
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Aljadaan: Emerging Markets Account for 70% of Global Growth

Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat
Al-Jadaan speaking to the attendees at the "AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies" (Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan stressed Sunday that the world economy is going through a “profound transition,” saying emerging markets and developing economies now account for nearly 60 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in purchasing power terms and over 70 percent of global growth.

In his opening remarks at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the IMF in AlUla, the minister said these economies have become an increasingly important driver of global growth with their share of global economy more than doubling since 2010.

“Today, the 10 emerging economies in the G20 alone account for more than half of the world growth. Yet, they face a more complex and fragmented environment, elevated debt levels, slower trade growth and increasing exposure to geopolitical shocks.”

“Unfortunately, more than half of low income countries are either in or at the risk of debt distress. At the same time global trade growth has slowed at around half of what it was pre the pandemic,” Aljadaan added.

The Finance Minister stressed that the Saudi experience over the past decade has reinforced three lessons that may be relevant to the discussions at the two-day conference, which brings together a select group of ministers and central bank governors, leaders of international organizations, leading investors and academics.

“First, macroeconomic stability is not the enemy of growth. It is actually the foundation,” he said.

“Structural reforms deliver results only when institutions deliver. So there is no point of reforming ... if the institutions are unable to deliver,” he stated.

Finally, he said that “international cooperation matters more, not less, in a fragmented world.”

Business

Georgieva from AlUla: Growth Still Lacks Pre-pandemic Levels

Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Georgieva from AlUla: Growth Still Lacks Pre-pandemic Levels

Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kristalina Georgieva speaking to attendees at the second edition of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Sunday that world growth still lacks pre-pandemic levels, expressing concern as she expected more shocks amid high spending and rising debt levels in many countries.

Georgieva spoke at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the IMF in AlUla.

The two-day conference brings together a select group of ministers and central bank governors, leaders of international organizations, leading investors and academics to deliberate on policies to global stability, prosperity, and multilateral collaboration.

Georgieva said that the conference was launched last year in recognition of the growing role of emerging market economies in a world of sweeping transformations.

“I came out of this gathering .... With a sense of hope for the pragmatic attitude and determination to pursue good policies and build strong institutions,” she said.

Georgieva stressed that “good policies pay off,” and said that growth rates across emerging economies reached four percent this year, exceeding by a large margin those of advanced economies that are around 1.5 percent.