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Saudi Investment Opportunities in Vaccines, Vital Medicines Worth $3.4 Bn

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef at the London Metal Exchange (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef at the London Metal Exchange (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    London - Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Investment Opportunities in Vaccines, Vital Medicines Worth $3.4 Bn

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef at the London Metal Exchange (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef at the London Metal Exchange (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia announced substantial investment opportunities in vaccines and medicines worth $3.4 billion, aiming to realize the Kingdom's goals of achieving pharmaceutical and health security and making Saudi Arabia an important center for this promising industry.

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef explained that the ministry is keen to create an attractive investment environment in the country.

Khorayef was speaking at the Saudi British Business Council workshop in London, themed "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The Next Global Station for Mining," aimed at introducing investment opportunities in the mining sector.

Mining is the third pillar of the Saudi industrial growth plan, contributing to the gross domestic product of an estimated $64 billion by 2030.

The Minister explained that the ministry is working to provide an attractive investment environment, citing several vital initiatives for investors, including new regulations, which provide transparent and fair legal support for the investor to achieve maximum benefits from investing in mineral resources in the Kingdom.

Vast Opportunities

Chairman of the Saudi-British Business Council Sherard Cowper-Coles underlined that the next generation of the Kingdom's youth owes it to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the initiatives he launched, which led to a modern and open economy.

Cowper-Coles called on investors to visit the Kingdom, explore the environmental and cultural diversity and the available investment opportunities, visit the city of NEOM, and communicate with major Saudi national companies such as Aramco.

The Director of the Ministry's Office in London, Abdulaziz al-Ghifaili, reiterated that the Kingdom welcomes investors in all promising sectors, including the mining sector. He highlighted the incentives available to foreign investors, including the Invest in Saudi platform, which facilitates the investor's journey.

UK Visit

Saudi Arabia seeks to promote its vast capabilities of mineral resources and the industrial sector.

Khorayef met with several British investors to emphasize the importance of strengthening communication with the Kingdom to identify qualitative opportunities in the industrial and mining sectors and renewed his invitation to Riyadh's annual Future Minerals Forum.

The Minister met with the CEO of Arrival Corporation, Denis Lvovich Sverdlov, during which the two sides reviewed the organizational maturity in the industrial sector in the Kingdom, where the number of factories in the Kingdom exceeds 10,000 factories, with a total investment volume in the industrial sector of nearly $400 billion.

Khorayef also met with the Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia for Rolls-Royce, Patrick Régis, and the CEO of Reckitt, Laxman Narasimhan.

He also discussed with the CEO of Fitch Learning, Paul Taylor, al-Khorayef, the investment opportunities available in the industrial sector, with a volume of new investments over the past year of more than $20 billion.

He concluded his tour on the second day with a meeting with the CEO of INEOS, Hans Casier, and the CEO of Lucy Electric, John Griffiths.

The Saudi Minister invited companies in the United Kingdom to attend the Forum, stressing the Kingdom's keenness and great interest in promoting and attracting investments as it aims to exploit mineral wealth estimated at $1.3 trillion.

London Metal Exchange

Khorayef visited the London Metal Exchange during his tour in the UK with several heads of sectors of the industry and mining.

During the visit, Khorayef listened to an introduction about the stock exchange and its latest developments, the mechanism of buying and trading in the stock exchange, the critical metal storage sites, and the most prominent solutions applied to ensure a sustainable future.

Investing in vaccines

Saudi Arabia announced substantial investment opportunities in the manufacture of vaccines and vital medicines, with a value of 3.4 billion dollars, to achieve the country's goals of attaining pharmaceutical health security and making the Kingdom an important center for these promising industries.

The Minister stressed that the targeted pharmaceutical sectors, whose value exceeds $5 billion, will be implemented in several stages, starting with vaccines and vital medicines, as the first phase will focus on localizing vaccines, plasma, and insulin technologies.

Technology transfer

The Minister stressed the importance of transferring their full technologies to contribute mainly to building the Kingdom's capabilities in these sectors and achieving health and pharmaceutical security while reducing the high cost on the state budget.

Currently, the state imports 100 percent of vaccines and vital pharmaceutical products, while the essential medicines sector enjoys the fastest growth rate in the market among all pharmaceutical sectors, with an annual rate of 17 percent.

He said that the Manufacturing Vaccines and Vital Medicines Committee would focus in the first phase on localizing basic children's vaccines and building the necessary self-capacities and manufacturing platforms to combat future pandemics.

It will be followed by insulin production to treat diabetes patients and then support plasma collection centers with a world-class factory to achieve self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives.

Immunotherapy

The Minister explained that the second phase would focus on localizing immunological and cancer treatments technologies, where the size of this vital sector is estimated at more than $2 billion annually, of which insulin represents approximately $340 million.

The Minister explained that the Manufacturing Vaccines and Vital Medicines Committee aims to achieve positive results by identifying the best technologies in the field of vaccines and vital medicines, in which the Kingdom must invest to transfer and localize knowledge.

It seeks to build local industrial platforms with international specifications to enable the Kingdom to occupy its natural place as an industrial power and a logistical platform for vaccines and vital medicines in the Middle East and the Muslim countries.

The committee is working on organizing and developing vital medicines, setting a strategy for regulating the vaccines and essential medicines industry, related programs, and plans, supervising their implementation, setting rules and standards for building factories for vaccines and vital medicines, and taking all necessary procedures concerning the construction of those factories.

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Business

Tech Boom Powers China’s Factories but Economic Imbalances Deepen as Consumption Slows

People visit a cutting-edge technology festival at the Zhongguancun, a landmark park of Hi-tech enterprises in Beijing on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a cutting-edge technology festival at the Zhongguancun, a landmark park of Hi-tech enterprises in Beijing on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Tech Boom Powers China’s Factories but Economic Imbalances Deepen as Consumption Slows

People visit a cutting-edge technology festival at the Zhongguancun, a landmark park of Hi-tech enterprises in Beijing on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a cutting-edge technology festival at the Zhongguancun, a landmark park of Hi-tech enterprises in Beijing on September 12, 2026. (AFP)

China's industrial sector showed renewed strength in August as the AI-driven tech boom fueled factory output, though sluggish consumption and a worsening investment slump reinforced concerns over deepening economic imbalances.

Tuesday's data highlighted a familiar fault line in the world's second-largest economy, where resilient manufacturing and exports are sustaining growth even as weak household spending and a property market downturn weigh on domestic demand. The divergence is likely to intensify pressure on Beijing to roll out more support measures as policymakers seek a more balanced recovery.

Industrial output grew 5.2% from a year earlier in August, quickening from a 4.5% increase in July and beating expectations for a 4.8% rise, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Strong expansion in equipment and high-tech manufacturing underpinned the production upturn.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumer activity, ‌rose 0.4%, slowing from ‌a 0.6% gain in July and below an expected 0.8% rise.

Weak consumption and the ‌real ⁠estate market crisis ⁠dragged second-quarter gross domestic product growth to 4.3%, the slowest pace in more than three years and below the lower end of China's 4.5%-5.0% annual target.

"Barring an unexpectedly strong September, GDP growth will likely remain sluggish in the third quarter," said Lynn Song, ING's Greater China chief economist.

Oxford Economics lowered its 2026 growth forecast by 0.1 percentage point to 4.7% and cut next year's to 4.3%, from 4.6%, "reflecting a more prolonged property downturn which is likely to keep growth subdued despite stronger public investment," senior economist Sheana Yue said.

The data barely moved China's markets, leaving the key stock benchmarks down roughly 0.3% while the yuan weakened slightly against the dollar.

PROPERTY SLUMP, TECH BOOM

The ⁠latest data underscored the scale of the challenge facing policymakers as businesses remain reluctant to ‌commit new capital and the property market continues to sap consumption and restrain growth.

Fixed-asset ‌investment, which includes infrastructure and property investment, declined 7.2% in the first eight months, marking the steepest drop since April 2020.

Property investment dived ‌19.9% in the first eight months from the same period last year, and new home prices extended declines from the ‌previous month, signaling a housing market still trapped in a prolonged downturn.

Against that backdrop, strong exports driven by AI infrastructure spending and demand for advanced technology products are providing a critical buffer for growth.

Investment in high-tech industries expanded 5.2% in the January-to-August period, in keeping with the global AI boom. Output of lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots, for example, soared 57.2% and 34.6% year-on-year, respectively.

Behind the divide is a government push ‌to guide resources to the advanced manufacturing sector to reduce the economy's reliance on property and bolster technological self-sufficiency, but the surge in high-tech investment has yet to translate into stronger ⁠household incomes or greater ⁠job security.

The nationwide urban surveyed unemployment rate came in at 5.3% for August, edging up from 5.2% the previous month.

GOVERNMENT PLEDGES FISCAL SUPPORT

Factory activity improved last month, but it remained in contraction and services activity stayed sluggish. Weak domestic demand also weighed on credit growth, as new bank loans returned to positive territory but fell well short of analysts' forecasts after a record contraction in July.

Extreme weather likely remained a drag on activity. Four typhoons made landfall in China during August, disrupting operations in the east-coast manufacturing and logistics belt.

Growth also faces mounting external headwinds, including the Middle East conflict, elevated oil prices and a global tightening cycle that is keeping borrowing costs high.

"The external environment is complex and challenging, while domestic structural adjustment pressures persist, meaning sustained efforts are still needed to put the economy on a firmer growth trajectory," Fu Linghui, a spokesperson at the statistics bureau, told a briefing.

Beijing has responded to the challenges with faster government bond issuance and expanded loan interest subsidies for small private firms and consumers, while the central bank has pledged additional policy support without signaling explicit cuts to policy rates or banks' reserve-requirement ratio.

"Policymakers' reluctance to deploy a more forceful consumption-focused stimulus is likely to prolong the adjustment process," analysts at Barclays said in a note to clients.

Business

China’s Fossil-Fueled Power Output Falls 4.3% in August as Clean Energy Gains

This picture shows the construction site of the CNNC Tianwan Tidal Flat Photovoltaic Demonstration Project in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on September 15, 2026. (CN-STR / AFP)
This picture shows the construction site of the CNNC Tianwan Tidal Flat Photovoltaic Demonstration Project in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on September 15, 2026. (CN-STR / AFP)
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China’s Fossil-Fueled Power Output Falls 4.3% in August as Clean Energy Gains

This picture shows the construction site of the CNNC Tianwan Tidal Flat Photovoltaic Demonstration Project in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on September 15, 2026. (CN-STR / AFP)
This picture shows the construction site of the CNNC Tianwan Tidal Flat Photovoltaic Demonstration Project in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on September 15, 2026. (CN-STR / AFP)

China's fossil-fueled power generation fell 4.3% in August from a year earlier, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday, as rising hydropower, nuclear and renewable output cut into coal's share.

It was the second month in a row of declines for China's fossil-fueled or thermal power generation, which is mostly from coal with a small amount from natural gas.

"Power generation from coal and gas fell 4% in China in August, as solar and wind ‌covered all electricity ‌demand growth and hydropower and nuclear grew ‌as ⁠well," the Centre ⁠for Research on Energy and Clean Air co-founder Lauri Myllyvirta wrote in a LinkedIn post, adding that "wind power generation rebounded from the slump of the earlier months of the year."

Thermal electricity generation still rose 0.9% over the first eight months as a whole, dragged down by the earlier months ⁠of the year because of poor ‌wind speeds and maintenance at nuclear ‌units.

Hydropower volumes rose 2.8% in August and 7.8% over ‌the first eight months.

Nuclear power generation rose 9.4% ‌from a year earlier. Two new nuclear reactors, the Guangdong Taipingling nuclear power plant and unit 3 of the Changjiang nuclear power plant, started operations in August, according to state media. Over the first ‌eight months, it rose 1.6%.

China generated 943.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in August, down ⁠0.8% ⁠compared with the same period of last year, the statistics bureau figures also showed. However, the data reflects output from industrial enterprises with revenue above 20 million yuan ($2.98 million), so excludes some small-scale renewables and generally undercounts total power generation as well as wind and solar.

The data showed that solar and wind generation rose 10.3% and 7.9%, respectively, from a year earlier.

Over the first eight months as a whole, power generation reached 6.65 trillion kWh, up 2.4% compared with the same period of last year, the data showed.

Business

Morgan Stanley Turns More Hawkish, Forecasts Two Fed Hikes and ECB Move

The Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, DC, US, November 14, 2025. (Reuters)
The Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, DC, US, November 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Morgan Stanley Turns More Hawkish, Forecasts Two Fed Hikes and ECB Move

The Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, DC, US, November 14, 2025. (Reuters)
The Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, DC, US, November 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Morgan Stanley has joined other major Wall Street banks in adopting a more hawkish outlook on interest rates, forecasting US Federal Reserve rate hikes and another European Central Bank increase later this year as inflationary pressures persist.

The forecasts come ahead of policy decisions from the US Fed and the Bank of Japan this week, days after the ‌ECB resumed its tightening ‌cycle, keeping global markets focused on ‌the outlook ⁠for interest rates.

Morgan ⁠Stanley expects the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its September 15-16 meeting and deliver another quarter-point increase in December after recent inflation readings came in above expectations.

In a note on Monday, the brokerage said the disinflation process has been "slower and less convincing" than policymakers are likely to require, prompting it ⁠to forecast two rate hikes this year.

It also expects ‌the US central bank to ‌signal further tightening before officials pause as inflation moderates.

"We see arguments for ‌both a hike and a hold, but signs of second-round ‌effects from energy prices, strong demand tied to AI-related investment, a neutral rate that is possibly temporarily higher, and concerns about credibility mean the balance of risks now argues for a somewhat more restrictive policy," the brokerage ‌added.

Kevin Warsh, who took over as Fed chair in May, has repeatedly avoided offering guidance on ⁠the likely ⁠path of US interest rates.

But with inflation running above target, oil prices trading above $100 a barrel and financial markets overwhelmingly pricing in a rate increase, investors see this week's meeting as likely to deliver the first rate hike of his tenure.

In Europe, Morgan Stanley revised its ECB outlook to forecast an additional 25-basis-point increase in December, lifting the deposit rate to 2.75%, reversing its previous expectation that the central bank's tightening cycle had ended.

The brokerage cited resilient euro zone growth and higher energy prices in forecasting another ECB rate hike in December, and now expects just one rate cut in 2027, in December.