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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

Asia Stocks Make Bright Start to 2026

Stock markets welcomed the New Year with healthy gains. Punit PARANJPE / AFP
Stock markets welcomed the New Year with healthy gains. Punit PARANJPE / AFP
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Asia Stocks Make Bright Start to 2026

Stock markets welcomed the New Year with healthy gains. Punit PARANJPE / AFP
Stock markets welcomed the New Year with healthy gains. Punit PARANJPE / AFP

Asian markets made a bright start to 2026 on Friday but volumes were thin with Tokyo and Shanghai still closed as investors awaited fresh direction from Wall Street.

Stocks had a bumper 2025, with the S&P adding 16.4 percent, the tech-rich Nasdaq 20.4 percent and London's FTSE enjoying its merriest Christmas in 16 years, said AFP.

In Asia, Seoul stocks whooshed 75 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index bounced 28 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rocketed more than 26 percent.

"Naturally, the start of the new year comes with the question everyone asks moving from one year to the next: will this continue? The consensus is that, yes, it will," said Kyle Rodda at Australian brokerage Capital.com.

"When it comes to the all important US economy, Wall Street is pricing in growth will accelerate this year while inflation still moderates and interest rates get cut. Meanwhile, analysts predict that corporate fundamentals will improve," Rodda said.

Hong Kong was up 2.2 percent Friday with chip designer Biren Technologies roaring 80 percent higher after its initial public offering.

The Shanghai-based firm's listing raised more than $700 million, suggesting that investor appetite for anything related to artificial intelligence remains insatiable.

Biren "enjoys scarcity value and high market attention", said Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities.

"The industry is in a flourishing stage, with many firms striving for breakthroughs and significant growth potential," Ng said.

Search-engine giant Baidu jumped almost seven percent after saying its AI chip unit Kunlunxin had filed a listing application in Hong Kong.

Taipei, Sydney, Jakarta, Manila and Singapore also advanced while while Seoul's Kospi, which soared 76 percent in 2025 in large part due to AI boom, was up 1.7 percent.

Samsung Electronics added three percent after co-CEO Jun Young Hyun said customers had praised its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, some saying that "Samsung is back", Bloomberg News reported. 

After volatile recent days, following record highs for silver, precious metals started the new year on a bright note with gold up 0.64 percent per ounce and silver 1.5 percent shinier. 

Business

Bulgaria Adopts the Euro, Nearly 20 Years After Joining the EU

A map of Bulgaria with the EU symbol is projected on the Bulgarian National Bank as people celebrate New Year's Eve and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP)
A map of Bulgaria with the EU symbol is projected on the Bulgarian National Bank as people celebrate New Year's Eve and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP)
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Bulgaria Adopts the Euro, Nearly 20 Years After Joining the EU

A map of Bulgaria with the EU symbol is projected on the Bulgarian National Bank as people celebrate New Year's Eve and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP)
A map of Bulgaria with the EU symbol is projected on the Bulgarian National Bank as people celebrate New Year's Eve and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP)

Bulgaria became the 21st country to switch to the euro as it entered the New Year on Thursday, a milestone met with both cheers and fears, nearly 20 years after the Balkan nation joined the European Union.

At midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday), Bulgaria gave up the lev currency, which has been in use since the late 19th century, and Bulgarian euro coins were projected onto the central bank's building.

Successive governments in the country of 6.4 million people have advocated joining the euro, hoping that it will boost the economy of the European Union's poorest member, reinforce ties to the West and protect against Russia's influence.

But Bulgarians have long been divided over the switch, with many worrying the introduction could usher in higher prices and add to the political instability rattling the country.

In a speech broadcast shortly before midnight, President Rumen Radev hailed the euro adoption as the "final step" in Bulgaria's EU integration, as thousands of people braved sub-zero temperatures in the capital Sofia to celebrate the New Year.

Radev however voiced regret that Bulgarians had not been consulted by referendum on the adoption.

"This refusal was one of the dramatic symptoms of the deep divide between the political class and the people, confirmed by mass demonstrations across the country."

Anti-corruption protests swept a conservative-led government from office in mid-December, leaving a country anxious about inflation on the verge of its eighth election in five years.

"People are afraid that prices will rise, while salaries will remain the same," a woman in her 40s who declined to give her name told AFP in Sofia.

At one of the city's largest markets, stalls displayed prices of everything from groceries to New Year's Eve essentials like sparklers in both levs and euros.

"The whole of Europe has managed with the euro, we'll manage too," retiree Vlad told AFP.

- Easier trade, travel -

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that Bulgaria's move into the eurozone marked "an important milestone" that would bring "practical benefits" to Bulgarians.

"It will make travelling and living abroad easier, boost the transparency and competitiveness of markets, and facilitate trade," she said.

Central bank governor Dimitar Radev said the euro symbolized much more than "just a currency -- it is a sign of belonging".

But according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 49 percent of Bulgarians are against the switch.

Outgoing prime minister Rossen Jeliazkov sought to reassure the public ahead of the move, saying he was "counting on the tolerance and understanding of citizens and businesses".

He added that inflation in the Black Sea nation, which joined the EU in 2007, was not linked to the euro's adoption.

But the concerns of Bulgarians about inflation are not idle.

Food prices rose by five percent year-on-year in November, more than double the eurozone average, according to the National Statistical Institute.

"Unfortunately, prices no longer correspond to those in levs," pastry shop owner Turgut Ismail, 33, told AFP, saying that prices have already begun surging.

A euro protest campaign earlier this year tapping into a generally negative view of the single currency among much of the population also fanned fears of price hikes.

- Queues and possible disruptions -

Given Bulgaria's ongoing political instability, any problems with euro adoption would be seized on by anti-EU politicians, warned Boryana Dimitrova of the Alpha Research polling institute.

Some people, including business owners, have complained that it has been difficult to get their hands on euros, with shopkeepers saying they haven't received the euro starter packages they ordered.

Banks said there could be some disruption at cash machines in the hours surrounding the switch. Earlier this week, people queued outside the Bulgarian National Bank and several currency exchange offices in Sofia to obtain euros.

The euro was first rolled out in 12 countries on January 1, 2002. Croatia was the latest to join, in 2023.

Bulgaria's accession will bring the number of Europeans using the euro to more than 350 million.

Business

Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites
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Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced on Wednesday the names of 24 companies and consortia that have won licenses in the ninth exploration licensing round, the largest in the Kingdom’s history to date.

The winning entities were awarded 172 mining sites, including 76 sites that advanced to a multi-round public auction, across three mineralized belts in the regions of Riyadh, Madinah, and Qassim, with total committed exploration spend of over SAR671 million during the first two years of their work programs.

This milestone comes as part of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to accelerate mineral exploration and development in the Kingdom, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030, which positions the mining sector as the third pillar of the national industrial economy, said the ministry in a statement.

The ninth round offered over 24,000 km2, spanning the Ad-Duwaihi/Nabitah gold belt in Riyadh Region, as well as the Nuqrah and Sukhaybirah/As-Safra gold belts in Madinah and Qassim regions. These areas are rich in strategic minerals, including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel. The round witnessed strong interest and high-quality competition from leading local and international companies, reflecting growing confidence in Saudi Arabia’s mining investment environment and its attractiveness at both regional and global levels.

The list of winning companies includes several leading international firms and prominent local companies, namely: Desert EX Pty Ltd Company; Batin Alard for Gold Company; Royal Roads Arabia Company; Sierra Nevada Gold Inc. Company; Aurum Global Group; Brunswick Exploration Incorporated; EQLEED-INDOTAN Mining Company; Helderberg Limited Company; Rawafed Alola for Mining Company; Saudi Gold Refinery Limited Company; Arabian Discovery Mining Company; Al Ghazal Al Arabi Mining Company; Almasar Minerals Holding Limited Company; Al Tasnim Enterprises LLC Company; Arabian Gulf Skylark. The Distinguished Consortium Mining Company, Two Limited Company; Maaden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration and Development Limited Company.

Several newly formed consortia also emerged winners in the licensing round, such as Demir Engineering Ltd, Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd, and Kaz United Mining LLC Consortium; KENZ Global Resources Ltd, and Manahil Al Sharq Mining and Al Rayyan Mining Resources Co. Consortium; Maaden Barrick Technology Experts Co. and Andiamo Exploration Ltd Company; Shandong Gold (Beijing) Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., Development Co., Ltd., and Ajlan & Bros Company for Mining; Midana Exploration Pty Ltd and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) Consortium; and McEwen Mining Inc. and Sumou Holding Company Consortium.

The ninth round saw 26 qualified companies participate via the electronic bidding platform. The round was conducted in several stages with the highest levels of transparency: prequalification, site selection via the platform, and a multi-round public auction for sites attracting more than one bidder.

The ministry further noted that the scale of investment commitments in this round supports the development of underexplored greenfield areas and helps unlock the Kingdom’s estimated mineral wealth of SAR9.4 trillion, thereby strengthening the resilience of mineral supply chains.

The ministry confirmed that licensing will continue through the 10th round, spanning 13,000 km2 across Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail. It will include new sites that extend the mineralized belts offered in the ninth round.

The ministry will announce additional exploration and investment opportunities for 2026 at the fifth edition of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), scheduled to take place in Riyadh from January 13 to 15.

These efforts are part of the Kingdom’s comprehensive strategy for the mining and mineral industries, aimed at maximizing the value of mineral resources, attracting global investment, creating jobs, enhancing value-chain integration, and reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a global mining hub, in line with the ambitions of Vision 2030, it stressed.