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Saudi Arabia Launches Largest Forum to Promote Development Investment

The Emir of the Aseer region speaks during the launch of the Aseer Investment Forum in southern Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Emir of the Aseer region speaks during the launch of the Aseer Investment Forum in southern Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Abha (southern Saudi Arabia) – Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Launches Largest Forum to Promote Development Investment

The Emir of the Aseer region speaks during the launch of the Aseer Investment Forum in southern Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Emir of the Aseer region speaks during the launch of the Aseer Investment Forum in southern Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Aseer Investment Forum kicked off on Saturday in southern Saudi Arabia, to promote investments and highlight the opportunities available in this particular Saudi region, which the government seeks to turn into one of the prominent tourism destinations on the global map.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) had announced the launch of the Aseer Investment Company - an investment arm of the fund in the Aseer region - with the aim of stimulating direct local and international investments to develop the region and turn it into a global tourist destination.

A statement by the PIF noted that the new company would work to launch various opportunities for local and international investors in many sectors, including tourism and hospitality, health and sports, education, food and other promising fields.

It aims at contributing to building partnerships with the private sector and creating job opportunities for the residents.

Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, governor of the Aseer region and head of the region’s development authority, said that the forum would seek to achieve the objectives of the National Investment Strategy, by attracting investments in promising qualitative sectors, which will in turn stimulate direct local and international investments to develop the region.

For his part, Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib underlined the government’s interest to promote investments and exploit available opportunities to raise the contribution of the tourism sector from 3 to 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

He added that the launch of the Aseer Strategy has helped the ministry implement many of its initiatives and projects to develop the sector, and work to promote tourism in the region locally and internationally.

Al-Khatib noted that the Kingdom has allocated 450 million riyals to train and qualify 100,000 young Saudi men and women to work in the tourism sector.

For his part, Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih noted that his ministry was seeking to support economic projects in the Aseer region, encourage businessmen to establish service and tourism projects, and stimulate the level of investment, through the system of privatization and partnerships between the private and government sectors.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, pointed to the qualitative leaps achieved by the Kingdom in the tourism sector and the development of tourist destinations.

He also emphasized Saudi Arabia’s environmental diversity that qualifies it to be a global tourist destination.

The forum, which is currently held at King Khalid University in Abha, highlighted the investment opportunities in economic sectors in the Aseer region, through workshops that touched on culture, heritage, sports, entertainment, hospitality, agricultural tourism, and the food and beverage sector.

Organized by the Aseer Region Development Authority and the ministries of Investment and Tourism, the forum follows the 22nd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council, which convened in Riyadh from Nov.28 till Dec. 1.

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Business

Iraq Oil Output Exceeds 5 million bpd

Majnoon oil field near the Iraqi city of Basra (Reuters)
Majnoon oil field near the Iraqi city of Basra (Reuters)
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Iraq Oil Output Exceeds 5 million bpd

Majnoon oil field near the Iraqi city of Basra (Reuters)
Majnoon oil field near the Iraqi city of Basra (Reuters)

Iraq produces more than 5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), Oil Minister Basim Mohammed told state news agency INA on Saturday.

According to Reuters, Iraq is pushing for a higher OPEC production quota as the economic fallout from the Iran war and new investment by oil majors increase pressure on Baghdad to boost output, potentially putting it at odds with the producer group.

The conflict has hit Iraq particularly hard, forcing major export cuts and depriving the state of oil revenue, which accounted for 88% of government income last year.

Business

IMF: Any Slowdown in AI-driven Growth Would be Factor for Central Banks

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings Plenary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings Plenary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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IMF: Any Slowdown in AI-driven Growth Would be Factor for Central Banks

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings Plenary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings Plenary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Central bankers around the world would need to consider any slowdown in AI-driven growth as they assess steps in their fight against inflation, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.

Georgieva said concerns about dependence on the AI investment boom and high valuations were impacting markets around the world.

"Things are going up and down, and this is likely to continue," she told an audience at IMF headquarters in Washington, adding that the volatility would complicate the job of central banks at a time when risks to price stability had been growing.

A steep rout in technology stocks on Thursday rippled through markets on fears that ⁠the Democrats' victory ⁠in the US midterm elections would increase regulatory scrutiny of AI and slow the data center build-out, sending investors to the safety of bonds.

The political jitters are hitting an AI trade already on shaky footing due to worry about return on massive spending on AI-related infrastructure, with the meltdown spurring margin calls and spooking retail investors and hedge ⁠funds alike.

Georgieva said the AI investment boom was lifting growth in some countries, helping to offset a negative oil-supply shock triggered by the war in the Middle East, but it was also adding to inflationary pressures and financial stability concerns.

The IMF last month flagged significant growth and financial stability risks from a potential ending of the AI investment boom, among other factors, including a prolonged Middle East war. At the time, it warned that a steep drop in AI investment could lead to a sharp fall in asset prices, ultimately cutting global GDP ⁠by 1.1% ⁠by 2028, including a 1.8% drop in US output.

Georgieva did not repeat the downside forecast on Friday, but acknowledged the recent market volatility.

"Should there be a slowdown in the AI-driven growth impulse, it would need to be factored in as central banks assess the necessary steps in the fight against stubborn inflation," she said.

Democrats are planning to unleash a flood of new legislation targeting artificial intelligence systems and data-center development when they take control of the US Congress in January, Reuters reported on Friday, citing congressional aides and advocates.

That would mark a sharp shift from the Republican-led Congress, where lawmakers largely focused on promoting AI development and declined to pass legislation restricting the technology.

Business

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
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World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

World food prices edged lower in October as weaker import demand contributed to monthly declines in cereal, dairy and meat prices, but were still nearly 6% higher than a year earlier, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of food commodities, ‌averaged 133.9 points ‌in October, down from a revised ‌135.6 ⁠in September.

The index ⁠was 5.9% higher than a year earlier, but remained 16.4% below its March 2022 peak.

FAO's cereal price index fell 4.5% from September and was 12.6% lower than a year ago, as wheat and maize quotations declined. Wheat prices eased on weak import demand ⁠and improved production prospects, especially in Argentina.

"Expectations of ‌easing constraints on Black ‌Sea export flows added to the downward pressure on prices, ‌although continued disruptions to Black Sea logistics limited the decline," ‌FAO said in a statement.

Maize prices also eased after reaching a three-year high in September, pressured by the US harvest, expectations of ample supplies in South America and renewed ‌prospects of easing tensions in the Black Sea region.

Vegetable oil prices edged up 0.3%, ⁠as ⁠higher soybean and sunflower oil prices more than offset a fall in rapeseed oil prices.

Sugar prices rose 6.6%, their fourth straight monthly increase, to the highest level since December 2024, after rainfall disrupted harvesting in Brazil. They were now 28.8% above a year ago.

The dairy index fell 1.1%, as lower butter and cheese prices linked to ample supplies and subdued demand outweighed gains in milk powder.

The meat index declined 1.2%, while still slightly above its year-earlier level, as ovine and bovine meat prices fell.