MODON Receives International Accreditation

 Bandar Al-Khorayef, minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Board of Directors of MODON, received the EFQM accreditation during a ceremony on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bandar Al-Khorayef, minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Board of Directors of MODON, received the EFQM accreditation during a ceremony on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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MODON Receives International Accreditation

 Bandar Al-Khorayef, minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Board of Directors of MODON, received the EFQM accreditation during a ceremony on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bandar Al-Khorayef, minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Board of Directors of MODON, received the EFQM accreditation during a ceremony on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Estates and Technology Zones (MODON) received an accreditation certificate from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), for the four-star category, for applying quality and institutional excellence concepts.

MODON is working to create the appropriate infrastructure to encourage local and international factories to access the Saudi market and invest in an enabling environment, where the concepts of quality and institutional excellence are applied.

The minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Board of Directors of MODON, Bandar Al-Khorayef, received the accreditation certificate during a ceremony on Tuesday.

MODON said in statement that the European certification of excellence crowned the authority’s efforts over an entire year.

It added that MODON has also set the goal of applying a management business model consistent with global best practices in the field of quality and institutional excellence, in a way that contributes to enhancing the confidence of local and international partners, in line with the objectives of the National Industrial Strategy.

MODON’s efforts also fall within its objectives to improve the general performance indicators according to scientific bases, and to achieve the aspirations of its partners in creating an exemplary investment environment characterized by sustainability and integration, within the framework of its strategy to empower the industry and contribute to increasing local content.

The EFQM Model is a globally recognized management framework that supports organizations in managing change and improving performance.

The model is based on data supported by industry experts in line with organizations’ goals and priorities, and employees’ aspirations, in a bid to realize effective and sustainable results and institutional excellence.

EFQM is a non-profit institution that seeks to increase the competitiveness of the economy, and help it reach excellence performance and corporate business.



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.