عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Fashion Boosts Non-Oil GDP in Saudi Arabia

A part of the Fashion Authority's participation in the “100 Saudi Brands” exhibition
A part of the Fashion Authority's participation in the “100 Saudi Brands” exhibition
TT
TT

Fashion Boosts Non-Oil GDP in Saudi Arabia

A part of the Fashion Authority's participation in the “100 Saudi Brands” exhibition
A part of the Fashion Authority's participation in the “100 Saudi Brands” exhibition

Aligning with efforts undertaken by the Saudi government to diversify its economy away from oil, the fashion sector has carved out its role as a key player in achieving this goal.

The Kingdom’s fashion sector is paving its way towards rapid growth, aiming to become a significant contributor to the non-oil GDP.

So far, this sector constitutes more than 1% of the non-oil GDP, with the Kingdom’s fashion market estimated at around 90 billion riyals (24 billion dollars). Consequently, it stands as the largest market in the Arab world.

Recognizing the pivotal role of the fashion sector, a dedicated Fashion Authority was established in 2020 under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture.

Tasked with organizing major events that showcase Saudi designs, the Authority emphasizes the promotion of local products while importing valuable European and global experiences to the Kingdom.

This initiative aligns with a broader Saudi openness to the world, aimed at promoting the Kingdom’s attire and culture—a facet of the projects and initiatives of the Kingdom’s national transformation plan “Vision 2030.”

Eyad Mashat, the CEO of the global fashion company “FAD,” echoed this sentiment in statements he made to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Mashat emphasized that the significant growth across all sectors in the Kingdom, aligned with the objectives of Vision 2030, has played a pivotal role in the rapid expansion witnessed by the fashion industry in the local market.

Saudi Arabia has established a competitive and attractive investment environment through “bold steps and revolutionary decisions,” said Mashat.

These measures have successfully overcome numerous previous challenges, utilizing digital transformation applications to swiftly streamline many governmental procedures.

This has significantly shortened the time and processes required for the launch of small to medium-sized projects, reducing the timeline from over 15 days to just a few hours.

In tandem with the development of legislative environments and incentivizing systems implemented by the Kingdom, Mashat observed that citizens have become more receptive to the importance of the fashion industry.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
TT
TT

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.