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Industrial Investments in Saudi Arabia Reach SAR1.5 Trillion by End of Q3 2023

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Industrial Investments in Saudi Arabia Reach SAR1.5 Trillion by End of Q3 2023

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Investments in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector have shown a quarterly growth rate of 1.5%, with a total value of approximately SAR1.5 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2023.
This value compares to around SAR 1.4 trillion by the end of Q2 2023, representing an annual growth rate of 9.3% compared to approximately SAR 1.3 trillion for the same period in the previous year.
Investments in large-scale facilities reached a value of SAR 975.767 billion, accounting for 65.1% of the total. Investments in medium-scale facilities amounted to SAR 390.060 billion, representing 26% of the total, while investments in small-scale facilities amounted to SAR 132.951 billion, accounting for 8.9% of the total.
National investments topped the list of investors in terms of investment type by the end of Q3 2023, with a total value of SAR 938.133 billion, accounting for 62.6% of the total investment volume. This was accomplished by 9,324 existing factories, representing 82.7% of total number of factories.
Joint investments ranked second with a value of SAR 486.961 billion, accounting for 32.5% of the total investments, and 941 existing factories, representing 8.3% of the total number of factories. Foreign investments ranked third with a value of SAR 73.684 billion, accounting for 4.9% of the total, and 1,008 existing factories, representing 8.9% of the total.
Meanwhile, the total number of existing factories increased by 2.6% and 5.1% on a quarterly and annual basis, respectively, reaching 11,273 factories. The total number of employees reached 757,429 workers, showing a quarterly and annual growth rate of 2.9% and 11.6%, respectively.
Investments were concentrated in the Eastern Region, accounting for 41.2% of the total investment volume, with a value of SAR 617.191 billion.
The Riyadh Region, however, had the highest number of existing factories, with 4,389 factories, representing 38.9% of the total number of factories. Additionally, Riyadh had the largest workforce of 282,702 employees, accounting for 37.3% of the total number of workers.

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Trump Win Ignites Crypto Frenzy that Sends Bitcoin to Record High

Trump Win Ignites Crypto Frenzy that Sends Bitcoin to Record High
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Trump Win Ignites Crypto Frenzy that Sends Bitcoin to Record High

Trump Win Ignites Crypto Frenzy that Sends Bitcoin to Record High

The price of bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday and crypto-related shares rallied as investors bet that former President Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and smashing its previous record set in March. Other cryptocurrencies also soared, including ether, the world's second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin, which rallied 8%.

Another token, dogecoin, rocketed as much as 18%. It's the favorite cryptocurrency of billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump's most prominent supporters, The AP reported.

Crypto-related shares outran the rest of the stock market. Coinbase, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, leaped 17%. Online brokerage Robinhood Markets, which offers crypto trading, soared 12% and MicroStrategy, which says it is the “largest corporate holder of bitcoin,” jumped 10%.

Trump was previously a crypto skeptic but changed his mind and embraced cryptocurrencies ahead of the election.

He has pledged to make America "the crypto capital of the planet" and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted crypto fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is up 77% this year.

“Bitcoin is the one asset that was always going to soar if Trump returned to the White House," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, a British online investment platform. After touching its new high, the market is now speculating about “when, not if, it will smash through $100,000," he said.

“Trump has already declared his love of the digital currency and crypto traders now have a new narrative by which to get even more excited about where the price could go,” Mould said.

But other experts warned of the risks.

“Investors should only dabble in crypto with money that they can be prepared to lose,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Because we’ve seen these wild swings in the past.”

Crypto industry players welcomed Trump's victory, in hopes that he would be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes that they've long lobbied for.

Trump had already promised that, if elected, he would remove the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, who has been leading the US government’s crackdown on the crypto industry.

“Tonight the crypto voter has spoken decisively — across party lines and in key races across the country,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong . “Americans disproportionately care about crypto and want clear rules of the road for digital assets. We look forward to working with the new Congress to deliver it,” Armstrong posted on X.

Streeter said Trump's administration would most likely pursue “light touch regulation” for the crypto industry.

“Certainly that’s what crypto fans would want," she said. “They want the sheen of legitimacy to be brought to crypto, but they don’t want regulations to be too onerous to stop opportunities and innovation.”