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Saudi Arabia's PIF, Bahrain's Mumtalakat Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation, Investment in Strategic Sectors 

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia's PIF, Bahrain's Mumtalakat Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation, Investment in Strategic Sectors 

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand cooperation and enable new and promising investment opportunities in Bahrain.

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. It also allows for the creation of additional opportunities for the private sector in both countries, said a PIF statement.

“We are pleased to cooperate with PIF. This cooperation is an extension of the strong relations that bring the two kingdoms together,” said Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company CEO Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

“The memorandum signed today aims to enhance cooperation between Mumtalakat and PIF by establishing strategic partnerships and stimulating partnership opportunities for the private sector to support the diversification of the economy in the two brotherly countries."

He added: “This is also in line with Mumtalakat’s efforts to invest in promising economic sectors, provide quality job opportunities, continue to contribute to the national economy, and work towards achieving the goals of Bahrain Vision 2030.”

Deputy Governor and head of MENA Investments at PIF Yazeed A. Al-Humied said: “The MoU with Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company is an important step that aims to contribute to enhancing collaboration and investment opportunities in various sectors in Bahrain.”

“The MoU also supports PIF’s objectives of building long-term strategic regional partnerships that bring additional value to local economies and create more partnership opportunities for the private sector. It also enables the achievement of sustainable returns that further contribute to maximizing PIF’s assets and diversifying the economy in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.”

Through this agreement, PIF seeks to increase its investments in multiple targeted sectors in Bahrain, while Mumtalakat aims to explore attractive investment opportunities for cooperation and partnership with PIF.

The MoU follows the establishment of the Saudi-Bahraini Investment Company – a PIF subsidiary – which aims to invest up to $5 billion in multiple promising sectors in Bahrain. The company has recently inaugurated its office, in Manama, to expand its range of investment activities.

PIF is one of the largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds in the world. It plays a leading role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and diversification, as well as contributing to shaping the future of the global economy. Since 2017, PIF has established 93 companies in 13 strategic sectors locally and globally.

Mumtalakat Holding Company owns shares in more than 50 commercial companies covering a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, real estate and tourism, logistics, technology and media, communications, financial services, public services, consumer goods, healthcare, and education.

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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."