Saudi Arabia Partners with Local, Global Firms to Market Investments

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Partners with Local, Global Firms to Market Investments

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi government has granted the new Investment Marketing Authority the authorization to enlist experts and specialists from both local and global companies and institutions.

This move aims to provide professional tools and products, leveraging their expertise in their respective fields. Additionally, it seeks to foster partnerships that align with development goals between local and foreign investors.

Last week, the Cabinet approved the regulation of the Saudi Investment Marketing Authority.

This decision is part of efforts to position the Kingdom as a world-class investment hub in line with the goals of Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify the economy, enhance its international competitiveness, and build a prosperous and sustainable economy in alignment with the National Investment Strategy’s plans and objectives.

According to sources, the Board of Directors of the Saudi Investment Marketing Authority will exercise its role in determining financial charges in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Non-Oil Revenue Development Center.

This will remain in effect until the issuance of governance regulations for imposing such fees for services and activities offered by entities authorized by law to levy them.

The authority will prepare general policies related to its activities, develop a strategy for investment marketing, and devise the necessary plans and programs for implementation. It will also raise issues requiring further procedural actions.

The authority will begin work on marketing investment opportunities both within the Kingdom and internationally, highlighting the advantages, opportunities, and incentives of local investments. The authority is empowered to delegate tasks related to investment marketing to the relevant entities.

Additionally, the authority will manage a unified national identity for investment marketing and attraction to Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the Ministry of Investment and other relevant bodies. This will ensure consistent messaging, marketing, and media efforts, and propose amendments to relevant regulations within its mandate, submitting them for legal processing.

Among its duties, the new authority will propose amendments to related regulations, support investment marketing activities carried out by ministries, relevant entities, and the private sector, and develop and implement media plans both domestically and internationally.

Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih said that the authority will contribute to stimulating foreign direct investment flows. He said it will work as an important tributary enhancing the national efforts made to support the investment environment.

“The authority will undertake the task of marketing investment opportunities inside and outside the Kingdom and in various sectors, in cooperation and partnership with all the leading entities in these sectors. The authority will adopt the latest technologies and strategies in the field of investment marketing,” he said.

Al-Falih stressed that the authority will contribute to stimulating foreign direct investment flows, as well as to enhance national investments, and support national investors.

“This will support economic growth, provide quality job opportunities, and enhance innovation and knowledge transfer, which will positively reflect on the sustainability of development in the Kingdom and the competitiveness of its economy,” he said.



Riyadh Air Wins Approval to Operate US Flights

 A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Riyadh Air Wins Approval to Operate US Flights

 A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on June 7, 2026. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's new airline Riyadh Air won the right to operate flights to and from the United States, the US Transportation Department said in an order Tuesday.

The airline launched its first London flight on its new Boeing fleet last week. Launched in 2023, Riyadh Air is Saudi Arabia's second national airline ‌after Saudia, ‌and is owned by the country's ‌Public ⁠Investment Fund.

USDOT ⁠said "the grant of this authority is consistent with the public interest."

Riyadh Air told USDOT when it sought approval last month that it intends to operate to more than 100 international destinations by 2030 and currently ⁠has or is planning partnerships with ‌at least 10 ‌international air carriers including Delta Air Lines.

Delta has said ‌it plans to begin nonstop service ‌to Riyadh from Atlanta in October.

Deliveries are set to bring its fleet to eight by the end of July, and it plans to fly ‌to 22 cities by March 2027, Riyadh CEO Tony Douglas said last ⁠week.

With ⁠up to 72 787s and as many as 60 A321neos and 50 A350s on order, Douglas calls it "the biggest global aviation startup in modern history".

The airline is part of the Kingdom's plan to diversify its economy into new industries such as tourism, logistics and technology.

Riyadh Air has announced routes to Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Madrid and Manchester so far, and cities in India are likely to follow, Douglas said.


Exxon Mobil to Supply South Africa's First Planned LNG Terminal

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
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Exxon Mobil to Supply South Africa's First Planned LNG Terminal

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 16: Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Exxon Mobil has signed a preliminary deal to supply liquefied natural gas to Zululand Energy Terminal, which will be South Africa's first LNG import facility once built, the companies said on Wednesday.

The planned terminal is part of South Africa's pivot away from coal-fired power generation, which accounts for the bulk of its electricity supply.

Reuters reported in March that the Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET) hoped to strike a deal with Exxon Mobil on LNG supply.

Exxon Mobil's ⁠participation helps reinforce ⁠the importance of Richards Bay port, where ZET is being built on South Africa's east coast, as an entry point for LNG and supports plans to unlock a "competitive and sustainable gas market", said Oliver Naidu, ZET director.

Exxon Mobil has identified South Africa ⁠as a priority market and wants to grow its LNG supply to more than 40 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) by 2030.

"This agreement reflects Exxon Mobil's global LNG experience and our commitment to support South Africa's energy security with reliable supply," said Andrew Barry, chairman of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development Inc.

Earlier this month, South African state power utility Eskom signed a long-term LNG agreement with ZET that will support a planned ⁠3,000 ⁠megawatt gas-to-power plant project.

Phase 1 of the terminal includes a floating storage unit and an onshore regasification system with capacity of around 3 mtpa, or 400 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

Phase 2, which will bring the project's total expected cost to $1 billion, will introduce extra regasification capacity and storage onshore, boosting total volumes to 4.5 mtpa, or about 600 million standard cubic feet a day, Naidu said.


IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.

The US and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz ⁠and the US lifting ⁠its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output, according ⁠to the IEA.

"If the deal holds, exports and production from the Gulf should see a gradual recovery – not least because Iranian oil exports can fully resume once the US blockade is lifted," the agency, which advises industrialized countries, said.

The oil market will then enter a significant supply overhang next year, the IEA said ⁠in ⁠its first look at 2027, with global oil supply set to surge by 8 million bpd and demand rising by just 2 million bpd.

"This may provide a welcome respite to the market and an opportunity to replenish depleted inventories, or to build new strategic reserves, as countries review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis."