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Saudi Arabia Opens Middle East’s Largest Water Desalination Membrane Plant

Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz inaugurates the project at a ceremony in the Eastern Province (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz inaugurates the project at a ceremony in the Eastern Province (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Opens Middle East’s Largest Water Desalination Membrane Plant

Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz inaugurates the project at a ceremony in the Eastern Province (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz inaugurates the project at a ceremony in the Eastern Province (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Eastern Province Governor Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz on Wednesday inaugurated the Toray Membrane Middle East Factory in Dammam’s Third Industrial City, the largest facility for water desalination membrane technologies in the Middle East.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng.Abdulrahman Alfadley , President of the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) Eng. Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Abdulkarim, CEO of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Samari, and several senior officials from the public and private sectors.

Prince Saud said the launch of the new factory reflects the government’s strong commitment to localizing advanced industries and strengthening Saudi Arabia’s presence in high-tech sectors.

He added that the project marks a key step toward achieving industrial self-sufficiency and transferring advanced knowledge and technologies to national talent.

He noted that the water and industrial sectors continue to receive substantial attention from the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, through enabling high-value investments and fostering an environment conducive to innovation.

The governor said the Eastern Province, with its advanced infrastructure and strong industrial base, will remain a key driver in achieving Saudi Arabia’s economic and industrial development goals under Vision 2030.

The new factory is a joint venture between Abunayyan Holding and Japan’s Toray Industries, with an investment exceeding 1 billion riyals.

It is Toray’s second plant of its kind outside Japan and has a production capacity of 300,000 membranes annually. The facility will provide more than 175 jobs for Saudis, with a localization rate of 70 %, targeted to reach a minimum of 75 %.

The plant is expected to position the Kingdom as a regional hub for membrane and desalination technologies through six integrated production lines that meet local and Gulf market demand, enhance the competitiveness of national industries, and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s standing as a global source for advanced water technologies.

The project aims to localize the production of reverse osmosis membranes used in water desalination, transfer advanced technologies to support Saudi Arabia’s water and industrial security, and help achieve the objectives of Vision 2030.

It also seeks to boost local content and improve the efficiency of national supply chains by localizing 72 % of manufacturing inputs, cutting supply times by 53 %, and reducing energy consumption by 4 to 5 %. The project is expected to improve the trade balance by more than 135 million riyals annually and contribute around 1.14 billion riyals to the national economy over eight years.

SWA President Al-Abdulkarim said the project represents a leading example of integration between the water and industrial sectors in achieving economic and water sustainability goals.

He added that the factory is a cornerstone in localizing advanced desalination technologies and enhancing the Kingdom’s capacity to lead the global water sector through innovation and development of supporting industries.

For his part, Al-Samari said the factory’s inauguration follows an agreement to localize the reverse osmosis membrane industry signed between his authority, the Saudi Water Authority, and Toray Membrane Middle East.

He noted that the factory is one of the key projects contributing to raising local content in the water and industrial sectors, with a production capacity of 300,000 membranes annually covering all manufacturing stages.

Khaled Abunayyan, Chairman of Toray Membrane Middle East, affirmed the company’s commitment to knowledge transfer and developing local talent through a dedicated research and development unit in cooperation with the Research and Development Center for Advanced Technologies.

The unit aims to design the next generation of membranes that improve energy efficiency, enhance environmental resilience, and extend product lifespan.

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Business

UN's FAO: World Food Prices Fall for 3rd Month in November

FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
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UN's FAO: World Food Prices Fall for 3rd Month in November

FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prices of food are displayed at the Borough Market in London, Britain May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo

World food commodity prices fell for a third consecutive month in November, with all major staple foods except cereals showing a decline, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 125.1 points in November, down from a revised 126.6 in October and the lowest since January, Reuters reported.

The November average was also 2.1% below the year-earlier level and 21.9% down from a peak in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the FAO said.

The agency's sugar price reference fell 5.9% from October to its lowest since December 2020, pressured by ample global supply expectations, while the dairy price index dropped 3.1% in a fifth consecutive monthly decline, reflecting increased milk production and export supplies.

Vegetable oil prices fell 2.6% to a five-month low, as declines for most products including palm oil outweighed strength in soy oil.

Meat prices declined 0.8%, with pork and poultry leading the decrease, while beef quotations stabilized as the removal of US tariffs on beef imports tempered recent strength, the FAO said.

In contrast, the FAO's cereal price benchmark rose 1.8% month-on-month. Wheat prices increased due to potential demand from China and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea region, while maize prices were supported by demand for Brazilian exports and reports of weather disruption to field work in South America.

In a separate cereal supply and demand report, the FAO raised its global cereal production forecast for 2025 to a record 3.003 billion metric tons, compared with 2.990 billion tons projected last month, mainly due to increased wheat output estimates.

Forecast world cereal stocks at the end of the 2025/26 season were also revised up to a record 925.5 million tons, reflecting expectations of expanded wheat stocks in China and India as well as higher coarse grain stocks in exporting countries, the FAO said.

Business

World Bank Forecasts 4.3% Growth for Saudi Economy, Supported by Non-Oil Activities

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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World Bank Forecasts 4.3% Growth for Saudi Economy, Supported by Non-Oil Activities

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

The World Bank affirmed on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's economy has gained significant momentum for 2026-2027, driven by robust non-oil sector expansion under Vision 2030.

In a report titled “The Gulf’s Digital Transformation: A Powerful Engine for Economic Diversification,” the World Bank said growth is expected to persist in the Kingdom with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average.

The report lifted its forecast for Saudi Arabia’s real GDP growth to 3.8% in 2025 compared to a 3.2% last October.

The forecast represents a major upward revision affirming the resilience of the Saudi economy and its ability to absorb external volatility. It also indicates growing confidence in the effectiveness of ongoing structural reforms within Vision 2030.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia approved its state budget for 2026, projecting real GDP growth of 4.6% in 2026.

The report showed that in the Kingdom, economic momentum is strengthening across oil and non-oil sectors with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average and oil activities expanding by 5.4%, bringing overall real growth to an average of 4.3%.

It said oil activities grew by 1.7% y/y in the first half of 2025, benefiting from the phase-out of OPEC+ voluntary production cuts starting in April 2025.

At the financial level, the fiscal deficit between 2025 and 2027 is projected to remain at an average of 3.8% of GDP.

Meanwhile, the current account balance slightly recovered, settling at 0.5% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 against -2.6% in the second half of 2024.

The report said real GDP growth remained stable at 3.6% y/y in the first half of 2025, thanks to the stabilization of the oil sector and sustained non-oil growth.

Non-oil activities expanded by 4.8% over the period, in line with the performance of 2024 while non-oil growth was driven by the wholesale, retail trade, restaurants, and hotels sector (+7.5% y/y in the first half of 2025), consolidating the role of hospitality and tourism as engines of economic diversification.

The report also indicated that oil activities grew by 1.7% y/y in the first half of 2025, benefiting from the phase-out of OPEC+ voluntary production cuts starting in April 2025.

These trends are expected to persist in 2026-2027, with non-oil activities expanding by 4% on average and oil activities expanding by 5.4%, bringing overall real growth to an average of 4.3%.

Job Market and Inflation
The report said the labor market mirrors the stabilization of the real economy and is rapidly becoming more inclusive to women.

Overall unemployment decreased by 0.7 point between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, with the female unemployment rate dropping from 11.8% to 8.1% over the same period.

Also, inflation remained low and stable in Saudi Arabia, settling at an average of 2.2% in the first half of 2025.

However, price increases have been concentrated in the housing and utilities sector as rental prices have become a key issue, largely because rental supply has failed to match demographic growth, especially in Riyadh.

While this reflects the government’s efforts to dynamize the Kingdom’s urban centers, the price increases prompted the government to freeze rental prices in Riyadh for the next five years, as anticipated increases in housing supply should help control rental prices.

Finally, the report said Saudi Arabia’s external position stabilized in the second half of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

Although net foreign direct investment has remained relatively stable, the World Bank has emphasized that recent changes in foreign ownership regulations in Saudi Arabia, coupled with continued structural reforms, are positive steps to attract greater flows of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Business

Visa Relocates European Headquarters to London's Canary Wharf

FILE PHOTO: A drone view of London's Canary Wharf financial district, two days before the government presents its critical pre-election budget, in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view of London's Canary Wharf financial district, two days before the government presents its critical pre-election budget, in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
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Visa Relocates European Headquarters to London's Canary Wharf

FILE PHOTO: A drone view of London's Canary Wharf financial district, two days before the government presents its critical pre-election budget, in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view of London's Canary Wharf financial district, two days before the government presents its critical pre-election budget, in London, Britain March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Yann Tessier/File Photo

Visa is relocating its European headquarters to London's Canary Wharf financial district, the Canary Wharf Group said on Friday.

The firm is leasing 300,000 square feet on a 15-year term at One Canada Square, and is set to relocate from Paddington in the summer of 2028, the group added.

Canary Wharf Group, which runs the wider financial district and is co-owned by QIA and Canada's Brookfield, was hit hard by the pandemic-induced fall in office demand.

The area is now enjoying a rebound as more firms push staff to return to office, Reuters reported.

"Canary Wharf continues to attract a diverse range of global businesses. We are delighted to welcome Visa who have chosen the Wharf for their European headquarters as the best location to support their business growth," Shobi Khan, Canary Wharf Group CEO, said.

JPMorgan Chase last week unveiled a plan to build a tower in the Canary Wharf financial district that will contribute 9.9 billion pounds ($13.2 billion) over six years to the local economy - including the cost of construction - and create 7,800 jobs.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is revising plans for a revamp of its HSBC skyscraper in the east London district to retain more office space, Reuters reported in November.