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Council of Economic Development Highlights Continued Strong Growth of Saudi Economy 

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Council of Economic Development Highlights Continued Strong Growth of Saudi Economy 

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The Saudi Council of Economic and Development Affairs convened on Monday for an overview of the national economy across its various sectors.

The council reviewed the Ministry of Economy and Planning's quarterly economic report, which included an analysis of the latest developments in major economies, the outlook for the global economy, future projections, and the key assumptions and drivers supporting growth prospects. It noted that the Kingdom's economy continued its strong growth, driven by the positive performance of all economic activities.

The council reviewed the state budget performance report for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2025, submitted by the Ministry of Finance. This report detailed the financial performance up to the end of the third quarter of the current year, including revenue, expenditure, and public debt indicators.

The report's findings confirm the continued support for development and service projects, the implementation of government reforms aimed at achieving fiscal sustainability, and the diversification of income sources within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030.

The council discussed the Ministry of Health's report on progress in the health transformation process, particularly regarding the completion of regulatory and operational requirements and the readiness to begin implementing the second phase of the transformation. This phase aims to empower the Health Holding Company and the Center for National Health Insurance as key pillars in restructuring the health sector.

The report reviewed the objectives of the health transformation and the most prominent steps taken to implement it during the past period, including developing the healthcare model and expanding the application of its preventive and curative pathways. This has contributed to improving access to services, raising the quality and efficiency of healthcare, and boosting prevention against health risks, in line with the objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Program within Vision 2030.

The progress made in adopting the draft regulations for healthcare institutions joining the Center for National Health Insurance network was also reviewed. These regulations, once finalized, will define the framework for healthcare institutions and clusters to join the network and regulate their relationship with the center.

This will enable the center to manage an integrated, results-based healthcare network, ensuring quality healthcare, facilitating access for beneficiaries, increasing their satisfaction, guaranteeing the effectiveness and sustainability of healthcare, and optimizing resource utilization to boost the efficiency of the healthcare system in the Kingdom.

The council reviewed the joint presentation from the ministries of education, economy and planning, and human resources and social development regarding professional accreditation and a study of professional licenses. The presentation addressed the progress of the professional accreditation program in implementing Cabinet Resolution No. 195, which ensures that expatriate workers possess the qualifications, skills, and practical experience required by the Saudi labor market, both before and after entering the Kingdom through the professional verification track. The aim is to regulate the entry of expatriate workers, improve the quality of labor market data, and bolster the skill level of the workforce.

The presentation also included the results of a study on organizing and standardizing professional licensing procedures in the Kingdom, which will improve labor market data and enhance the efficiency and quality of services provided.

The council reviewed the semi-annual presentation submitted by the Human Capability Development Program and the Ministry of Media regarding the progress of the Saudipedia. The presentation addressed the encyclopedia's development since its launch across multiple languages, the growing audience seeking encyclopedic content, and efforts to enhance the user experience through artificial intelligence applications to provide information. It outlined the encyclopedia's future steps to expand its reach to an international audience and to improve operational efficiency, reflecting the Kingdom's progress across all areas and solidifying its position as a reliable source, thereby strengthening trust between the encyclopedia and its users.

The presentation noted a 20% increase in the encyclopedia's visibility on search engines during September and October, compared to July and August, as well as a more than 70% increase in audience engagement with the website, which is 10% higher than the previous period.

The council reviewed several procedural matters, including the draft law for the National Curriculum Center, the national insurance sector strategy, the Kingdom's objectives for the football system, and the draft document on geographical scopes for non-Saudi property ownership.

The council reviewed other reports and presentations on its agenda, including a study on the feasibility of establishing specialized professional programs in infection prevention and control, the results of a field survey measuring the development of food loss and waste rates in the Kingdom, and a study on implementing cognitive development tests for health programs in the Kingdom.

The council was also briefed on the results of the quarterly report on the real estate price index, the semi-annual reports on government entities' electricity and water consumption, the monthly executive summary of foreign trade, summaries of the monthly consumer price index and wholesale price index reports, and the underlying reports on which these summaries were based.

The council adopted the necessary decisions and recommendations related to these issues.

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Business

Egypt to Cut Red Tape for Business and List up to Four State Firms

Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
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Egypt to Cut Red Tape for Business and List up to Four State Firms

Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones

Egypt will step up efforts to cut red tape to spur on local businesses and it expects to list as many as four state-owned firms on the stock exchange over the next 12 months, its Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh told Reuters.

Planned reforms aim to streamline company formation but also ease capital raising and make M&A processes easier, especially for non-listed firms, Saleh said.

"Within the coming 12 months, the priority would be in the area of the ease of doing business for already existing companies to facilitate their life... This is quite a hefty job," Saleh told Reuters on the sidelines of a visit to London.

He also predicted more than half a dozen companies would be floated on the country's stock exchange over the next 12 months, including a number of state-run ones.

State-owned enterprises still play an outsized role across Egypt's economy, with the IMF saying progress in reducing their footprint has been slower than expected.

Saleh said the government had got the ball rolling, having announced in March plans to sell up to a 20% share of Misr Life Insurance - something it has promised to do for more than 15 years - and could raise roughly 14 billion Egyptian pounds ($270 million).

"We're expecting three to four IPOs from our side, from the government side, and around four to five from the private sector," he said. He declined to name other state-owned companies that could be sold or how much such transactions could raise.

The minister said he expected flows of foreign direct investment in the fiscal year to end-June to rise 10% to 15% from $12.2 billion in fiscal 2024/2025.

Saleh said the government would not veer from its commitment to a floating exchange rate. Egypt's pound has been one of the world's hardest-hit currencies by the Iran war, falling nearly 8% since the conflict began. That has driven up inflation and threatened to reignite worries about the overall trajectory for the pound.

"Investors can deal with volatility, they don't deal with uncertainty," he said. "We were very clear and adamant about our policy direction... We are solely targeting inflation." He also said the government would maintain fiscal discipline, regardless of the situation in the region.

Asked about the seventh review of the country's IMF program, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, Saleh said the government had achieved or even surpassed targets set on metrics such as its fiscal deficit and primary surplus.

A follow-on program with the Fund once the current one expires by year-end was currently not on the cards, he said.

"When you go and enter into a program, it is because of financial needs and because of other aspects. Those things are not present as we speak."

Business

Oil Edges Lower after Oman Says Mina al Fahal Operations Proceeding Normally

Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Oil Edges Lower after Oman Says Mina al Fahal Operations Proceeding Normally

Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Oil prices edged lower after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been suspended after an explosion.

Brent crude futures fell by 50 cents, or 0.53%, to $94.53 a barrel by 0915 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.61 a barrel, down 43 cents, or 0.46%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.

Both contracts still looked set to post their first weekly gains in three weeks, with Brent up 2.7% and WTI around 6%.

The contracts rose after fighting flared in the Middle East as US-Iran war peace talks dragged on while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil passes, remained limited, Reuters reported.

Petroleum Development Oman said on Friday that operations at Mina Al Fahal port were proceeding normally, after three sources told Reuters earlier that oil loading had been suspended following an explosion near its mooring berths.

Oman exports 800,000 to 900,000 barrels per day of crude from the terminal.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected on Thursday a US-brokered agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting. Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon and that Lebanon deserved to have peace.

"Any optimism remains heavily clouded by a tangled web of headlines and counter-headlines," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. OPEC is sticking to its oil demand growth forecast of 1.2 million barrels per day for this year, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday, despite the Middle East conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian oil exports have fallen to their lowest level in six years mainly due to the US naval blockade, according to shipping data, although weak demand in China has depressed prices for the oil.

Business

FAO: World Food Prices Slip in May, Still Near Three-year High

A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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FAO: World Food Prices Slip in May, Still Near Three-year High

A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

World food prices slipped in May from a revised April level, with vegetable oil prices falling for the first time this year while cereals and sugar jumped, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which measures changes in a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 130.8 points in May, ⁠0.2% down from ⁠its revised April level of 131.0, but up 2.9% from a year earlier, Reuters reported.

Despite the small downward correction for the April data, the index remained near its highest level since January 2023 and 18.4% below its March 2022 peak. Cereal prices rose more than 2.6% on the month, with wheat up for a fourth straight month on smaller export harvest prospects, including in ⁠the United States, and higher fuel and fertilizer costs linked to the Iran conflict.

Maize prices were also supported by stronger import demand and tighter supplies in Brazil and the US, the agency said.

By contrast, vegetable oil prices fell 4.6% from last month, their first monthly decline this year, as lower palm and soy oil prices outweighed gains in rapeseed and sunflower oil. After rising for five consecutive months, international palm oil prices declined, reflecting expectations of weaker global import demand and uncertainty in crude oil markets.

Vegetable oil prices on average were still more than 20% above last year, as ⁠elevated energy costs ⁠following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz raised demand for biofuels made using organic materials, such as oil-rich plants.

Sugar prices jumped 7.5% from last month to 95.1 points, but remained 13.1% below their level a year ago. The increase was mainly driven by concerns over an anticipated tightening of global sugar supplies in the coming months.

In a separate cereal supply report, the FAO said it expected world cereal production - including rice in milled equivalent - to shrink 2% in 2026/27 to 2.98 billion tons.

Production of all major cereals is anticipated to decline, albeit for many from record levels reached in 2025, with the largest year-on-year decrease in percentage terms forecast for wheat and the smallest for maize and barley.