Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia rose to $203. 2 billion at the end of 2022, from $175. 7 billion in 2021.
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has released annual foreign direct investment data for 2022, showing that FDI flows to the Saudi economy increased by 20% in 2022, reaching $32. 8 billion, through 2021.
Foreign direct investment outflows to corporations in the Saudi economy increased by 12%, reaching $4. 5 billion through 2021.
Saudi Arabia particularly increased its foreign direct investment flows in 2022, reaching $28 billion in 2022, up from $23. 2 billion in 2021.
Processing industries recorded the contribution to the total FDI balance at the end of 2022, with a value of $63. 7 billion, or 31% of the total balance.
– Third quarter
Meanwhile, FDI data for the third quarter revealed that net foreign direct investment flows to the Kingdom amounted to $2. 9 billion, a low of 10% in the third quarter of 2023, compared to the second quarter, when they amounted to around $3. 4 billion, an increase of 26% compared to the second quarter of 2023, in the first quarter of 2023, when it was $2. 4 billion.
The value of foreign investment flows leaving the Kingdom’s economy in the third quarter of 2022 amounted to around $1. 33 billion, a low of 22. 5 percent, compared to the second quarter of the same year, which amounted to 1. 8 billion dollars.
The value of foreign direct investment flows into the Kingdom’s economy fell by 14. 4 percent, worth around $4. 5 billion, in the third quarter of 2023, to the second quarter of the same year, which rose to around $5. 06 billion.
– Quality and transparency
GASTAT President Fahad al-Dossari said Saudi Arabia’s announcement of FDI for the first time adds new global popularity to the quality and transparency of the method for calculating FDI statistics. This is achieved by offering world-leading degrees of transparency and governance.
Dossari highlighted the joint efforts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in this allocation and the integration of roles between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Investment to the method followed through GASTAT for the calculation of the index.
He explained that this will enable investors to make investment decisions based on reliable effects that decision-makers and policymakers have, design investment policies that attract more foreign investment, and inform investors about the most productive investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
– New methodology
The new approach came after aligning with the IMF’s most recent methodologies and confirmation through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) of applying maximum foreign productivity practices and criteria in accordance with the Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual.
The World Bank supported the recommendations presented through the International Monetary Fund in its recent report on Saudi Arabia, which form the basis of the new methodology.
The new method will contribute to strengthening the degrees of governance and the quality of transparency of knowledge and statistical data for calculating the signs of foreign direct investment as an investment destination in the Kingdom.
FDI includes about 19 new signals under the new method approved through the IMF, adding up the balance and flows of foreign direct investment through economic activity, making an investment in countries and regions of Saudi Arabia from 2007 to 2022.
Gold rose as the dollar retreated and Treasury yields fell, even as the costs of other metals remained broadly combined.
Safe-haven valuable steel is trading 0. 1% higher at $2,073. 0 per troy ounce and is on track to consolidate its weekly gains after the Federal Reserve announced no rate cuts would follow. not anytime soon, which would cause yields to fall, analysts said, AFP reported.
That said, “in our view gold is too volatile,” RBC analysts noted.
Hit by positive and negative macroeconomic pressures, it is not surprising that gold cannot attract stable flows of investors, given its expectations-based prices, analysts said.
Three-month copper fell 0. 3% to $8,615. 5 a tonne, while aluminum rose 0. 6% to $2,285. 0 a tonne.
The U. N. food agency’s global value index fell in January to its lowest point in just three years, due to falling grain and meat prices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) stock index, which tracks the world’s most traded food products, averaged 118. 0 points in January, up from 119. 1 last month, the company said on Friday.
January’s figure is the lowest since February 2021.
“Global wheat export prices declined in January driven by strong competition among exporters and the arrival of recently harvested supplies in the southern hemisphere countries,” the FAO said in its monthly update.
FAO also said maize prices fell sharply, reflecting progress in developing conditions and the start of harvest in Argentina and increased materials in the United States.
The meat value index fell for the seventh straight month as an abundance of materials from major exporting countries reduced the foreign value of poultry, beef and pork, FAO said.
In a separate report, the FAO said world cereal production in 2023 was on track to hit an all-time record high of 2.836 billion metric tons – up 1.2% from 2022. Global coarse grain output was pegged at an all-time high of 1.523 billion tons, following a 12-million-ton upward adjustment this month.
“Most of the revision reflects new official knowledge from Canada, (mainland) China, Turkey and the United States, where a combination of higher yields and higher-than-expected harvested acreage led to higher maize production estimates,” he added. .
Türkiye’s central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan resigned on Friday, citing a need to protect her family amid a “reputation assassination”, and she was swiftly replaced by a deputy who is expected to carry on her tight policy stance.
President Tayyip Erdogan, who hired Erkan eight months ago to abandon years of low interest rates that fueled inflation and adopt a more orthodox policy, appointed Deputy Governor Fatih Karahan to take the reins, the Official Journal reported on Saturday, two hours after the wonderful resignation.
Karahan, a former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was appointed to the House of Representatives in July and is seen as a capable successor who played a vital role in shaping financial adjustment.
Erkan, a former head of a US bank, began raising rates as soon as she was appointed in June, launching a 180-degree turn after years of low rates under Erdogan that had fueled inflation and scared away foreign investors.
The central bank has since raised its key interest rate from 8. 5% to 45%. Last week, after a 250 basis point increase, he said he had tightened inflation enough to achieve disinflation, signaling a halt.
Erkan said that “our economic program has begun to bear fruit,” citing the buildup of foreign exchange reserves and expectations that inflation would begin to cool by mid-year “as proof of this success. “
“Despite all these positive developments, as is known to the public, a major reputation assassination campaign has recently been organized against me,” she added on social media platform X.
“In order to prevent my family and my innocent child, who is not even one and a half years old, from being further affected by this, I have asked our President to pardon me from my duty.”
Last month, the opposition newspaper Sozcu published an article about a central bank worker who claimed to have been wrongfully dismissed through Erkan’s father.
Erkan then reacted by calling an “unfounded” article directed at her, her family and the bank “unacceptable” and vowed to exercise her legal rights against those responsible.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its expectations for economic expansion in Saudi Arabia, indicating a outlook for the Kingdom’s economy.
The IMF now predicts a growth rate of 5.5% in 2025, an increase from its previous estimate of 4.5% issued in October 2023.
These revisions were made based on data published in the IMF’s “Global Economic Outlook Updates” report in January 2024, which highlighted the positive outlook for the functionality and strength of the Saudi economy despite the dangers and challenging situations presented by the global economic outlook. .
This positive outlook confirms the growth and prosperity of the Saudi economy, which is being driven by strong leadership both regionally and internationally.
The report also expects the global economy to achieve a growth rate of 3.1% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance and the National Debt Management Centre (NDMC) have revealed plans to launch the first government-backed retail product.
Abdulaziz Al-Furaih, chairman of the Ministry of Finance’s guidance committee, explained that the product launch is part of the projects of the money sector progression program, one of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 systems, to increase private savings rates. encouraging them to regularly save a portion of their income.
He added that the product aims to strengthen the supply of savings products, enrich monetary literacy and raise awareness about the importance of savings and its benefits, to plan long-term goals.
The savings assignment is called Sah, derived from the first letters of the Arabic word “Sakookun Hukoomiya” or bonds, and will go into circulation on February 4.
Hani Al-Madini, CEO of NDMC, said the product is part of the program of local sukuk denominated in Saudi riyals, which will be issued monthly, according to a specific schedule.
He added that the initiative represents an incentive for the personal sector to cooperate and participate in the progression and release of a series of savings products for other categories of people, whether through banks, fund managers, fintech corporations or others.
The Shah program, which is compatible with the Islamic Shariah, offers cost-effective benefits and will be featured on the virtual channels of various monetary institutions, such as Al-Ahli Financial Company, Aljazeera Capital, Alinma Investment, Al-Awwal Capital, and Al-Rajhi Capital Company.
Saudi Arabia is witnessing the launch of gigantic renewable energy projects, leading to a festival within the private sector to attract specialized national skills in the field, according to the chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Polytechnic Institute of Renewable Energy (SPIRE). Engineer Majid Al-Refai.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Refai revealed that the Saudi government, represented through the Human Resource Development Fund, supports efforts to exercise executives in renewable energy, covering 75% of citizens’ salaries during the exercise period, under a committed program.
According to Refai, the program, implemented in cooperation with SPIRE, is the culmination of the private sector’s initiative to qualify and enhance Saudi skills in the renewable energy sector, noting that the institute holds regular meetings with private sector corporations to meet their intern desires. in this field.
Refai noted that SPIRE recently signed five contracts with private sector companies for a hundred more people to obtain a degree in renewable energy.
These make up the first batch of the program, he said, adding that 80% of applicants will concentrate on the solar energy sector, which includes specializations such as quality, maintenance and operationArray, while the remaining 20% will specialize in wind energy.
The director of SPIRE revealed that the institute’s facilities will be completed and supplied in two years, with the capacity to accommodate about 3,000 students.
He also highlighted agreements with Saudi universities that aim to raise awareness about renewable energy, saying that the ongoing measures will make the SPIRE Institute a pioneer globally and promote cooperation with educational bodies inside and outside the Kingdom.