RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s economic ties with China have strengthened further, with Shanghai Lujiazui Financial City Authority setting up its office in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District.
The announcement was made at an event organized on Thursday by eWTP Arabia Capital, a venture capital investment firm based in the capital city with a branch office in Beijing.
The firm is the investment arm of the Electronic World Trade Platform, founded by Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma in 2016.
During the event, eWTP Arabia Capital, SLFCA, and KAFD Development and Management Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation between the financial hubs of Shanghai and Riyadh.
Jerry Li, founder and managing partner of eWTPA, KAFD DMC CEO Gautam Sashittal, and SLFCA Director General Yefeng Yuan signed the MoU.
Speaking at the event, Sashittal said: “Saudi Arabia and China share many commonalities in their current journeys. They are two giant economies with vast regional and international influence, pursuing ambitious socioeconomic transformations, attracting unprecedented interest and wide-ranging investment.”
“This strategic agreement will pave the way for meaningful engagement in the days ahead and ensure smooth working relationships for individuals and businesses alike,” he added.
Additionally, eWTPA signed a strategic agreement with SLFCA to establish an investment platform, as the two parties aim to synergize in finance, commerce, innovation, and technology. It plans to encourage more substantial business, capital, and talent exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia.
“We are talking about the second largest economy in the world, China, collaborating with the largest economy in the region, in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia is growing fast, so if you look at the FDI coming into the country, it trebled between 2020 and 2021,” Sashittal told Arab News.
He added: “This collaboration with China, with the financial district, will ensure to wake commerce to exchange between the two countries, in various sectors, telecom, technology and financial sector collaboration, so this will bring a lot of benefits to us in KAFD.”
From a macroeconomic perspective, establishing the new financial district in Riyadh highlights the significance of the public and private sector’s support to the economy’s growth.
“For an economy to be successful, you need active participation in both the public and the private sectors. A lot of the initiatives here are supported by the public, but this is what brings the private sector in, especially the international businesses. This brings confidence to the country to the economy, which grows the country’s economy with very positive about that,” Sashittal told Arab News.
The SLFCA’s Riyadh office, supported by eWTPA, will act as Shanghai’s main entry point into the Kingdom.
It will serve as a platform, bringing together all market participants from both regions, and will promote international collaboration in business, technology, finance, and other sectors.
Furthermore, eWTPA’s Jerry Li told Arab News: “China is the biggest importer for Saudi Arabia, and we come here for more than five years, we learn and research about the local industry, and we found that there is not a lot of Chinese entrepreneurs and Chinese businessmen.
So we support our local partner to know more about their request and the gap between the two countries.”
“The partnership holds immense importance for Riyadh and Shanghai, offering the potential to generate significant value. Shanghai aims to utilize its expertise to support Saudi Arabia in achieving its Vision 2030,” Li said during the press conference.
The event concluded when the three signees exchanged gifts after signing the agreements.
On Wednesday, on the sidelines of the Saudi-Chinese Business Forum, Riyadh and Beijing signed several cooperation agreements worth over $1.33 billion, fostering cooperation in vital fields like housing, financing, and infrastructure.
Majid Al-Hogail, the Saudi minister of municipal and rural affairs and housing, said in a tweet that the developments at the event, which is taking place in Beijing, signify the strengthening of connections between the two nations and pave the path for more growth and shared progress.
