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Saudi Arabia announces $13.3bn of investment deals at Global Health Exhibition

Saudi Arabia announces $13.3bn of investment deals at Global Health Exhibition
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Updated 22 October 2024
Arab News
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Saudi Arabia announces $13.3bn of investment deals at Global Health Exhibition

Saudi Arabia announces $13.3bn of investment deals at Global Health Exhibition
  • Key agreements include SR4bn pharmaceuticals-manufacturing deal, SR5bn expansion by Fakeeh Care Group, and SR3bn Almoosa Health Group plan for new medical facilities
  • Goal is for Kingdom to become ‘hub for addressing global challenges,’ through a unified government approach focusing on innovation, digital solutions and AI, minister says
Updated 22 October 2024
Arab News
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RIYADH: Speaking on the opening day of the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh on Monday, the Saudi minister of health, Fahad Al-Jalajel, announced imvestment deals in the sector worth more than SR50 billion ($13.3 billion).

Key deals include a SR4 billion pharmaceuticals-manufacturing agreement between NUPCO, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, a SR5 billion expansion by Fakeeh Care Group, and a SR3 billion investment by Almoosa Health Group to establish five primary care centers and two hospitals.

Other major agreement included Dallah Health’s acquisition of Al-Salam and Al-Ahsa hospitals, which adds 749 beds to the healthcare system in the Eastern Province. Dallah is also planning a new hospital in Riyadh with a capacity of 250 beds and expansion potential, a project valued at SR4 billion.

The seventh Global Health Exhibition, the theme of which is “Invest in Health,” began on Monday at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center and continues until Wednesday. It brings together government leaders, industry experts and healthcare professionals to explore transformative investments in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector, organizers said.

During his opening address, Al-Jalajel highlighted Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading regional investor in healthcare, as guided by the Health Sector Transformation Program under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification.

“Our goal is for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to serve as a hub for addressing global challenges by establishing a unified government approach, focusing on innovation, digital solutions and artificial intelligence,” he said.

Investment in the private health insurance sector in the country has surged, Al-Jalajel said, with more than 12 million people insured by the end of 2023, compared with only 3 million in 2011. He projected that this market, currently worth SR40 billion, would double in value by 2030.

In addition to investment deals, several strategic partnerships and other agreements across the healthcare sector were announced on the opening day of the exhibition, including collaborations between universities, healthcare institutions and the private sector that aim to boost research, innovation and the development of healthcare professionals in the Kingdom.

Topics: Saudi Arabia SAUDI HEALTH MINISTRY Global Health Exhibition

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Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting

Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting
Updated 29 sec ago
REEM WALID 
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Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting

Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting
Updated 29 sec ago
REEM WALID 

RIYADH: Digital partnerships between Saudi Arabia and Iraq are on track to prosper after a top ministerial meeting between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Swaha, met with his Iraqi counterpart, Hayam Al-Yasiri, during her visit to Saudi Arabia. The discussions focused on exploring new opportunities for joint investments in the field, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The meeting also tackled ways to further stimulate entrepreneurship that supports innovation and encourages the growth of the digital economy.

This falls in line with the Kingdom’s objective to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence and digital transformation under Vision 2030. Goals include increasing the digital economy’s gross domestic product contribution from 14 percent in 2022 to 19.2 percent by 2025, digitizing 92 percent of government services, and raising the information and communication technology sector’s GDP share to 4 percent.

It also aligns with Iraq’s ongoing efforts to develop a digital transformation strategy to support the private and public sectors and drive economic growth.

During the meeting, the two parties also shed light on the importance of integrating efforts to develop the digital environment, empower capabilities, and raise the level of collaborations in priority areas such as AI as well as infrastructure development.

Earlier this month, as officials convened in Riyadh during the 19th Internet Governance Forum, Saudi Arabia also explored partnership opportunities with Germany, Japan, and France in emerging technologies, AI, and digital infrastructure.

Held from Dec. 15 to 19 at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, the UN-organized forum assembled global leaders to endorse global digital cooperation and address emerging challenges related to Internet governance.

At the forum’s opening at the time, the Kingdom revealed the Riyadh Declaration, a commitment to developing inclusive and responsible AI technologies in an attempt to address global challenges and drive economic value. 

In November, Saudi senior tech diplomat Deemah Al-Yahya, the secretary-general of the multilateral Digital Cooperation Organization, held talks with Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani, about support for Baghdad’s plans to develop its digital business and AI sectors. 
 
The two sides discussed Iraq’s digital transformation strategy and the need to create and develop a workforce with the tech skills required to help grow the Iraqi economy effectively, SPA said at the time.

Topics: Saudi-Iraq ties digital economy

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Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch

Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch
Updated 9 min 21 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan 
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Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch

Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch
Updated 9 min 21 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan 

Saudi Aramco’s robust financial standing has been reaffirmed by Moody’s and Fitch, with the agencies assigning strong ratings to the energy giant’s newly established $10 billion US Commercial Paper Program.

Moody’s assigned a Prime-1 short-term issuer rating to the energy giant and reaffirmed its Aa3 long-term issuer rating with a stable outlook, reflecting the company’s ability to meet financial obligations. 

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings awarded an F1+ short-term rating, highlighting Aramco’s strong intrinsic capacity for timely payments and financial resilience. 

Aramco has established a $10 billion US Commercial Paper Program to issue notes with maturities of up to 270 days. 

Commercial paper is an unsecured, short-term debt instrument issued by corporations, typically used to cover receivables or meet short-term financial obligations, such as funding new projects. 

“Aramco has excellent liquidity. Its consolidated cash balance and operational cash flow are more than sufficient to meet the group’s debt maturities, investment commitments and dividends over the next 12 to 18 months,” said Moody’s. 

As of Sept. 30, the company had $69 billion of cash and cash equivalents. 

The credit rating agency also projected that Aramco is expected to generate $180 billion in funds from operations through March 2026, sufficient to cover $16 billion in debt maturities, $85 billion in capital spending, and $140 billion in dividends over the same period. 

The report also noted that the energy company maintains undrawn $10 billion multi-tranche revolving credit facilities, set to expire in April 2029. 

Fitch echoed similar confidence, noting that Aramco’s financial profile is bolstered by its conservative financial policies, low production costs, and strong pre-dividend free cash flow. 

“Its business profile is characterized by large-scale production, vast reserves, low production costs and expansion into downstream and petrochemicals,” said Fitch Ratings. 

It added: “We expect state support to be forthcoming, although historically the company’s robust financial position has not necessitated government support. Saudi Arabia has provided support to other government-related entities in the past.” 

Assigning an Aa3 baseline credit assessment rating to Aramco, Moody’s stated that the positive rating reflects the company’s proven track record in executing large-scale projects, significant downstream integration, conservative financial policy, and strong financial flexibility, supported by its low production costs. 

“These characteristics provide resilience through oil price cycles and also help balance carbon transition risk, which is a material credit consideration for oil and gas companies,” added Moody’s. 

Both agencies emphasized the strong link between Aramco’s ratings and those of the Saudi government. 

Moody’s highlighted that Aramco’s Aa3 rating reflects the Kingdom’s solid credit standing, recently upgraded to Aa3 by Moody’s in November. The agency added that any changes in the sovereign rating would directly impact Aramco’s ratings. 

Moody’s gives Aa3 ratings to countries which have a very low credit risk and hold the best ability to repay short-term debt. 

“An upgrade of the sovereign rating would likely lead to an upgrade of Aramco’s rating if it maintains prudent financial policies and robust credit metrics. Negative pressure on the sovereign rating will lead to negative pressure on Aramco’s rating,” said Moody’s in the latest report. 

Similarly, Fitch noted that Saudi Arabia’s A+ sovereign rating, affirmed in February, underscores the Kingdom’s strong capacity for financial commitments and its ability to provide support to Aramco if needed. 

Both agencies acknowledged Aramco’s capacity to adapt to market conditions, particularly its ability to adjust dividend commitments in response to oil price fluctuations. In 2024, Aramco delivered a base dividend of $81.2 billion, supported by its strong operating cash flow. 

Topics: Aramco Fitch Ratings Moody's

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Oil Updates — prices rise in thin pre-Christmas trade

Oil Updates — prices rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
Updated 24 December 2024
Reuters
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Oil Updates — prices rise in thin pre-Christmas trade

Oil Updates — prices rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
  • Solid economic prospects for the US are also supporting prices
Updated 24 December 2024
Reuters

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Tuesday, reversing the prior session’s losses, buoyed by slightly positive market outlooks for the short term and stronger US economic data, despite thin trade ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Brent crude futures were up 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $72.96 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $69.53 a barrel at 07:22 a.m. Saudi time.
FGE analysts said they anticipated the benchmark prices would fluctuate around current levels in the short term “as activity in the paper markets decreases during the holiday season and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances.”
Supply and demand changes in December have been supportive of their current less-bearish view so far, the analysts said in a note.
“Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure,” they added.
Some other analysts also pointed to signs of a positive outlook for oil over the next few months.
“The year is ending with the consensus from major agencies over long 2025 liquids balances starting to break down,” said Neil Crosby, Sparta Commodities’ assistant vice president of oil analytics, in a note. “The EIA’s STEO (short-term energy outlook) recently shifted their 2025 liquids to a draw despite continuing to bring back some OPEC+ barrels next year.”
Solid economic prospects for the US, the world’s largest oil consumer, are also supporting prices.
New orders for key US-manufactured capital goods surged in November amid strong demand for machinery, while new home sales also rebounded, in a sign that the US economy is on a solid footing toward the year-end.
In the shorter term, traders are looking for indications of US demand from the crude oil and fuel stockpiles data due from the American Petroleum Institute industry group later on Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 2 million barrels in the week to Dec. 20 in a sign of healthy demand. The Energy Information Administration is due to release its data on Friday. 

Topics: Oil Updates  oil prices Oil market Brent crude

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Arab markets see 60% surge in trading volumes in November: AMF  

Arab markets see 60% surge in trading volumes in November: AMF  
Updated 24 December 2024
Nour El-Shaeri  
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Arab markets see 60% surge in trading volumes in November: AMF  

Arab markets see 60% surge in trading volumes in November: AMF  
Updated 24 December 2024
Nour El-Shaeri  

RIYADH: Trading activity across Arab financial markets surged in November, with volumes jumping nearly 60 percent, driven by strong performance in Iraq and other regional exchanges, a new report showed.  

In its latest monthly analysis, the Arab Monetary Fund reported that the Iraq Stock Exchange led the way with a 131.24 percent surge in trading volumes, followed by the Beirut Stock Exchange, which recorded an 87.83 percent increase. 

Other standout performers included the Damascus Securities Exchange with a 71.80 percent gain, Bahrain Bourse with 68.22 percent, and Dubai Financial Market with 54.26 percent. 

The surge in trading volumes across Arab financial markets comes against the backdrop of a region grappling with a complex mix of economic recovery efforts, geopolitical challenges, and fluctuating investor sentiment.

While some countries are benefiting from stabilizing oil prices and diversification efforts, others face hurdles such as political instability, currency pressures, and regional tensions 

Modest gains were seen in Egypt and Casablanca, which posted increases of 19.08 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively. However, some markets faced declines, with the most significant drop recorded by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where trading volumes fell by 61.67 percent.    

The market capitalization of Arab financial markets included in the Arab Monetary Fund’s composite index showed a slight improvement, rising 0.13 percent, or $5.54 billion, by the end of November compared to October.    

Nine exchanges reported gains, led by the Damascus Securities Exchange, which saw an increase of 16.17 percent in market capitalization, followed by the Dubai Financial Market at 5.17 percent.    

Other markets, including Casablanca, Iraq, Amman, and Kuwait, posted increases ranging from 3.71 percent to 1.23 percent.    

Conversely, declines were recorded in Beirut, Tunisia, Muscat, and Saudi Arabia, each reporting drops of less than 1 percent. Larger declines were observed in Palestine and Qatar, where market capitalization fell by 1.05 percent and 1.29 percent, respectively.  

“In terms of contribution to the overall monthly change in trading value, the Dubai Financial Market had the largest positive contribution at 2.18 percentage points,” the report noted.   

Meanwhile, the Saudi Stock Exchange made the most significant negative impact, contributing a decline of 0.31 percentage points.    

In contrast to the growth in trading volumes and marginal improvement in market capitalization, trading values across Arab financial markets plummeted by 25.11 percent in November compared to October.    

Six exchanges recorded increases in trading value, while nine posted declines. The Bahrain Bourse led the gains, with a 154.94 percent rise in trading value, followed by Beirut and Damascus, which grew by 87.97 percent and 58.81 percent, respectively.    

Dubai Financial Market also saw a 49.47 percent increase, contributing the highest positive impact of 2.18 percentage points to the monthly trading value change.   

On the downside, the Egyptian Exchange experienced the steepest decline in trading value, dropping 32.93 percent, while the Tunis Stock Exchange followed with a sharp 71.57 percent decrease.    

Other markets, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Iraq, recorded declines ranging from 6.64 percent to 18.66 percent.    

The Egyptian Exchange contributed the largest negative impact to the overall change in trading value, accounting for an 8.25 percentage-point drop. 

Topics: Arab Monetary Fund stock exchanges ARab

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Saudi Arabia to welcome Middle East’s first TRIBE hotel in King Salman Park

Saudi Arabia to welcome Middle East’s first TRIBE hotel in King Salman Park
Updated 23 December 2024
Nirmal Narayanan
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Saudi Arabia to welcome Middle East’s first TRIBE hotel in King Salman Park

Saudi Arabia to welcome Middle East’s first TRIBE hotel in King Salman Park
  • TRIBE Riyadh King Salman Park hotel will feature two restaurants, meeting facilities, banquet hall, gym, and swimming pool
  • TRIBE Living will introduce 150 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units
Updated 23 December 2024
Nirmal Narayanan

RIYADH: French hospitality group Accor and Naif Alrajhi Investment have signed an agreement to bring the Middle East’s first TRIBE hotel to Saudi Arabia. 

The project, featuring a 250-key property, will be situated within Riyadh’s King Salman Park and will include the debut of TRIBE Living, a new residential community concept. 

The collaboration builds on the partnership between the two entities, which successfully launched Fairmont Ramla Serviced Residences last year, according to a press release. 

This initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and boost the tourism sector, targeting 150 million annual visitors by 2030. 

“The introduction of TRIBE and TRIBE Living to Saudi Arabia showcases our focus on design-led, lifestyle experiences that meet the growing demand for modern, accessible hotel offerings in Riyadh,” said Duncan O’Rourke, Accor’s CEO for premium, midscale and economy brands for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. 

The TRIBE Riyadh King Salman Park hotel will also feature two restaurants, meeting facilities, a banquet hall, a gym, and a swimming pool. 

TRIBE Living will introduce 150 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, offering residents access to the hotel’s dining and recreational amenities, the release added. 

Since its launch in 2017, the TRIBE brand has grown to 18 hotels with 2,708 rooms globally. 

Riyadh is emerging as a global hub for business and leisure, fueled by growing demand for premium accommodations. Accor aims to capitalize on this trend with 1,683 operational keys in the city and 2,740 in the pipeline. 

The announcement follows the King Salman Park Foundation’s plan to develop its first real estate investment plot in collaboration with Naif Alrajhi Investment. 

“We are delighted to be working with Accor once again, a trusted partner, to introduce new and iconic brands to the local market for the first time. This partnership is a significant step forward in our ongoing commitment to delivering world-class destinations that cater to both local and international audiences,” Naif Saleh Al-Rajhi, chairman and CEO of Naif Alrajhi Investment. 

The project is part of King Salman Park’s Package 1, a 290,000-sq.-meter mixed-use development featuring residential, commercial, retail, and recreational spaces. The district is strategically located near the park’s key attractions, such as the Royal Arts Complex and Visitors Pavilion. 

Accor is planning substantial growth in the Kingdom, with 45 new establishments and 9,800 keys expected by 2030, O’Rourke told Arab News in May. 

Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector has gained momentum, driven by large-scale events such as Riyadh Season and AlUla Season. 

A report by JLL released earlier this month highlighted that urban infrastructure development is creating new opportunities in the Kingdom, driven by the government’s push for economic diversification and increased tourism.

Topics: Accor TRIBE hotels Saudi hotels

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