Saudi Arabia renewed its call for global investors to back the kingdom’s transformation drive amid progress on its Vision 2030 diversification agenda.
The kingdom's Minister of Investment, Khalid Al Falih, urged investment in ports and airports during the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh on Sunday, Reuters reported. Up to 85 per cent of Vision 2030 targets were complete or on track as of the end of 2024, he said.
Speaking at the forum, Mr Al Falih also said 675 companies have now established regional headquarters in Riyadh, a policy that encourages global firms to deepen their presence in the kingdom and create local employment.
"If I may break that news, we will be recognising Barclays for the regional headquarters in a couple of days," Mr Al Falih added, addressing the bank’s chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan on stage, Reuters reported.
Also speaking at the forum, Michael Dyke, the chief executive of New Murabba, the planned downtown Riyadh megaproject, said it will open investment opportunities in technology, real estate and construction. The project, launched in 2023, is designed as a mixed-use urban district supporting Riyadh’s growth.
Separately, Saudi Arabia's Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said on Sunday that it had not yet decided on plans to invest along the Egyptian Red Sea, adding that the kingdom was prioritising the development of new local destinations such as the Red Sea Global (RSG) development, Reuters reported.
RSG, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is working towards opening 16 resorts at the Red Sea project and eight at Amaala, Red Sea Global's chief executive John Pagano told The National this week.
Funding from its sovereign wealth fund owner is secured and its projects are unaffected by government spending reviews, he said. "We are one of the exemplar companies, we've delivered and we are delivering, so our funding is committed from the PIF."
