A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on January 13, 2021, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman participating in a dialogue session during the World Economic Forum in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AFP
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on January 13, 2021, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman participating in a dialogue session during the World Economic Forum in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AFP
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on January 13, 2021, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman participating in a dialogue session during the World Economic Forum in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AFP
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on January 13, 2021, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman participating in a dialogue session during the World Economic Forum in Al Ula, Sa

Saudi Arabia offers $6tn of investment opportunities over next decade, Crown Prince says


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Saudi Arabia will offer $6 trillion worth of major opportunities to investors over the next decade, the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

Prince Mohammed made the comments during an online briefing session held by the World Economic Forum, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The opportunities on offer "include $3 trillion in investments in new projects, within the framework of the opportunities provided by the kingdom's Vision 2030 and to establish new promising growth sectors", the SPA said.

Saudi Arabia's economy is set to grow at 3.2 per cent this year, King Salman said last month when unveiling a 990 billion riyal budget for 2021. The economy was forecast to shrink 3.7 per cent last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discusses the kingdom's achievements during an online briefing with the World Economic Forum from Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Press Agency
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discusses the kingdom's achievements during an online briefing with the World Economic Forum from Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Press Agency

Earlier this week, Prince Mohammed announced plans for The Line – the first major scheme to be brought forward within the kingdom's $500 billion futuristic city known as Neom. The 170km-long network of communities will be connected by subterranean passenger and freight transport networks, removing the need for cars and roads at ground level.

Neom is one of a number of flagship projects created under Vision 2030. Others include the huge Red Sea tourism project covering 90 offshore islands, the Qiddiya entertainment city near Riyadh and the $20bn Diriyah Gate and Al Ula heritage sites.

The Crown Prince told the World Economic Forum audience that 85 per cent of its economic programme will be funded by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund and the local private sector, with the remaining 15 per cent expected to be generated from investment from neighbouring GCC countries and other foreign investors.

He also highlighted Saudi Arabia's ambitions in renewable energy and said the kingdom intends to be a leader in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as automation and artificial intelligence.

The Crown Prince told the World Economic Forum audience that 85 per cent of its economic programme will be funded by the Public Investment Fund. Reuters
The Crown Prince told the World Economic Forum audience that 85 per cent of its economic programme will be funded by the Public Investment Fund. Reuters

Prince Mohammed reviewed achievements made since the announcement of the kingdom's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan in 2016, which have included doubling non-oil revenues, empowering women in the workforce and raising the competitiveness of its businesses, the press agency report said.

The Crown Prince said the achievements had been made following rapid transformation and reforms within the past four years, adding that those reforms are set to double within the next decade,

He said that although 2020 was full of challenges, the kingdom was ready to face them. He also said the kingdom remained keen on international cooperation with “partners and friends in the business community and their participation in these promising investment opportunities”.

Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Barings Bank

 Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal. 

Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson. 

Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.  

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

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Omar Yabroudi's factfile

Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager

 

 

 

 

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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