RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 12% in the first half of 2020 compared with the same period last year.
The Saudi government, which is hosting this year’s G20 summit, has made attracting greater foreign investment a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy of the world’s largest oil exporter away from oil revenues.
“I’m glad to say that FDI, my area of focus, in the first half has been reported to increase by 12% compared to last year,” Falih, who previously chaired state oil company Saudi Aramco, told a G20 conference.
Falih said in September the kingdom had experienced a slowdown in FDI this year due to the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I mentioned the 12% increase I wanted to assure people that there was no decline, our FDI target is much higher,” Falih said on Saturday.
As part of efforts to attract foreign investors, Saudi Arabia will launch next year special economic zones dedicated to several sectors, Falih said.
In addition to attracting higher investment volumes, it will focus on “qualitative growth”, he said, mentioning areas such as cloud computing, renewable energy, tourism, culture, entertainment, and logistics.
“These investments may have lower investment volumes but higher impact on the economy.”
Saudi Arabia is chairing a two-day summit this weekend of leaders of the 20 biggest world economies, who will debate how to deal with a pandemic that has caused a global recession and how to manage the recovery once it is under control.
Falih said the Saudi economy, which has been hit by the double blow of the pandemic and lower oil prices, had shown resilience this year and had a proven ability to withstand shocks.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
