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RIYADH: The Saudi Central Bank has launched a public consultation on on draft amendments to the Finance Companies Control Law.
In order to ensure transparency and wider participation, the bank, also known as SAMA, invited stakeholders and the public to submit suggestions and observations on the draft through the National Competitiveness Center’s Public Consultation Platform.
This regulatory function falls under SAMA’s oversight responsibilities, as well as its role in supporting the development of the finance sector and keeping pace with the growth of the global finance industry.
The move aims to strengthen SAMA’s commitment to upkeep relevant international principles and standards. As well as contributing to the growth of the sector, the regulation will help attract new investors to achieve one of Saudi Vision 2030’s goals.
To enable SAMA to assess its relevance in finalizing the text, the contributors are expected to provide their input on the draft within 30 days of this publication.
RIYADH: Professional roles in a management, procurement and the food sector are earmarked to be among 11new localization decisions before the end of 2022, the minister of human resources and social development has announced.
Ahmad Al-Rajhi explained that the new localization decisions will also include roles in the drug sector, according to a statement.
Speaking of the localization of sectors and professions, Al-Rajhi noted that these decisions have contributed to raising the number of Saudi workers in the private sector to over 2.12 million.
Additionally, the decisions contributed in reducing the unemployment rate of Saudi citizens to 9.7 percent, as well as increasing the women’s economic participation rate to 35.6 percent.
Alrajhi added that private sector establishments’ compliance rate with the labor system and its regulations has reached 98 percent during this year.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issued a decision to localize 35 percent of consultancy professions and businesses effective as of April 6 2023.
The decision targets all professions in the sector, most notably financial advisory specialists, business advisers, cybersecurity advisory specialists, project management managers, project management engineers, and project management specialists.
The decision is expected to boost job opportunities for the citizens.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Jadaan issued a ministerial decision amending the terms of consulting services and obligating consulting companies to ensure the percentage of localization.
In September, the Ministry started the implementation of its localization program at amusement parks and entertainment centers.
This happened as it aimed to localize 70 percent of the jobs in that area.
It also seeks to localize entertainment centers within closed commercial complexes by 100 percent.
Riyadh Chamber of Commerce’s chairman, Ajlan Al-Ajlan, has previously stressed the role of the private sector as a major supporter and participant in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.
In partnership with the ministry, the private sector has contributed to the localization programs to reduce unemployment, he explained.
This came during a meeting between the Saudi Minister and businessmen at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and South Africa have signed a series of memorandums of understanding (MoU) with an estimated value of more than $15 billion, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Monday.
Welcoming the signings, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed the importance of strengthening joint cooperation and bilateral ties, according to the joint statement.
The two sides highlighted the positive outcomes that were achieved since the South African’s visit to the Kingdom in 2018, which allowed for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields, according to SPA.
During their meeting, the two leaders discussed areas of economic and trade cooperation and stressed the importance of strengthening their economic partnership.
They also emphasized their commitment to continue working to enable partnerships between the private sectors in Saudi Arabia and South Africa and encourage mutual investments, SPA reported.
The leaders also praised the efforts of the Saudi-South African Joint Committee in enhancing cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic sectors – aligning with both the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan and South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030.
The two sides also highlighted the positive outcomes that were achieved since the South African president’s visit to the Kingdom in 2018, which allowed for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields, according to SPA.
RIYADH: Saudi-based Abdul Latif Jameel Energy’s renewable business Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, known as FRV-X, has announced the investment of $9.7 million in solar-as-a-service provider ecoligo as the firm continues playing its part to drive the global transition towards renewable energy.
According to a press release, Berlin-based ecoligo has been implementing projects financed by investors since 2016, and has launched 169 projects with a total output of 82.4 megawatt peak in emerging markets across three continents.
The press release further noted that ecoligo will use this investment to grow sustainably, expand existing markets, and effectively contribute to the global energy transition.
The German firm is also eyeing to further develop its digital impact investing platform and offer more investment opportunities in its projects across the world.
“Both FRV-X and ecoligo share the same vision of democratizing the energy transition and creating a clean future for people around the world, and in particular, those in the global south,” said Fady Jameel, deputy president and vice chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel.
He added: “We will continue to look for opportunities to make impact-driven investments that support our efforts in initiating, driving, and maintaining the green energy transition.”
Martin Baart, CEO of ecoligo, said: “With impact investors such as FRV-X, we have found the perfect partner to enable even more companies in emerging markets to access clean energy. Through the alliance, we will not only be able to expand our growth, but also offer more people the opportunity to contribute to the global energy transition through private investments.”
RIYADH: NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s smart and sustainable city, has partnered with hospitality developer Ennismore for its Trojena project as the mountain tourism destination gears up to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.
Under the deal, the developer will establish its iconic brands — 25hours Hotels and Morgans Originals — in Trojena, which is set to feature a ski village upon completion.
The deal with Ennismore is touted to be one of the many agreements that will be signed with hospitality developers, as Hotel Development, the NEOM division responsible for building a future-centric hospitality ecosystem, aims to establish global partnerships with leading firms.
“Our partnership with Ennismore echoes our mission to pioneer in the space of experiential hospitality in a way that shapes the future of hotels in the Kingdom and beyond. With a shared passion for developing differentiated and imaginative hospitality concepts, we look forward to seeing this relationship — and others like it — flourish,” said Chris Newman, executive director, Hotel Development at NEOM.
Philip Gullett, executive director and region head at Trojena added: “Both 25hours Hotels and Morgans Originals are ideal brands for Trojena as we look to deliver extraordinary experiences for residents and visitors seeking luxury, adventure, entertainment, livability, and escape from the status quo.”
Trojena is expected to be completed in 2026, and it is an area where winter temperatures drop below zero and year-round temperatures are generally 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the region.
The site spans 60 sq. km, at an elevation of between 1,500 and 2,600 meters.
There will be 47 events at the Trojena Games — 28 on snow and 19 on ice — including competitions for skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and figure skating.
NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said that Trojena will have all the necessary infrastructure to make the Winter Games an unprecedented global event.
RIYADH: Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co. has seen its profit increase by 39 percent for the first nine months of 2022, bolstering its stock price.
Aldrees’s shares jumped 2.07 percent to reach SR74 ($19.7) at 10:06 a.m. Saudi time, compared with SR72.50 the previous close.
The fuel service station provider’s profit rose to SR170 million from SR123 million a year ago, a bourse filing shows.
The company said the increase in profits stemmed from increases in petrol and transport sales.
Revenues of the company stood at SR9 billion, a 39 percent increase from the same period of last year.