Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said that King Abdullah Economic City has attracted electric car makers and the ministry is working with these companies to develop value chains.
Alkhorayef added in an interview with Al-Arabiya Business, on the sidelines of the Saudi Budget Forum 2024, that Saudi Arabia aspires to raise the contribution of the industrial sector to 15% of GDP from 9% currently.
Alkhorayef revealed that Saudi Arabia aims to raise merchandise exports to more than 557 billion riyals (148 billion USD) in 2030, compared to less than 300 billion riyals (79 billion USD) now.
He explained that "when studying some industrial sectors, we find it important to completely restructure the sector so that it can achieve the targets," adding: "We studied the entire steel sector and identified a set of requirements, including the creation of a large company that can enter the entire supply chain, and this resulted in the separation of (Hadid) from (SABIC) and entering with (Al Rajhi) to be a large national company targeting types of important products to provide for various industries such as cars, equipment or renewable energy."
The South Korean-owned automotive supplier, BC GEN Hungary Kft., has announced a new investment of HUF 21 billion, which will create 400 new jobs in Salgótarján. The announcement was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on Tuesday.
In recent years, China has pivoted its investment strategy in Central Asia, particularly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, towards renewable energy projects. Notably, agreements were signed in 2023 for Chinese companies to build substantial solar photovoltaic plants in multiple Uzbek regions, representing a total of $4 bn in investment.
Japan welcomed a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, the country’s tourism agency has said, as the weak yen helped drive tourist numbers above pre-pandemic levels.