The economic shock caused by Covid-19 may have dented foreign direct investment globally last year, but Saudi Arabia continued to attract capital, the country's minister of investment Khalid Al-Falih said.
"I'm starting this year ... with a lot of enthusiasm," Mr Al-Falih told the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.
"I am pleased to say in Saudi Arabia that ... foreign direct investment went up in 2020 over 2019. I think the pandemic has brought to the fore the capacity of certain countries, certain governments, certain policymakers that could manage multiple crises at the same time – the health crisis, an economic slowdown, safety and wellbeing, balancing lives and livelihoods," he said. "If you ask about Saudi Arabia, I believe we handled it better than most.
"Ultimately, investors want to trust the government that is looking after them and I believe Saudi Arabia, through our leadership, has shown that."
Mr Al-Falih did not give a direct investment figure for 2020 investment. In 2019, the kingdom increased FDI by 7 per cent to $4.6 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development's 2020 World Investment Report.
Globally, FDI slumped by 42 per cent last year as Covid-19 disrupted economic activity, Unctad said in its Global Investment Trends Monitor earlier this week. The Geneva-based organisation expects disruption to continue this year, forecasting FDI flows to shrink by a further 5 to 10 per cent despite an anticipated global economic recovery.
Mr Al-Falih attributed the kingdom's ability to attract capital to its efforts in formulating investor-friendly reforms.
"We've looked in the kingdom at over 400 regulations and half of them have been revamped," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia had leapfrogged many nations in global indices measuring the ease of doing business.
Rania Al-Manshaat, Egypt's Minister for International Co-operation, said despite the rhetoric in place at the start of last year about countries becoming more isolated and inward-looking, by April and May the pandemic had reinforced "the importance of collaboration" and multilateralism.
Her government's department has worked "to promote and foster principles of economic diplomacy" to push international partnerships.
"In 2020, despite it being a very tough year, through our principles of economic diplomacy we've been able to secure close to $10bn in Egypt," she said.
Lord Grimstone, UK Minister for Investment, said the world is facing "the need for global recapitalisation" for the first time in his lifetime. The response from policymakers has been to flood the world "with virtually free leverage", he said, adding that the best way out of this for the global economy is through trade and investment.
"Investment has become one of the world's globally competitive sports," he said. "We're all raising our game, we're all trying to attract investment."
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Results:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 (PA) | Group 1 US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
Winner: Goshawke, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) | Listed $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Silva, Oisin Murphy, Pia Brendt
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) | Conditions $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
Winner: Golden Jaguar, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) | Group 3 $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Oasis Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Escalator, Christopher Hayes, Charlie Fellowes
'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan