Saudi Arabia's investment manager Khalid Al-Falih believes Saudi Arabia handled the fallout from the pandemic 'better than most'. Courtesy of Future Investment Initiative.
Saudi Arabia's investment manager Khalid Al-Falih believes Saudi Arabia handled the fallout from the pandemic 'better than most'. Courtesy of Future Investment Initiative.
Saudi Arabia's investment manager Khalid Al-Falih believes Saudi Arabia handled the fallout from the pandemic 'better than most'. Courtesy of Future Investment Initiative.
Saudi Arabia's investment manager Khalid Al-Falih believes Saudi Arabia handled the fallout from the pandemic 'better than most'. Courtesy of Future Investment Initiative.

Saudi Arabia increased FDI in 2020 despite pandemic, investment minister says


Michael Fahy
  • English
  • Arabic

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."

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Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin

4/5 stars 

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Director: Harmony Korine

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg

Two stars

The Perfect Couple

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Creator: Jenna Lamia

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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
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

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If you go…

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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.

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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)

Company%20Profile
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Rating: 4/5

 

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

 

Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris

 
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

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.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

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

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
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
Price: From Dh801,800
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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