Agreement Signed to Establish Saudi Arabia’s 1st Integrated Steel Plate Manufacturing Complex

Business

May 2nd, 4:31am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Officials sign the agreement on Monday, (Aramco)

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (Baosteel), the world’s leading steel conglomerate, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed on Monday a shareholders’ agreement to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the joint venture complex is expected to be located in Ras al-Khair Industrial City, one of the four new Special Economic Zones recently announced by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. The complex would bring together Aramco’s unrivaled energy and industrial services ecosystem, Baosteel’s advanced steel plate industry capability and PIF’s strong financial capabilities and investment expertise, said a press statement. It would be the first facility of its kind in the Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, advancing the regional steel industry ecosystem. The project aims to enhance the domestic manufacturing sector through localizing the production of heavy steel plates, transferring knowledge and creating export opportunities. The facility is expected to have a steel plate production capacity of up to 1.5 million tons per year. It would also be equipped with a natural gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) furnace and an electric arc furnace, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions from the steel-making process by up to 60% compared to a traditional blast furnace. The DRI plant would be compatible with hydrogen without the need for major equipment modifications, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% in the future. Amin Nasser, Aramco President & CEO, said: “The Kingdom’s first steel plate production facility is expected to enhance Saudi Arabia’s steel industry ecosystem and improve supply chain localization.” “Under Aramco’s flagship industrial investment program, Namaat, and supported by the government’s Shareek program, this joint venture is expected to create jobs and contribute to economic growth and diversification. This joint venture is also an example of bringing together expertise from other sectors. With Baosteel and PIF supporting in capacity building in the Kingdom’s industrial sector, Aramco aims to create additional value for our company and our partners,” he added. Yazeed A. Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Head of MENA Investments at PIF, said: “PIF is diversifying the Saudi economy by unlocking opportunities and enabling key strategic sectors in the local market. This partnership aims at establishing an integrated steel plate manufacturing facility that will strengthen Saudi Arabia’s industrial development and enable its role as a supplier within the metal industry.” “It will also build on PIF’s mandate to establish new strategic partnerships locally and globally; localize technologies and knowledge; enable the private sector; and create more direct and indirect job opportunities in the local market. Since 2017, PIF has invested in 13 strategic sectors and established 77 new companies domestically,” he stressed. Zou Jixin, Chairman of Baosteel, said: “This project is an active practice by Baosteel to explore lower-carbon paths for the steel industry, a major achievement in promoting the international development strategy of Baosteel. The project aims to contribute positively to the localization of the steel industry chain, job creation and local economic prosperity in Saudi Arabia.” Chen Derong, Chairman of Baowu Group (the parent company of Baosteel), and Hu Wangming, President of Baowu Group, have further endorsed the project with full confidence. Saudi Arabia would be the project’s primary target market, with plans to export to the GCC and broader MENA region. It is expected to create new jobs and significantly reduce reliance on imported steel, serving customers in several strategic industrial sectors including pipelines, shipbuilding, rig manufacturing, offshore platform fabrication and tank and pressure vessel manufacturing. It also would aim to serve the construction, renewables and marine sectors. The investment aligns with PIF’s strategy to unlock the capabilities of promising sectors and strategically important industries that can drive the diversification of the local economy. It will support a number of PIF’s priority sectors that require steel plate and create a more resilient steel industry in the region. The steel plate complex is supported by the Kingdom’s Shareek program for large companies, which aims to foster greater private-public cooperation, create jobs and enhance the development of the Saudi economy by providing incentives for domestic investment. It also falls under Aramco’s Namaat program, which aims to establish strategic partnerships that drive Saudi Arabia’s economic, supply chain and industrial investment diversification and expansion.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4305846/agreement-signed-establish-saudi-arabia%E2%80%99s-1st-integrated-steel-plate

Saudi Arabia Explores Financing New Type for Logistics Sector

Business

May 1st, 9:13am

Riyadh - Bandar al-Mosalam

Saudi Arabia is currently conducting a technical study to provide public companies in the logistics services sector with new funding for “build to suit” warehouse construction projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia is currently conducting a technical study to provide public companies in the logistics services sector with new funding for “build to suit” warehouse construction projects due to the high demand for this type of loan. Specializing in providing commercial property lessees with an agreement with a developer or landowner to construct a new facility for rent, this type of financing allows for optimal use of the land and building. The lessee usually becomes the sole occupant and determines the design to meet business needs. Sources said the Saudi Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund have instructed the private sector to grant direct access to new funding for three nominated companies. This decision follows a series of meetings held to discuss the mechanism, marking a step towards developing and enabling operating facilities in the sector. Sources confirm that one facility has expressed interest in participating in a trial of the new funding, with two available opportunities currently under consideration. The move aims to contribute to the development of the logistics services sector, which is experiencing a qualitative leap in Saudi Arabia, and to enable operating companies in the sector. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, launched the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services in 2021, with the aim of positioning the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting three continents. The strategy intends to upgrade all transportation services and bolster integration in the logistics services system and modern transportation patterns. This aims to support the Kingdom's comprehensive development process. The strategy comprises a series of significant projects designed to facilitate the attainment of economic and social objectives, along with the implementation of efficient governance models to strengthen institutional operations within the system.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4304311/saudi-arabia-explores-financing-new-type-logistics-sector

Kane Says Spurs’ Slow Starts ‘Unacceptable'

Sports

May 1st, 9:07am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 30, 2023. (AFP)

Tottenham Hotspur have frequently spoken about the need to tighten up their leaky defense over the last few weeks but striker Harry Kane said it is time to put words into action after they coughed up early goals again on Sunday. Liverpool were 3-0 up inside 15 minutes at Anfield and while Tottenham pegged the hosts back to 3-3, Diogo Jota's stoppage-time goal earned the Merseyside club a 4-3 victory. Spurs conceded five in the opening 21 minutes of a 6-1 rout at Newcastle United and fell behind after only seven minutes in Thursday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United. Kane said their performance in the early stages of Sunday's game showed they had not learned their lesson. "It's not the first time it's happened this season. We need to start understanding big games better," he told Sky Sports. "We've shown we can come back into games and to do it here away at Anfield shows what we're capable of but to have the starts we have had are hard to put into words and are unacceptable. "There's only so many words you can use, the bottom line is you need to go out there and show it isn't that case." Interim coach Ryan Mason said the players had to be ready from the first whistle. "If you're not ready to start games with full intensity you're going to concede goals and to be 3-0 down after that time is hard," Mason told the BBC. "The manner in which we concede the last goal makes it impossible to take. I need to speak to the players on that, we need to address it and do it quickly."

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4304306/kane-says-spurs%E2%80%99-slow-starts-%E2%80%98unacceptable

World Food Program Lifts Suspension of Operations in Sudan

Arab World

May 1st, 7:37am

Asharq Al-Awsat

American nationals board US Navy ship Brunswick, as they are evacuated from the port, as clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army continue, in Port Sudan, Sudan, April 30, 2023. (Reuters)

The United Nations' World Food Program said on Monday it will immediately lift the suspension of its operations in Sudan that was put in place after the tragic deaths of its team member. "WFP is rapidly resuming our programs to provide the life-saving assistance that many so desperately need right now," WFP executive director Cindy McCain wrote on Twitter. The WFP said on April 16 it had temporarily halted all operations in Sudan after three of its employees were killed in clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a day earlier.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4304131/world-food-program-lifts-suspension-operations-sudan

Palestinians: Israeli Fire Kills Teen in West Bank Raid

Arab World

May 1st, 5:55am

Asharq Al-Awsat

File photo: Israeli soldiers secure the area at the Huwara checkpoint south of the West Bank city of Nablus, Nov. 4, 2020. (AP)

Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho. The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids, The Associated Press said. Israel launched the raids after a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring. That set off some of the worst fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in years and while Israel says the raids are meant to thwart future attacks, violence against Israelis does not appear to be slowing. Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Casualties have spiked this year, with 98 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Israel says most of those killed have been armed fighters, but youths protesting the incursions have also been killed as have people not involved in the confrontations. The Palestinians see the raids as a further entrenchment of Israel's 56-year, open-ended occupation. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem for their hoped-for independent state. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4303936/palestinians-israeli-fire-kills-teen-west-bank-raid

Houthis Release Faisal Rajab 8 Years after his Arrest

Arab World

May 1st, 5:47am

Aden - Ali Rabih

Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group unilaterally released on Sunday Yemeni military commander Major General Faisal Rajab eight years after his arrest. Rajab’s release is stipulated in United Nations Security Council 2216. He was detained by the Houthis in 2015 when they were attempting to occupy Aden city, now the interim capital. UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg welcomed the release, tweeting: “I appeal to all parties to build on the progress achieved and intensify the efforts to release all detainees, based on the ‘all for all’ principle as stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement.” The government warily received the development, saying the Houthis were simply trying to improve their image and drive a wedge between their rivals. The Houthis claimed that Rajab was released at the initiative of their leader, Abdulmalek al-Houthi. In the build-up to his release, Houthi media had claimed that the government had abandoned him during the latest prisoner swap negotiations. The government denied the allegations. Government loyalists described the release as “theatrics”, but still welcomed the initiative and called on the Houthis to free more than thousands of other prisoners according to the “all for all” principle. A four-member delegation of tribes from Rajab’s Abeen province had traveled to Houthi-held Sanaa to mediate his release with the group. The government said the move was planned so as to polish the Houthis’ image. A Houthi official said Rajab was being released in honor of the tribal delegation. Abdul Baset Al-Qaedi, undersecretary at Yemen's Information Ministry, revealed that the governor of Abeen was appointed by the Houthis and every member of the tribal delegation that was in Sanaa “is insignificant and has no influence.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis had refused to release Rajab in the last prisoner swap. Rather they opted to free him “in the dramatic fashion that we saw play out in boring detail in the media,” he added. He accused the Houthis of lying when they claimed that the government had disregarded Rajab and did not negotiate his release during the last swap. Resolution 2216 calls for the release of Rajab; former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi; Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; and leading al-Islah Party member Mohammed Qahtan. Subaihi and Nasser were released during the latest prisoner exchange between the government and Houthis. The Houthis continue to oppose the release of Qahtan or even allow him to communicate with his family. Rajab reportedly was allowed to communicate with his loved ones only twice during his eight years in prison, said informed government sources. Fayyad al-Numan, another undersecretary at the Information Ministry, welcomed Rajab’s release. Such humanitarian files should not be used by the Houthis for political and media extortion, he urged. The Houthis, he added, continue to “prioritize their discriminatory agenda above all Yemeni interests.” Rajab’s release is a “failed attempt by the Houthis to improve their ugly image that is stained by the blood of the Yemeni people,” he stated. “The Houthis are continuing to exploit the prisoner and abductee file to make false media and political gains,” he added.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4303926/houthis-release-faisal-rajab-8-years-after-his-arrest

Jordan to Host Talks on Syria’s Return to Arab League

Arab World

May 1st, 4:33am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Flags are seen ahead of the Arab League Summit in Algiers, Algeria, Nov. 1, 2022. (Reuters)

Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria's top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. The meeting, to be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his counterparts from Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, would discuss a Jordanian plan to achieve a political settlement of the conflict, Jordanian government officials said. The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, on Syria's possible return to the Arab fold. It is the first such meeting with a top Syrian official by a group of Arab states - most of whom endorsed the move to suspend Syria's membership of the League in 2011 after a crackdown on protesters denouncing President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule escalated into a devastating civil war. Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalizing ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict. It would include tackling the issue of refugees, the fate of thousands of missing detainees, drug smuggling between Syria and beyond and the presence of Iranian militias in Syria. At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus accepts to negotiate a peace plan.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4303876/jordan-host-talks-syria%E2%80%99s-return-arab-league