RIYADH, 7 January — Governor of the General Investment Authority, Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki, opened here yesterday a seminar on Saudi-foreign joint ventures organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the King Fahd Cultural Center. Prince Abdullah underscored the Kingdom’s keenness to create a suitable environment for foreign investments.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of the RCCI Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy noted that the Kingdom has made substantial progress in attracting foreign capital within a year since the establishment of the GIA and the formulation of new foreign investment regulations. While only $4.5 billion capital investment came to the country in 1999 it doubled to $9 billion the following year.
Prince Abdullah pointed out that the political stability, geographical location and stability of the currency, in addition to the excellent utilities and services being extended to foreign investors, make the Kingdom an attractive choice for both foreign and domestic investors.
The prince also opened an expo of products from the joint ventures organized on the sidelines of the forum. A number of local and foreign companies are participating in the exhibition that showcases plastic, electronic and food products.
Al-Jeraisy also stressed the importance of inviting direct and long-term investments from abroad, particularly in the industrial sector accompanied by the transfer of technology. He also urged Saudi businessmen to adopt advanced administration and marketing techniques.
The RCCI chief also urged Saudis with huge investments abroad to bring back their capital.
Market analysts fear that Saudi investors may lose hundreds of millions of dollars as the economic crisis in Argentina worsens.
The bulk of Saudi investments in the country is in the form of government bonds, the economists said. The investments are managed by brokers in Europe and the United States. They invest the money in markets with higher risks, which potentially offer a very high profit margin.
It is difficult to estimate the extent of the investments in precise figures. According to some sources, more than SR2 billion had been invested before the present economic crisis.
Ibrahim Al-Assaf, minister of finance and national economy, stated on an earlier occasion that there were no outstanding Saudi bank loans to any Argentine agency. Regarding private investments, Al-Assaf said, "a major part of the direct investments in Argentina are in fixed assets which cannot be affected by the current developments."
Saeed Al-Sheikh, the chief economist at the National Commercial Bank, ruled out any huge losses for Saudi investors in Argenitina. He argued that most of the Saudi investments abroad had been in the European and US markets, mainly through secure government bonds, and only an insignificant sum was invested in developing markets.
