RIYADH, 3 February 2005 — Amr A. Al Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), met some key business executives in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week within the framework of the Kingdom’s strategy to lure overseas investments in three sectors — energy, transportation and knowledge-based industries, according to a communication received from Davos.
The governor’s meetings are deemed significant, since these sectors have been thrown open to overseas investors who already constitute over 80 percent of all industrial licenses issued by SAGIA. The Kingdom is now focusing on attracting foreign investment in the transportation sector, for which the Saudi Railways Organization hosted a business conference in London on Monday.
In the energy sector, the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, could start trading electricity as early as 2008 with the completion of a cross-border grid, creating the region’s first international market for buying and selling power.
To this end, the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority has invited 28 companies, including Siemens AG, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, ABB Ltd., Marubeni Corp., Areva Ltd. and Pirelli & C. SpA to bid in April for up to $1.2 billion worth of contracts to build the network’s first phase that requires about 850 kilometers of high-voltage line and the laying of an underwater cable between the east coast of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
This year’s WEF’s annual meeting has placed special emphasis on “tough issues” that include China, climate change, equitable globalization, Europe, the global economy, global governance, Islam, the Middle East, poverty, United States leadership, weapons of mass destruction and world trade.
In alignment with SAGIA’s new strategy to focus on promoting investment in the three specific sectors of energy, transportation, and knowledge-based industries, including ICT, the governor met with CEOs and heads of corporation representing some of the major global players in those sectors.
The SAGIA governor also met with the executive team of EMEA, Cisco Inc., on talks aimed at maximizing the potential of the Kingdom’s information and communications technology as well as on ways to extend cooperation in those sectors.
Another strategic meeting was held with top executives of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. JBIC came into being following the merger between the Export-Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund. JBIC conducts both ODA and non-ODA finance for economic and social development.
Saudi Arabia represents some of Japan’s most significant upstream and downstream oil interests, manifested recently by a $4.3 billion joint venture deal by Sumitomo Chemicals in 2004 to build a major petrochemical plant in Rabigh.
