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Saudi investment plans on track, says SAGIA
Source: BI-ME and Reuters , Author: BI-ME staff
Posted: Fri January 30, 2009 12:00 am
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INTERNATIONAL. Saudi Arabia is on track to implement its investment programme this year as planned as falling raw material prices helps it cut costs, the head of the country's government investment agency said on Thursday.

Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of Saudi Arabia's General Investment Authority, said the kingdom can attract overseas investors by providing much-needed debt financing when the cost of credit has gone up elsewhere.

"We are coming up with ways and means for public finance and debt finance. Saudi Arabia will be one of the preferred destinations in 2009 at a time when debt finance and public finance are not available in the rest of the world," he told Reuters at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

"We have important infrastructure and public projects that we cannot afford to delay. We take advantage today of depressed prices of building materials because that would subsidise our cost structure significantly by at least 30-40 percent."

The SAGIA is a government agency aimed at improving the country's business laws and policies according to international best practices.

Saudi Arabia expects to post its first budget deficit since 2002 as the kingdom is raising its 2009 expenditures to an expected SAR475 billion (US$126.7 billion) while revenues are projected to fall to SAR410 billion.

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS COMMENT & ANALYSIS

date:Posted: February 9, 2010
UAE. Location and quality are driving apartment prices; while average prices decreased, select communities, including Palm Jumeirah and Downtown Burj Dubai, experienced slight increases according to Landmark Advisory's latest quarterly report.
date:Posted: February 8, 2010
INTERNATIONAL. Trying to achieve financial goals by pouring all of one's assets into emerging markets today, telecommunications tomorrow, and Japanese small-cap stocks next week is not a guarantee for achieving a sound financial plan.
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INTERNATIONAL. The latest survey shows 46% of respondents expect their business travel to increase, marking a rise by 22 points compared with figures of the same period in 2009.
UAE. Location and quality are driving apartment prices; while average prices decreased, select communities, including Palm Jumeirah and Downtown Burj Dubai, experienced slight increases according to Landmark Advisory's latest quarterly report.