According to the web site of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affaires, OECD’s Development Assistance Committee invited Switzerland to host the Arab-DAC Dialogue on  development in 2017 in recognition of the Swiss Agency for Development’s engagement with Arab donors.

Arabianbusiness

The governments from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are likely to lead the debt issuance market in 2017, favouring conventional bonds over sukuk (Islamic bonds), it has been reported.

In 2016, governments scrambled to cover budget deficits due to low oil prices, turning to conventional debt - a shift from the traditional pattern in which sukuk and conventional bonds had roughly equal shares of the region's international bond issuance.

In October last year, Saudi Arabia raised $17.5 billion through the conventional bonds, overtaking Qatar’s $9bn sovereign bonds issued in May.

Saudi Arabia has already given hints on a new bond issuance this year, while Bahrain and Kuwait expected to hit the market as well.

Junaid Ansari, Assistant Vice President, Kamco reportedly said the prospects for region’s bond issuances in 2017 appeared bright based on further funding requirement in the region by sovereigns and corporates.

A recent report by Moody's put Gulf governments rising $1.1bn, or 5 percent of their total debt issuance through sukuk in the first six months of 2016.

Standard & Poor’s estimated GCC corporate and project-related sukuk issuance totaled $2.5bn in the first eight months 2016, up marginally from $2.3bn a year ago.

GCC states said to drive debt issuance market in 2017 2017, Arabian Business.
www.arabianbusiness.com

Vaccine Institute

Investment Description

Saudi Arabia has a high risk of exposure to infections due to 6+ million annual visitors for Hajj and Umrah, yet it does not currently boast any research and development or large scale manufacturing capability for human vaccines.

Concrete sleepers & slab track

Investment Description

The planned metro projects in Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and Dammam, as well as the Saudi-Bahrain railway, the Jeddah commuter rail, the Saudi Landbridge, and the GCC railway will create an estimated USD 3.7 billion opportunity for concrete sleepers and slab track.

Rail & metro electrification systems

Investment Description

Saudi Arabia’s planned metro, light rail, mixed use and high-speed rail projects will require an estimated USD 1.8 billion investment into electrification.

Blood collection company

Investment Description

The government of Saudi Arabia has determined that plasma should be produced in the country. To achieve this, LFB Arabia was formed as National Champion Company (PlasmaCo) through a partnership between Healthcare Development Holding and LFB.

Medical Schools

Investment Description

Currently, 1,500 physicians graduate every year in Saudi Arabia and another 700 come from abroad. In addition, the government has planned to spend USD 1.6 billion to increase the number of graduates to 4,700.

Gx SOD production plants

Investment Description

In Saudi Arabia, the Gx SOD market is USD700 – 900 million and is expected to grow 10% p.a. until 2025. Several local small-to-medium companies produce generics, with a largely domestic focus and a limited product portfolio, capturing ~30% of market share.

ايمن ابو الخير

هل نحن في مرحلة اجتياز الاقتصادي المهيمن القائم على أساس المصانع الكبيرة والشركات متعددة الجنسيات إلى عالم يقوم على حرية الاختيار، الذي سيتمكن فيه الكيانات الصغيرة من المنافسة مع الشركات الكبيرة،وبالتالي ستساهم في تشكيل اقتصاد المستقبل؟ هل نحن فعلا بصدد عبور الاقتصاد "التناظري" الحقيقي الى الاقتصاد الافتراضي، ام ان الانتقال سيكون من الاقتصاد الافتراضي الى الاقتصاد الحقيقي؟

By Ayman Abualkhair

Are we in a stage of passing the dominant economic age, based on large factories and multinational companies, to a world predicated on freedom of choice, in which small entities would have the potential to compete with large companies, and hence shape the future economy? Are we crossing the age of a real economy to a virtual one, or is it moreover transitioning from a virtual economy to a real economy?