Saudi Energy Minister to take on manufacturing and minerals post

Saudi Arabia has put Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in charge of both energy and industry after the Iran war exposed how disruptions to oil shipments, trade routes and manufacturing can quickly spill across the economy.

In appointing Prince Abdulaziz Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources in addition to his current post, the government aims to centralize decisions across oil, mining and factories as it works to reduce its dependence on crude exports, Asharq Al-Wasat reports.

Under the new structure, Prince Abdulaziz will lead efforts to expand manufacturing, increase non-oil exports and raise the sector’s contribution to the economy to almost $240 billion by 2030.

Former Industry Minister Bandar Alkhorayef will remain in the cabinet and take charge of the kingdom’s military industries regulator.

UAE exit from OPEC will boost investment, Al Jaber says

By announcing its decision to leave OPEC last week, the UAE has seized an opportunity to attract more investment and strengthen the economy, ADNOC chief Dr. Sultan Al Jaber says.

“It serves our national interests and long-term strategic objectives, aligns with our industrial, economic, and developmental ambitions, and gives us greater ability to accelerate investment, expand, and create value,” Al Jaber, the state oil company’s Group CEO and the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said today in Abu Dhabi.

Al Jaber spoke at the opening of the annual “Make it in the Emirates” expo, a four-day government-sponsored trade show that promotes domestic manufacturing by offering incentives to attract global companies.

Among the event’s backers are ADNOC, L’imad Holding, International Holding Co., Mubadala and Dubai Islamic Bank.

The UAE’s exit from OPEC, which took effect May 1, was largely connected to its irritation with the oil cartel’s dictating of production quotas across the industry to keep prices high. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei has said disruptions to oil shipping caused by the current conflict created favorable conditions to leave the organization.

Parting with OPEC “is part of a broader effort to reshape our economy and industrial base through a vision that connects energy, technology, and industry, aligning our resources with national priorities to build a stronger, more resilient economy,” Al Jaber said.

LuLu prepares for biggest retailer IPO in the MENA region

The UAE’s mega-retailer and supermarket chain LuLu Group is preparing to launch an IPO that could be as much as five times larger than any previous IPO for the industry in the MENA region.

The offering, scheduled for late October or early November, will be a dual listing aiming to raise between $1.5 billion and $1.85 billion, Zawya reports.

The stock will be traded on both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul.

Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC Holdings, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and Citigroup have been hired to manage the offering, Zawya said.

Saudi Arabia cuts hotel fees to stimulate its tourism industry

Saudi Arabia is tearing down barriers to entry when it comes to tourism.

Having poured billions into developing its Red Sea spas, historical desert sites and sporting events, the kingdom has decided to scrap municipal licensing fees for hotels, hotel apartments, and residential resorts. 

The move reflects the country’s efforts to transform the economy away from its longtime dependence on oil and develop industries such as tourism, finance and manufacturing.

Saudi Arabia has been determined to strike a balance between making foreigners feel welcome while guarding the Islamic country’s conservative ideals. 

Emirates Development Bank to provide billions in new financing to private sector

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) is loosening the purse strings, aiming to massively increase financing to the private sector by 2026.

The bank announced it will provide financing worth AED 30 billion ($8.2 billion) by 2026, targeting the 13,500 companies operating in key sectors for the UAE’s diversification efforts, including renewable energy, industry, advanced technology, healthcare and food security, according to Shaker Zainal, Business Finance Director at EDB.

On the sidelines of the Make it in the Emirates Forum on Monday, he said the bank has allocated $1.36 billion in financing for industrial projects so far this year.

Access to financing is one of the top hurdles for small- and medium-sized enterprises looking to grow in the Gulf. To address the access to credit or equity financing gap, development banks across the region have cropped up in the last decade, with EDB launching in 2015. 

World Future Energy Summit brings industry, investors to UAE

Corporate executives and investors are gathering in Abu Dhabi this week for the World Future Energy Summit, where the global response to climate change will top the agenda.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President of COP28, called the conference, which starts on Tuesday, a “crucial platform” for governments and the private sector. Dr. Al Jaber, who is also Chairman of alternative energy company Masdar and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, said he hopes the conference will drive investments into the world energy transition from carbon-based fuels. 

The UAE is set to put its green bona fides forward as it aims to triple its renewable energy capacity to 30% by 2030 and establish a hub for hydrogen fuel production and distribution in the coming decades.

TAQA, the energy company backed by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, is an anchor partner of the Abu Dhabi summit and will be joined by speakers including Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminum; Ali Tahir Jaffery, Director of Standard Chartered Bank; and Amy Lehoczky, Director of ESG at Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42. Also appearing will be executives from German giant Siemens and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.

Masdar, which last month bought a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, one of the largest private renewable energy producers in the U.S., is also set to host a parallel conference focused on hydrogen.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to address the conference amid increasing cooperation between the UAE and the UK on developing alternative energies. Masdar is looking to develop or acquire an energy portfolio of at least 100 GW capacity by 2030.