President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France wants to become one of Saudi Arabia's most important business partners as the kingdom pushes forward with an overhaul of its economy, including a multibillion dollar plan to cut its dependence on oil exports.
During a three-day official state visit focused on boosting business ties, Mr Macron told a Saudi-French business forum in Riyadh that one of his objectives was to convince Saudi Arabia to invest more in France. “We want to partner with you, meaning we want to create jobs here. We want to produce with you,” Mr Macron said. “We want to be partner of your vision and the vision of the Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] for 2030.”
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said France “feels like home” as he stood alongside Mr Macron at the forum, where a flurry of business deals have been announced. They include a consortium between Electricite de France (EDF) and China's SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development to build a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant in Al Masaa and a 400-megawatt plant in Al Hinakiyah. The value of the new contracts was not shared.
In 2023, trade between France and Saudi Arabia amounted to €9.5 billion ($10 billion). Saudi Arabia is France’s leading supplier of hydrocarbons in the region. France, where the government is facing the prospect of collapse over budget cuts, is a major foreign investor in Saudi Arabia, with investments valued at €2.2 million ($2.3 million) in 2022.
Last month the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it would reduce investments abroad from 30 per cent to about 18-20 per cent of the $930 billion fund. However, advisers to Mr Macron have said they believe the PIF's investment powers “remain colossal”. Foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia reached $25.6 billion last year – 16 per cent above the Saudi investment ministry's target after a change in methodology that led to a significant upward revision of the figures.
AI high on the agenda
A strategic partnership between the two countries was signed between Mr Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. The leaders have scheduled a one-on-one dinner on Wednesday before Mr Macron flies to the Al Ula heritage site, which is overseen by a French-Saudi development organisation. The new partnership's aim is “multiplying co-operation and concrete achievements in all areas” including defence, culture and artificial intelligence, the French government said.
France can’t compete with the US but wants to support Saudi Arabia in its drive to diversify its economy
Gulf expert Camille Lons
Speaking to The National at the business forum, Xavier Niel, a French businessmen viewed as an AI pioneer, said he had come to support French start-ups hoping to work in Saudi Arabia. “France has the third AI ecosystem in the world. I'm interested in seeing how we can mix our know-how and assets [in Saudi Arabia],” he said.
Khaled Sharbatly, chief executive of Saudi solar energy company Desert Technologies, said that French energy and infrastructure expertise, with companies such as Total, Engie and EDF, would be useful to his country's vision of economic development. “Saudi Vision 2030 is built around building infrastructure and the French are leaders of infrastructure investment and construction,” Mr Sharbatly said.
French entrepreneur Julie Barbier, who worked in Dubai for 14 years before relocating recently to Saudi Arabia with state incentives, said France's business world wanted to be part of the “massive dynamic wave” in the kingdom. “They realise now the deep transformation of the kingdom. There's nothing that can prevent change now,” said Ms Barbier.
France has had a close relationship with Saudi Arabia for decades, but faces stiff competition from China and the US on business and investments. “France has been trying to relaunch its business relations with Saudi Arabia for several years,” Camille Lons, deputy head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Paris office, and a Gulf expert, told The National. “So far success has been limited because both sides expect larger investments than what has materialised.”
France is also pushing to sell about 50 Rafale fighter jets made by Dassault Aviation to Saudi Arabia. Germany has said it may soon reverse the ban on selling its Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Saudi Arabia, and Washington is negotiating a wide-ranging defence package with Riyadh. “France can’t compete with the US but wants to support Saudi Arabia in its drive to diversify its economy,” Ms Lons said.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Saudi Arabia – in pictures
Regional crises in the Middle East were also high on the agenda of discussions between Mr Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed, almost one week after France and the US announced a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Their priority is “to establish a ceasefire without further delay in Gaza, in order to free all hostages, protect the civilian populations through the delivery of humanitarian aid and contribute to the search for a political solution based on the two-state solution”, the French Presidency said.
“The unstable situation in France is proving to be an issue for Macron, who is falling back on foreign policy, which has always been his strong point. Appearing active on the Lebanon ceasefire and continuing to invest in powers such as Saudi Arabia is clearly important for him,” Ms Lons added.
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SPECS
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The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
STAR%20WARS%20JEDI%3A%20SURVIVOR
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Respawn%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electronic%20Arts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20Playstation%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%20and%20S%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The%20specs
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FIXTURES
Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy
Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa
Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand
Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji
SUZUME
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Makoto%20Shinkai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Nanoka%20Hara%2C%20Hokuto%20Matsumura%2C%20Eri%20Fukatsu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
