Saudi Arabia and Russia yesterday agreed to expand their cooperation beyond energy and work together to end the conflict in Syria and galvanise defence manufacturing in the kingdom to create local jobs and boost diversification efforts, following a historic meeting at the Kremlin between King Salman and Vladimir Putin.
While the two countries have been at odds on Syria, where Moscow supports President Bashar al-Assad and Riyadh backs the opposition, the visit and a number of economic agreements announced yesterday, including for Saudi to acquire several defence systems from Russia, emphasise how they have increasingly found common ground in recent months after they led a global oil production restraint deal to shore up crude prices at the end of last year.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in Moscow yesterday that cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia “breathed life back into Opec” and made his country more optimistic about the outlook for oil than it has been for several years. The “success of this collaboration is clear,” he said.
It is also hoped that collaboration on defence manufacturing “will act as a catalyst for localising 50 per cent of the Kingdom’s military spending as targeted by Vision 2030”, according to a statement from Saudi Arabian Military Industries, known as Sami. Saudi Arabia is the world’s fifth biggest spender on defence with a budget of US$48.7 billion last year, according to IHS Markit.
Kalashnikov rifles, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems, and rocket and grenade launchers will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia, creating hundreds of jobs for its nationals and supporting the diversification of its economy away from its dependence on oil.
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Read more:
King Salman lands in Moscow in historic visit to Russia
Exclusive: Franklin Templeton may double its Saudi equities portfolio
Saudi Arabia to return to growth next year, IMF says
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Saudi’s economy is expected to return to growth next year thanks to expansion in its oil GDP, the IMF said yesterday. The kingdom is undertaking massive economic transformation plans aimed at diversifying its oil income and creating new revenue streams to cope with the low oil price era, a strategy led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This year non-oil GDP is forecast to grow 1.7 per cent this year, according to the IMF.
Yesterday, Mark Mobius, one of the world’s leading investors in emerging markets said that his Templeton Emerging Markets Group could potentially more than double its investment allocation in Saudi Arabia’s stock market to up to $1.16bn given the potential of its non-oil economy.
“There’s no question about it. With the new liberalised regime, there’s a tremendous hope that things will move a lot faster than they have up to now.”
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Scoreline
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 17
Jebel Ali Dragons 20
Harlequins Tries: Kinivilliame, Stevenson; Cons: Stevenson 2; Pen: Stevenson
Dragons Tries: Naisau, Fourie; Cons: Love 2; Pens: Love 2
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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