RIYADH — Deals signed at the Riyadh Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference reached a total value of $56billion, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said on Thursday.

"There were more than 25 deals signed worth $56 billion," Al Falih said in remarks carried by state TV al-Ekhbariya, adding that American companies accounted for most of the deals signed in the conference.

Al-Falih also said the United States will remain "a key part" of the Saudi economy. "The US will remain a key part of the Saudi economy because the interests that tie us are bigger than what is being weakened by the failed boycotting campaign of the conference," he said.

Falih said Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to extend their pact to preserve oil stability. "Saudi Arabia and Russia will interfere together, along with the heads of the other producing states, to prevent the market form falling out of balance," the minister said.

Three mega housing deals inked

The Ministry of Housing announced on Thursday that its Eskan Program signed two agreements and a memorandum of understanding aimed at attracting more investments in the housing and construction sectors.

These agreements will be instrumental in bringing in the best international technologies and further alliances with the best specialized companies in the field. Eskan is one of the programs of the ministry to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The deals were signed on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative, which concluded in Riyadh on Thursday.

A memorandum of cooperation was signed between US-based Katerra and the Eskan Program to introduce modern and rapid construction methods to Saudi Arabia. This memorandum aims to build 50,000 housing units annually and 6 to 8 plants specialized in modern construction technologies in addition to creation of 15,000 jobs.

Another memorandum for residential real estate development on the Al-Asfar project worth $2.7 billion was inked between PowerChina International Group, the Ministry of Housing and National Housing Company to build 17,000 housing units over the next six years. It is expected that this project provides 4,000 jobs in the housing sector.

The third memorandum was signed between the Sakani program, Alameriah and Sany (a Saudi–Chinese Partnership) for implementing the residential real estate development on the Telal Alghoroob project. This investment amounts to $1.2 billion to build three housing projects with 9,500 housing units in Dammam and Jeddah.

Dr. Majed Al-Hoqail, minister of housing, said that these agreements will contribute to provide housing units with high quality and suitable prices in addition to creation of more than 15,000 jobs for the citizens through localization of these technologies in the Kingdom and building specialized plants.

SR6 billion healthcare MoU signed in FII

NMC Health (NMC), a London-listed international private healthcare operator with operations across 17 countries, and Hassana Investment Company (Hassana), the investment arm of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) of Saudi Arabia, have signed an Memorandum of Understanding that aims to form a joint venture (JV) to acquire and develop a pan Saudi Arabia network of world-class healthcare facilities with a capacity of up to 3,000 beds.

NMC and Hassana have signed the MoU on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018. This MoU targets a total investments value of up to SR6 billion over the next 5 years and to employ up to 10,000 employees, including full- and part- time positions. At inception, the proposed JV will become one of the largest private healthcare operators in Saudi Arabia with a combined capacity of 1,489 beds.

MoU inked to give jobs for over 4,000 Saudis

In another development, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, represented by the Localization Agency, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco, represented by Saudi Aramco Nabors Drilling Company (SANAD), for the recruitment of more than 4,000 young men and women in the company’s oil and gas services after providing them with training to acquire the necessary skills and qualification.

The agreement was signed by the undersecretary at the ministry Eng. Ghazi Al Shahrani, and CEO of SANAD Eng. Yahya Al Tamimi in the presence of Deputy Minister of Labor Abdullah Abu Thunain.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two sides will work to Saudize the specific professions such as engineering, technical and drilling jobs, support the employment of women in the administrative, accounting and human resources professions, as well as cooperate in qualifying Saudi young men and women with the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to work in these professions.

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