Saudi Arabia to pioneer producers of green, blue hydrogen: Energy minister

Saudi Arabia to pioneer producers of green, blue hydrogen: Energy minister

Saudi Arabia 'building trust with foreign investors'



Al-Falih pointed out that FDI into Saudi Arabia actually rose in 2020

He warned that governments should take more proactive measures to remove obstacles for foreign investors

Updated 20 min 32 sec ago

Frank Kane

January 27, 2021 19:55

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is cultivating the trust of global investing institutions as it seeks to attract foreign funds into the Kingdom's ambitious development plans, Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of Investment, told the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit.

"Investors want to trust the governments that are looking after them, and Saudi Arabia is allowing them to do that,“ Al-Falih said during a panel session that discussed how investment could shape the rebirth of the global economy.

Al-Falih said that he wanted to hit a "more optimistic“ note compared with other experts at the event, pointing out that foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia actually rose in 2020 despite the economic crisis of the pandemic recession.

But he warned that governments should take more proactive measures to remove obstacles for foreign investors, and used the Kingdom as an example of making foreign investment easier.

"Governments should take on more of the risk in the investment environment,“ Al-Falih said.

"In Saudi Arabia, we have