RIYADH: Many of the chief executives of the world’s biggest oil companies see peak in demand for oil looming. This peak may happen, arguably, in only 20 years. However, for Saudi Arabia, the picture is rosier than this.
Last week, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said during a panel at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh that he sees demand growing in the years 2030 to 2040.
There will be new areas for oil demand in the future from compound industries and new forms of petrochemical industries that will use oil differently from the conventional way.
Oil demand is more resilient than most people think and it will be tough for the world to cut the annual demand growth to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.5 million bpd currently, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said in Riyadh on Oct. 24, on a later panel.
Al-Falih said that demand for fuel from heavy transport, aviation and shipping sectors will keep oil demand rising. Energy demand will grow by 45 percent by 2050 and hydrocarbons will still make up 70 percent of the energy mix then, he added.
The International Energy Agency is giving conservative oil demand projections, Al-Falih said, adding that demand is growing in many areas in the world by healthy rates. He gave the example of India, where oil demand will be outpacing the country’s existing refining capacity.
The minister also said that electric cars, which will be a factor in the fall in demand for motor fuel, will provide opportunities for the Kingdom’s chemical and aluminum industries. This will keep demand for energy high.
The Kingdom is already embarking on this new wave for petrochemicals. State-run oil giant Saudi Aramco expects to finalize by the end of 2017 plans for a joint oil-to-chemicals project with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic), Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser was quoted as saying by Reuters on Oct. 24 during his attendance of the forum in Riyadh.
The project, known as COTC, is one of the pioneers in the industry where oil will be used directly to make chemicals without the need to refine it to other feedstock.
The chemicals complex that will process around 400,000 bpd of crude oil may cost $20 billion or more, and it will be the first major scheme involving the two state giants.
Will oil demand peak soon? Here is the view from Saudi Arabia
Will oil demand peak soon? Here is the view from Saudi Arabia
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
