SHANGHAI: Shanghai will accelerate efforts to cancel restrictions on foreign investment in the auto manufacturing sector, a government official said on Wednesday, a day after Tesla said it would build a wholly owned auto plant in the city.
Earlier this year, China said it would scrap foreign ownership caps for companies making fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2018 and all automotive ventures by 2022. The announcement marked a major policy shift in the world’s top car market that has capped foreign ownership in the sector at 50 percent for over two decades.
Huang Ou, deputy director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology, told reporters at a press conference that the city government was engaged in preparations to support the Tesla project, set to be Shanghai’s biggest foreign-invested project.
“The next step is for the city government to do the support work to allow the project to go into operation as quickly as possible,” he said.
“In line with state plans, we will speed up the cancelation of foreign ownership restrictions in the car manufacturing sector,” he said.
Huang declined to comment, however, on the size of the project or when the construction of a plant with capacity to produce 500,000 Tesla battery electric cars a year — large by auto industry standards — would start.
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk landed a deal on Tuesday to build a new and wholly owned auto plant in Shanghai, the company’s first factory outside the United States. It would double the size of the electric car maker’s global manufacturing.
The deal was announced as Tesla raised prices on US-made vehicles it sells in China to offset the cost of tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on US imports in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s heavier duties on Chinese goods.
An auto assembly plant half the size of the envisioned Tesla Shanghai plant would normally cost $1 billion to build, according to automotive industry officials and experts.
The Shanghai government said in a statement on Tuesday it welcomed Tesla’s move to invest not only in a new factory in the city but in research and development.
Chinese magazine Caijing, citing sources close to the project, reported on Tuesday that the plant’s exact location had not been decided and construction would start early next year.
After Tesla deal, Shanghai to speed up cancelation of foreign ownership limits
After Tesla deal, Shanghai to speed up cancelation of foreign ownership limits
Closing Bell: Saudi main market ends week in red at 11,189
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower at the end of the trading week on Thursday, falling 1.34 percent, or 152.54 points, to finish at 11,188.73.
The benchmark index opened at 11,320.52 and trended lower throughout the session, finishing well below its previous close of 11,341.27.
Market breadth was sharply negative, with only 28 gainers compared with 236 decliners. Trading activity saw a volume of 239 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR5.5 billion ($1.47 billion).
In the parallel market, Nomu closed higher, rising 0.23 percent to 23,865.95, although decliners continued to outnumber advancers. The MT30 index closed at 1,508.60, down 1.46 percent, shedding 22.38 points by the end of the session.
Among the session’s top gainers, Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co. led advances, rising 5.43 percent to close at SR9.91.
Al Aziziah REIT Fund added 4.67 percent to SR4.48, while Al Majed Oud Co. gained 2.81 percent to SR161.20. AFG International Co. advanced 2.45 percent to SR17.17, and Al Mawarid Manpower Co. rose 1.37 percent to SR125.70.
On the losing side, Saudi Research and Media Group posted the steepest decline, falling 6.88 percent to SR107. Cherry Trading Co. dropped 6.23 percent to SR28.88, while Saudi Arabian Mining Co. slipped 5.41 percent to SR72.55.
Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. declined 5.38 percent to SR102, and Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu ended 4.56 percent lower at SR31.36.
On the announcements front, Saudi Industrial Investment Group released its interim financial results for the twelve-month period ended Dec. 31, 2025, reporting a return to profitability on an annual basis despite posting a quarterly loss.
The company recorded a net loss of SR104 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a net profit of SR201 million in the same quarter of the previous year, which it attributed mainly to lower selling prices, higher operating costs, and increased general and administrative expenses.
For the full year, however, the group posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of SR197 million, compared with SR161 million a year earlier, supported by higher sales volumes and improved operational performance at several subsidiaries. The stock last traded at SR14.77, down 3.59 percent.
Separately, Saudi Exchange Co. announced the approval of a request by Merrill Lynch Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to terminate its market-making activities for Saudi Arabian Oil Co., effective Feb. 8.
The exchange said the termination relates specifically to the market-making agreement for Saudi Aramco shares and was approved in line with applicable market-making regulations.
