MUMBAI: India has opened up its vast railway sector to private companies, allowing firms to operate trains on certain routes, in a bid to boost its stuttering, virus-hit economy.
The 167-year-old train network carries 20 million passengers daily but is plagued by deadly accidents, rickety infrastructure, lack of modern amenities and poor investment.
In an announcement late Wednesday, the railway ministry said it would now permit businesses to run trains along 109 routes, inviting bids from firms weeks after New Delhi opened up coal mining to the private sector.
“This is the first initiative of private investment for running passenger trains over Indian Railways network,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, reduced transit time, boost job creation, provide enhanced safety, provide world class travel experience to passengers,” it added.
The project will require an investment of $39.8 million and private players will have to pay the government fixed haul charges and a percentage of profits determined during the bidding process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to privatize a range of industries that have been under state control for decades, sparking criticism from the opposition Congress party.
“Now the government is in a desperate mood to sell a great chunk of one of our largest national asset #IndianRailways,” Congress politician Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tweeted.
“Privatization cannot be construed as a panacea of railways malady,” he added.
The tottering network is notorious for accidents, with 15,000 passengers killed every year according to a 2012 government report that described the deaths as a “massacre.”
Asia’s third-largest economy has been clobbered by the pandemic and a months-long lockdown, growing at its slowest pace in at least two decades last quarter.
The shutdown, which put millions out of work overnight, is widely expected to plunge the country into recession.
Fears for the economy prompted the government to allow many businesses to resume operations starting last month despite an ongoing increase in infections, which have now crossed 600,000.
Even before Modi announced the lockdown in late March, the economy was struggling to gain traction with sluggish growth, record unemployment and a flurry of bad loans making banks reluctant to lend.
India opens vast railway network to private players
India opens vast railway network to private players
- The 167-year-old train network carries 20 million passengers daily
- India’s railway ministry said it would now permit businesses to run trains along 109 routes
UAE, Japan to develop industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant in Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., also known as TAQA, together with JERA Co., Inc, Japan’s largest power generation company, announced Thursday that they have entered into a Power and Steam Purchase Agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., or SATORP, a joint venture company owned by Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies.
According to the Emirates News Agency, they will develop a greenfield industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant that will produce electricity and steam for the Amiral petrochemical complex to be developed in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The Amiral petrochemical complex is expected to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Arab Gulf region.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will include state-of-the-art power and steam generation systems, gas and water receiving systems, and gas-insulated switchgear interconnections while meeting stringent efficiency standards imposed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre.
The project also provides for the future installation of a carbon dioxide capture plant and is capable of hydrogen cofiring, WAM reported.
The Amiral cogeneration plant will be developed by a special purpose entity owned by TAQA, holding 51 percent, and JERA, holding 49 percent. It will operate on a build, own, and operate basis for 25 years, with the possibility of extension by five years upon mutual agreement.
TAQA and JERA will also undertake the operation and maintenance of the plant through an O&M special purpose entity.
Farid Al Awlaqi, CEO of TAQA Generation, said: “The signing of the offtake agreements for the cogeneration power and steam project at the Amiral petrochemical facility, a key downstream project being developed by two of the world’s leading energy companies, demonstrates the confidence in TAQA’s ability to deliver critical utilities, including power and steam effectively.
Together with our partner JERA, TAQA is looking forward to developing an efficient cogeneration plant that reduces carbon emissions and supports SATORP with its long-term decarbonization program. The agreement will bolster TAQA’s efforts in building on our growth and executing our 2030 goals.”
Steven Winn, chief global strategist of JERA, said: “We will be providing stable, highly efficient, clean and reliable power and steam to our customer SATORP. The Amiral Cogeneration plant will not only enhance the Amiral Complex’s operational efficiency, but also demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and our growth ambitions for sustainable power generation solutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region.”
Saudi media giant SRMG’s revenue grows to $997m
RIYADH: Saudi Research and Media Group’s revenues hit SR3.74 billion ($997 million) in 2023, reflecting a 0.98 percent increase compared to 2022 figures.
According to a Tadawul statement, this increase in sales is primarily attributed to enhanced revenue generated by the publishing and visual and digital content segment, as well as other divisions.
However, the printing and packaging business witnessed a decline in revenues due to several planned projects not being secured.
The total shareholders’ equity for the parent company, after excluding non-controlling interest, as of Dec. 31, 2023, stands at SR3.08 billion, reflecting a 16.26 percent increase compared to the corresponding period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, SRMG’s net profits reached SR559 million by the end of last year, showing a decrease of 13.74 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
The decline was primarily attributed to the drop in revenue of the printing and packaging division, along with the goodwill impairment associated with the same segment, in addition to the operating costs of certain projects.
In January, SRMG, the largest integrated media group from the Middle East and North Africa region, announced the appointment of several new editors-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief, and assistant editors-in-chief.
This announcement aligned well with SRMG’s digital transformation, growth, and expansion strategy, showcasing the group’s dedication to cultivating the next generation of journalists and media professionals to meet the demands of audiences worldwide.
Moreover, this decision reflected the significant shift in regional media consumption habits, particularly with the increasing popularity of digital, social, and audio-visual media platforms.
Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia hit $5.17bn in Q4 2023
RIYADH: Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous period, according to recent data.
The analysis, released by the General Authority of Statistics, utilizes an updated approach characterized by heightened transparency and governance standards. FDI inflows were shown to have reached SR19.38 billion ($5.17 billion), up from SR16.6 billion in the third quarter.
FDI outflows, representing the Kingdom’s investments in foreign countries, also increased by around 17 percent to SR6.19 billion during this period. Consequently, the net inflow, reflecting the difference between the two, reached SR13.187 billion.
The updated methodology for calculating FDIs aligns with international standards and was developed to enhance accuracy and comprehensiveness through collaborative efforts by the Ministry of Investment, the General Authority for Statistics, and the Saudi Central Bank, in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund.
The new methodology reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing investment promotion and transparency, aiming to create an attractive global financial environment.
This effort includes initiatives such as the National Investment Strategy, the Regional Headquarters Program, and zero-income tax incentives for foreign companies. These measures are seen as essential for advancing Vision 2030, which aims to expand and diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.
In 2023, the Kingdom saw a 12 percent increase in FDI inflows, reaching SR72.28 billion compared to SR64.6 billion in 2022. This excludes a major SR58.1 billion deal with Aramco in 2022, where a consortium led by BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana Investment Co. acquired a 49 percent stake in a new gas pipeline subsidiary.
Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters program has attracted multinational corporations like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to establish operations in the Kingdom. Additionally, companies such as Northern Trust, Bechtel, and Pepsico from the US, as well as IHG Hotels & Resorts, PwC, and Deloitte from the UK, have joined this initiative.
These moves enable these companies to participate in government contracts, energize Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector, and establish it as a global business hub.
Looking ahead, the Kingdom aims to achieve an FDI inflow target of SR388 billion by 2030, equivalent to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product, while positioning itself among the 15 largest economies in the world.
Unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia drops to 4.4% in Q4 2023: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from the same period in 2022.
When compared with the previous three months, the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics revealed a 0.7 percentage point decline in the Kingdom’s joblessness rate in the fourth quarter of 2023.
GASTAT data showed that non-employment among Saudi nationals stood at 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, indicating a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2022.
However, the participation of locals in the labor force during the last three months of 2023 decreased by 1.2 percentage points year on year, reaching 51.3 percent.
Reducing the number of people without jobs is a crucial objective outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, with goals set for such rate to decrease to 7 percent by the end of the decade, alongside a projected women’s participation rate in the workforce of 30 percent.
In the fourth quarter, the unemployment rate among Saudi females decreased by 2.6 percentage points to 13.7 percent compared to the previous three months.
For Saudi males, this remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter, while their labor force participation decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 66.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio among women increased by 0.6 percentage points to 30.70 percent during the same period.
The GASTAT survey revealed that a significant 94.9 percent of Saudi nationals without jobs are open to working in the Kingdom’s private sector.
Moreover, 80.1 percent of non-employed Saudi females and 91 percent of males indicated that they would accept work for eight hours or more per day.
The report showed that 62.1 percent of non-employed Saudi females and 43.8 percent of males are willing to commute for a maximum of one hour.
The most commonly used active job search method among Saudis was to seek assistance from friends and relatives, with 85.6 percent of aspirants following this practice.
GASTAT reported that 73 percent of Saudi job seekers applied directly to employers, while 59.4 percent made use of the National Employment Platform, also known as Jadarat.
Oil Updates - prices advance as investors reassess US inventories data
TOKYO: Oil prices edged up on Thursday, following two consecutive sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest data on US crude oil and gasoline inventories and returned to buying mode, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures for May were up 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $86.40 a barrel while the more actively traded June contract rose 32 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $85.73 at 7:15 a.m. Saudi time. The May contract expires on Thursday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery were up 39 cents, or 0.50 percent, to $81.74 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were on track to finish higher for a third consecutive month, and were up about 4.5 percent from last month.
In the prior session, oil prices were pressured following last week’s unexpected rise in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, driven by a rise in crude imports and sluggish gasoline demand, according to Energy Information Administration data.
However, the crude stock increase was smaller than the build projected by the American Petroleum Institute.
“We ... expect US inventories to rise less than normal in reflection of a global oil market in a slight deficit,” Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, said in a note, adding: “This will likely hand support to the Brent crude oil price going forward.”
Also providing support to prices were US refinery utilization rates, which rose 0.9 percentage points last week.
Recent disappointing inflation data affirms the case for the US Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting its short-term interest rate target, a Fed governor said on Wednesday, but he did not rule out trimming rates later in the year.
“The market is converging on a June start to cuts for both the Fed and the European Central Bank,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Lower interest rates support oil demand.
Investors will watch for cues from a meeting next week of the Joint Monitoring Ministerial Committee of producer group the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries amid supply concerns over geopolitical risks.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, are is unlikely to make any oil output policy changes until a full ministerial gathering in June, but any sign of members not sticking to current production quotas will be viewed as bearish, analysts at ANZ Research said.
“The lack of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continues to keep tension in the Middle East elevated,” ANZ said.