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RIYADH: Even as global investment banking fees declined by 33 percent last year compared to 2021, things were upbeat in the Middle East and North Africa region with a 5 percent increase to around $1.6 billion, according to global data provider Refinitiv.
The firm also noted that advisory fees earned from completed mergers and acquisitions transactions in the region reached $509.6 million, a 35 percent increase from 2021.
In addition, equity capital markets underwriting fees also increased 31 percent year on year to reach $450 million during 2022, according to Refinitiv.
However, syndicated lending fees declined 3 percent to a three-year low of $521.2 million, while debt capital markets fees declined 54 percent to $124.9 million, the lowest full year total since 2015.
HSBC Holdings earned the most investment banking fees in the region during 2022, a total of $120.3 million, or a 7.5 percent share of the total fee pool, followed by Citi and JP Morgan.
Thirty-eight percent of all MENA fees were generated in Saudi Arabia during 2022, followed by the UAE at 35 percent.
Even though the number of deal announcements in the region increased 6 percent from last year, the value of announced mergers and acquisitions transactions with any MENA involvement reached $85.2 billion during 2022, 31 percent less than the value recorded in 2021, Refinitiv reported. 
Deals involving a MENA target totaled $49.3 billion during 2022, down 42 percent from last year and a four-year low.
Marking the highest full-year deal count of all time, the number of deals increased 1 percent from last year.
Inbound deals involving a non-MENA acquirer declined 77 percent from last year’s all-time record to $13.4 billion, while domestic deals increased 28 percent in value to $36 billion.
The top deal with MENA involvement included CDPQ, a global investment group, investing $5 billion in three of Dubai-based DP World’s flagship UAE assets.
MENA outbound M&As totaled $31.9 billion, up 6 percent compared to the value recorded during 2021 and a seven-year high.
With deals targeting industrial companies accounting for 23 percent of MENA target M&A during 2022, the industrials sector was most active, followed by the financial sector with 22 percent.
The UAE was the most targeted nation, followed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
RIYADH: Immediate collective action is required to combat climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, according to Bandar Alkhorayef, the Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources, and Grant Shapps, the UK secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy.
They appeared together during a panel discussion titled “Lands of Opportunity: Enabling Mineral Development in Africa, Western and Central Asia,” on Tuesday, the opening day of the three-day Future Minerals Conference in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Alkhorayef said the emerging mining industry in those regions must move quickly to keep up with global demand for minerals. He highlighted the role the Kingdom has played in developing reliable mining chains in Africa and Asia, and added that global goals relating to the transition to clean energy can only be met through collective international efforts.
The minister reiterated the importance of developing the mining of minerals and metals in these regions by focusing on creative solutions, making data and technology more accessible, and attracting investment.
Saudi Arabia continues to develop its value chains for gold, phosphates and aluminum, and has taken significant steps to develop a regulatory environment for electric cars, Alkhorayef added.
He predicted a promising future for the mining industry in Saudi Arabia, citing a geological survey that reported mineral reserves worth about $1.3 trillion.
Shapps said that there is significant scope for cooperation between the UK and Saudi Arabia in the clean-energy sector, and emphasized the importance of international collective action to achieve global goals related to the transition.
 
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center has received more than $38 billion in bids for its dollar-denominated bonds issuance, as it announced the completion of receiving investor requests for this year’s first international issuance.
The issuances were made under the Kingdom’s Global Medium-Trust Note Issuance Program, NDMC said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Kingdom issued a total of $10 billion (SR 37.5 billion) divided into three tranches.The first tranche is valued at $3.25 billion for a five-year bind maturing in January 2028, the second valued at $3.5 billion for a 10.5 year bond maturing in 2033 while $3.25 billion for a 30-year bond maturing in January 2053.
The debt management center, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, also announced its arrangement of the first partial repurchase offer for the Kingdom’s dollar-denominated bonds maturing in 2023, 2025 and 2026. 
The tender offers are being made as part of the Kingdom’s debt management exercise, which includes the pro-active management of its refinancing risk and debt maturities of the debt portfolio, the statement added. 
The repurchase amounts will be announced upon completion of the offers’ window on Oct. 24, it added.
LONDON: The British government said on Wednesday it had agreed to deepen its collaboration with Saudi Arabia on diversifying sources of critical minerals.
Britain’s Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy department said the partnership could see Saudi investment in the UK’s manufacturing and mining finance sectors, and new opportunities for UK mining firms to do business in Saudi Arabia.
The British government said it was also important “in ensuring the UK’s critical mineral supply chains are not overly reliant on any one country, with supplies currently dominated by China.”
RIYADH: Riyadh-based mining company Saudi Lime has announced plans to list its shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange just weeks after receiving the Capital Market Authority’s approval to list on the parallel market Nomu, the CEO revealed. 
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum, Ahmed Elewa revealed that the mining firm will dedicate the coming two years to be part of the Kingdom’s main market. 
“We are the first company in the mining sector related to limestone that went into an IPO and already got the CMA’s approval,” the CEO disclosed. 
In addition to this, Saudi Lime aims to boost capacity by an estimated 40 percent in the coming two years, Elewa stressed. 
“We have a very good plan to expand and increase our capacity right now from 1,500 tons per day to be 2000 or 2,200 tons per day,” he elaborated. 
Talking about the company’s strategy for next five years, the CEO revealed that Saudi Lime will also be working on aggressive expansion plans as it is considering setting footprint in another country in the Middle East and North Africa region such as Oman or even the UAE. 
Looking into the future, the executive warned that the mining sector is expected to be exposed to a challenge of scarce raw materials. “Fortunately, Saudi Lime has its own raw materials mining resource which will enable us to secure these resources at least for the coming five to ten years.”  
The CEO revealed that the company has spent more than 10 percent of its net income on employees, “to improve their skills and to give them specialized trainings in Saudi Arabia and in Europe.” 
Saudi Lime, which operates as the Kingdom’s sole supplier for sand lime blocks and bricks, closed the year 2022 with revenues that exceeded expectations amid high demand for its products. By the end of the year, the company’s sales stood at over SR110.5 million ($26.7 million) and it achieved more than 10 percent in net income. 
RIYADH: Saudi Comedat Co., one of the leading contractors for open-pit mining in Saudi Arabia, plans to double its capacity, as the Kingdom is showing strong signs of growth in the mining sector, revealed the company’s top official.  
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh on Jan.11, Ali Saeed Alqahtani, CEO of Saudi Comedat Co. said that Saudi Arabia is one of the best places for the mining sector due to the Kingdom’s “stability and potential for growth.”  
“We are aiming to double our capacity in five to six years of time. Now, we work around 2.5 million cubic meters per month of operations for Ma’aden. Hopefully, we will double that as Ma’aden and the entire mining business are growing,” Alqahtani told Arab News.  
The CEO revealed that the company tried to go outside Saudi Arabia “but the risk was very high due to unstable laws and unstable politics in the mining sector.”  
“I think Saudi Arabia is the best market so far, in terms of stability and growth. We are concentrating on the Saudi market, and we have Jordanian partners as well.”  
Alqahtani further added that Saudi Comedat has plans to create new partnerships with companies other than Ma’aden, as more firms are entering Saudi Arabia due to positive changes which are happening in the mining sector. 
“We have been working with Ma’aden for 15 years. We are aiming to develop the business for other companies, as you can see, the pipe is full of companies coming to do exploration. Once they get their license, they will need a mining service company like ours to do their work,” he added.  
Saudi Comedat currently has over 300 employees, with 42 percent of them being Saudi nationals, along with seven females working in the administration department.  
Alqahtani also added that the company, along with Ma’aden, has been training Saudi nationals in a dedicated educational facility named Saudi Mining Polytechnic Institute, and the first batch from the institute has already been deployed to work.  
Talking about the company’s responsibility to ensure sustainability, Alqahtani said Saudi Comedat is following the guidelines of Ma’aden, as they come under their umbrella as a contractor. “We have strict environmental policies.  What we call it is fugitive dust, because, by nature of the operation, you will have dust. So, we are suppressing that by chemicals and water.”  
Alqahtani said the mining industry is going to have a bright future here, but suggested that companies that enter the mining industry require a lot of patience to become successful in the sector.  
“Anybody who comes to the industry needs to spend money and should be patient for the return. This is not something you build today for one year and take the profits in two years’ time,” said Alqahtani.  
He added: “Mining sector will give you good returns. But you need to work a minimum of six to 10 years until you really know what you are doing.” 

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