RIYADH: Saudi giga-project NEOM hosted 52 global, regional, and local financial institutions, showcasing ongoing progress across key projects and highlighting investment opportunities.  

The meeting also reviewed the progress and latest developments in key NEOM undertakings, including The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah, scheduled to open later this year.  

The event showcased the giga-project’s commitment to sustainable growth and development, underscoring its focus on environmental, social, and governance principles.  

A notable aspect of the visit included a review of The Line, where dignitaries observed the rapid progress of phase one construction and gained deeper insights into the initiative’s design.  

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: “Since inception, we have been establishing strong partnerships to help drive this grand vision forward. NEOM’s vast scale and expertise offer strong and ongoing commercial opportunities for global organizations, including financial institutions.”   

He added: “We were pleased to host guests from some of the world’s leading financial institutions in NEOM recently to discuss collaborative avenues. NEOM is open for business and we welcome all interested parties to be part of our continued success.”  

The event drew representatives from 24 international banks and financial institutions, including those from Germany, Spain, and France, as well as the UK, the US, and China. Additionally, representatives from Japan and South Korea attended the event.  

In addition, 13 regional banks from Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE attended, alongside 15 financial institutions from Saudi Arabia.   

In June 2023, NEOM launched the largest public-private partnership for accommodation, valued at over SR21 billion ($5.67 billion).  

It also announced an SR37.5 billion joint venture with global logistics company Denmark’s DSV in October 2023 to provide logistics services for the giga-project.  

These announcements, along with other NEOM partnerships, were well-received by attendees at Discover NEOM China, an event held in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong earlier this month. The event attracted more than 500 senior business and industry leaders. 

SR10bn credit facility

NEOM also announced the signing of a credit facility worth SR10 billion to meet its short-term financing requirements.  

The facility, structured on Murabaha principles, is aimed at supporting the developmental stages of flagship projects like The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah.  

Al-Nasr emphasized the strategic alignment of these credit facilities with the Kingdom’s broader economic goals under Vision 2030.  

In a press release, he highlighted the collaborative effort of leading Saudi financial institutions in supporting one of the world’s most ambitious projects by providing diverse financing solutions that bolster NEOM’s infrastructure initiatives. 

The agreement has garnered significant attention, involving nine prominent banks such as the National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank, and Saudi First Bank, alongside other key financial players.

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is focused on the production of green molecules, said Prince Abdelaziz bin Salman Al Saud, the Kingdom’s minister of energy.

“Our plans are clear to everyone, we are focusing on the molecule,” the prince said at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh. “Being environmentally conscious is our human duty, whatever we do today should not endanger any aspirations of future generations.”

In a session focused on green molecules such as biofuels, hydrogen, and their derivatives, experts discussed various countries’ plans on how to move forward with the production of green molecules.  

For his part, Prince Abdelaziz said he believed the concept should be color agnostic, because the molecule business has to do with how we produce clean energy, and that has no color.

“There is a carbon footprint that we need to manage and mitigate. I think stigmatizing things might narrow our choices rather than expand (them). We believe, as Saudis, that we require all the sources of energy, be it nuclear, hydrocarbon-based, or synthetic fuels. We are open to choices.” 

The prince also said the kingdom is “libertarian” in its business approach, willing to share the expertise with other countries and that it is already in business with some European states.

“While the technology remains challenging, we continue to work on it to make it accessible and affordable to all,” he said.

The United Arab Emirate’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei said that, as in Saudi Arabia, leaders in the UAE are aware of the need to invest in new energy. 

“The region has become important in tackling problems and coming up with solutions,” Al Mazrouei said. “Clean energy is something we decided to venture into 17 years ago as we were thinking about what is going to happen when we export the last barrel of oil.”

Echoing the prince’s remarks, Al Mazrouei said consumers should not be limited to those considered ready simply because they can afford the price.

“We are working on the technology to make it accessible to all,” he said.

Amani Abou Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy of the African Union, said that Africa has different levels of development and needs and expressed the need for alternative power options.

“Overall we are still electrified in only 49 percent of the continent, so more than half of the population doesn’t have electricity. Africa can’t afford to discard any solution at this point.”

Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies SE, alongside Shrikant Vaidya, chairman of India’s Oil Corporation, and Erasmo Carlos Battistella, CEO of Be8, reiterated the importance of accessibility and affordability when producing green molecules.

Despite the positives from those countries engaged in the production of green molecules, such as job creation, there is still a long way to go. 

Prince Abdelaziz said: “I think we should be conscious of the fact that the challenge is big, we are still talking about artificial intelligence, the component of the electrification, and what is required for it; the world will require clean molecules (and) it is our hope that we all work together to ensure this happens.”