LONDON: India’s Tata Steel said that it has agreed to start exclusive talks for the sale of its speciality steel assets to metal processing firm Liberty House.
The unit, which has activities mostly in Britain but also in China, employs 1,700 people and produces specialized steel for the aerospace and automotive industries, as well as the oil and gas sector.
However, Tata Steel gave no update on the future of the rest of its UK assets — including Britain’s biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.
Tata Steel earlier this year decided to offload its loss-making British assets, blaming the move on a global oversupply of steel, cheap imports into Europe from countries including China, high costs and currency volatility.
“Tata Steel UK today announced the signing of a letter of intent with Liberty House Group to enter into exclusive negotiations for the potential sale of its speciality steels business for an enterprise value of £100 million ($125 million, 118 million euros),” it said in a statement.
The activities comprise several assets in South Yorkshire in northern England, including an electric arc steelworks in Rotherham, a steel purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth.
Tata Steel inks deal for talks on UK asset sale
Tata Steel inks deal for talks on UK asset sale
Webuild reports no hiccup on NEOM activities after mega project CEO’s departure
LONDON: Italy’s construction group Webuild told Reuters on Tuesday its activities connected to Saudi Arabia’s NEOM are continuing in line with the plan, after the infrastructure mega project’s long-time CEO left the role last week.
“Webuild has no evidence of changes in the activity plan initially set for the projects it is implementing, nor has it recorded any delay in payments,” the company said.
NEOM, a Red Sea urban and industrial development nearly the size of Belgium due to house nearly 9 million people, is central to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to create new engines of economic growth beyond oil.
Webuild, which has been active in Saudi Arabia for 60 years, is building a system of three dams that will feed an artificial lake in the Trojena area and a high-speed railway called the Connector.
Riyadh’s office space to see major expansion by 2026, driven by regional HQ program: Knight Frank
- Saudi capital to see 1m sq. meters of new office space in two years
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s push for regional headquarters has spurred demand for office space in Riyadh, with the capital’s stock set to grow by 1 million sq. meters by 2026, a report showed.
According to global property consultancy Knight Frank’s Autumn 2024 Saudi Arabia Commercial Market Review, this will bring the city’s total office space to 6.3 million sq. meters.
The regional HQ program also impacts office lease rates, with 517 companies now committed to establishing their primary hub in the Kingdom, the report disclosed.
This comes ahead of the nation’s goal of attracting approximately 480 multinational corporations to move their headquarters to the Kingdom by 2030.
“Vision 2030 is reshaping Saudi Arabia’s economy and society, with a central focus on transforming Riyadh into a key regional and global center for business, finance, leisure, and tourism,” said Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for the Middle East and North Africa at Knight Frank.
“Indeed, 49 percent of the new jobs created in the Kingdom over the last five years has been in Riyadh, which is adding to the upward pressure on office rents, with many key office districts and business parks fully leased, with waiting lists,” Durrani added.
He went on to say that the limited availability of office space is also forcing up Riyadh’s Grade B rents, which have climbed by 27 percent over the past year.
In the Dammam Metropolitan Area region, Grade A rents have climbed by 2.2 percent since the third quarter of 2023, fueled mainly by strong demand from the public sector, he added.
Saudi hotel industry sees 11.4% spending surge, amid overall weekly POS decline: SAMA
RIYADH: Spending in Saudi hotels saw a week-on-week increase of 11.4 percent between Nov. 10 and 16, reaching SR399.7 million ($106.4 million), according to the Kingdom’s central bank.
The weekly point-of-sale transactions bulletin from SAMA showed that restaurants and cafes recorded the second largest sectoral increase with a 4.3 percent rise to reach SR2.07 billion, which also equated to the biggest share of the overall value.
Spending on furniture came in third place, registering a 2 percent increase to SR304.8 million.
Overall, Saudi Arabia’s POS transactions registered a weekly decrease of 1.5 percent, with the education sector leading the decline.
SAMA recorded SR13.2 billion in transactions over the week, with the education industry posting the highest sectoral decrease at 47.9 percent to reach SR89.5 million.
The central bank’s figures showed that the electronics sector saw the second-largest dip, with a 10.9 percent slide to SR198 billion.
Spending on telecommunication recorded the third most significant decrease, at 7.4 percent, reaching SR117.1 million.
Expenditure on food and beverages saw a 0.6 percent negative change this week, reaching SR1.9 billion, claiming the second-biggest share of this week’s POS transaction value.
Spending on miscellaneous goods and services followed, accounting for the third largest POS share with a 4.1 percent dip, reaching SR1.5 billion.
Spending in the leading three categories accounted for 42 percent or SR5.5 billion of the week’s total value.
At 0.02 percent, the smallest increase occurred in spending on recreation and culture, boosting total payments to SR309.5 million. Expenditures on public utilities surged by 0.2 percent to SR52.9 million.
Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing 34.06 percent of the total, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.5 billion — a 3.5 percent decrease from the previous week.
Jeddah followed with a 0.04 percent surge to SR1.8 billion, and Dammam came in third at SR641.4 million, down 4.6 percent.
Madinah experienced the most significant rise in spending, increasing 6.9 percent to SR567 million.
Tabuk recorded a decline of 7.5 percent, reaching SR235.9 million, and Abha dropped 3.4 percent to stand at SR149.4 million.
Japan, Saudi medical centers unite to revolutionize stem cell therapy
- Cytori Therapeutics K.K., has been a pioneer in the stem cell therapy business
TOKYO: Cytori Therapeutics Japan and the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen research and training initiatives in the field of cell therapy.
The signing ceremony took place between Dr. Ahmed Alaskar, executive director of KAIMRC, and Hoshino Yoshihiro, president and CEO of Cytori Therapeutics K.K., during the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2024.
The partnership underscores the potential of regenerative medicine in treating chronic diseases such as diabetes, liver cirrhosis, critical limb ischemia, chronic wounds, knee osteoarthritis and other aging-related conditions. The aim of combining Cytori’s cutting-edge stem cell technology with KAIMRC’s expertise in translational research is to develop groundbreaking treatments for these critical health issues.
The two organizations will collaborate on fundamental research, clinical trials and other areas of mutual interest, including projects in biomedical R&D, preclinical studies and clinical trials, as well as training and development for staff in health-related and engineering fields.
Cytori Therapeutics K.K., has been a pioneer in the stem cell therapy business, specializing in cell therapy services and the development of adipose-derived regenerative cells from human subcutaneous fat tissues for therapeutic use. The company also develops, manufactures, and exports medical devices.
This article is also available on Arab News Japan
Oil Updates – prices little changed as market weighs mixed drivers
SINGAPORE: Oil prices held steady for a second day on Wednesday as concerns about escalating hostilities in the Ukraine war potentially disrupting oil supply from Russia and signs of growing Chinese crude imports offset data showing US crude stocks rising.
Brent crude futures dipped 5 cents to $73.26 a barrel by 8:41 a.m. Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures was flat at $69.39 per barrel.
The escalating war between major oil producer Russia and Ukraine has kept a floor under the market this week.
“We may expect (Brent) oil prices to stay supported above the $70 level for now, as market participants continue to monitor the geopolitical developments,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
On Tuesday, Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time, Moscow said. Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the bar for a possible nuclear attack.
“This marks a renewed build up in tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war and brings back into focus the risk of supply disruptions in the oil market,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients.
On the demand side, US crude oil stocks rose by 4.75 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 15, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures.
That was a bigger build than the 100,000 barrel increase analysts polled by Reuters were expecting.
Gasoline inventories, however, fell by 2.48 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 900,000-barrel increase.
Distillate stocks also fell, shedding 688,000 barrels last week, the sources said.
Official government data is due later on Wednesday.
In a boost to oil price sentiment, there were signs that China, the world’s largest crude importer, may have stepped up oil purchases this month after a period of weak imports.
Data from vessel tracker Kpler showed China’s crude imports are on track to end November at or close to record highs, an analyst told Reuters.
Weak imports by China so far this year have pulled down oil prices, with Brent sinking 20 percent from its April peak of more than $92 a barrel.
