BANKING - Interview with Sheikh Saleh Kamel, a pioneer of Islamic banking (Albaraka)

www.arabnews.com - JEDDAH: Saleh Kamel is a leading Saudi businessman and philanthropist who is popular worldwide as a renowned pioneer of Islamic banking and finance. He is the founder of Dallah Albaraka Group, one of the Kingdom's largest and most diversified conglomerates, spanning across 40 countries. He heads the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) as its chairman, Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and a number of other organizations.  (source)

INVESTMENT - NCB: the public and private sectors' projects in the Kingdom provide opportunities for both national and foreign companies (NCB - Turkiye Finans)

It was recently mentioned in the news and attributed to the National Commercial Bank that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to invest 600 billion dollars in Turkey over the next twenty years. 

To rectify this, the figure cited represents the total size of projects to be implemented in the Kingdom in the coming years by both the public and private sectors. (full story)

FINANCE - ECONOMY - Ergun calls on Saudi firms to prefer Turkey instead of China (finance included)

Ergun called on Saudi companies to prefer Turkey instead of China, Japan and United States.

Turkish Industry & Trade Minister Nihat Ergun, who is in Saudi Arabia for talks, addressed Saturday top executives of Saudi companies that control $300 billion and urged better commercial ties with Turkish companies.

"Economic relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia is not at a desired level. Our trade volume in 2002 was $1.3 billion. In 2010, it reached $4.6 billion. However, it is not possible to economically explain such a low trade between two large G20 economies," Ergun said. (source)

BANKING - Bahrain's Al-Baraka to enter Saudi through acquisition

REUTERS  - DUBAI: Bahrain's Islamic lender Al-Baraka said on Tuesday it planned to enter the Saudi Arabian market through an acquisition of an Islamic investment company, valued at around SR300 million ($80 million). 

"The group is in the process of obtaining approval from Saudi authorities to enter the Kingdom this year through acquiring one of the companies operating in the Saudi market," the lender said in a statement on the bourse website.