Cairo 24: An official reveals the motives for the Saudi sovereign fund’s acquisition of the largest iron company in the Kingdom

Muhammad Saleh Al-Jabr, Vice Chairman of the National Committee for the Iron Industry in Saudi Arabia, said that the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s acquisition of SABIC, the largest iron industry company in Saudi Arabia, at a value of approximately $3 billion, came with the aim of strengthening the iron and steel industry in the Kingdom. He pointed out during a session moderated by George Matty, Head of the Marketing Sector at Ezz Steel Company, during a press conference for the Arab Steel Summit, in the presence of businessman Ahmed Ezz, Chairman of Ezz Steel Company, that the Saudi Public Investment Fund aims to increase the Kingdom’s production of iron and steel industries. The official in the Saudi National Committee for the Iron Industry explained that the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign fund, aims to establish a giant entity for the iron industry in the Kingdom, following its acquisition of SABIC and Al Rajhi Steel Company. Al-Jabr added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the largest iron and steel producing countries in the Arab region, and it is also expanding in many construction projects that require more iron production in the Kingdom. In the same session, Mohamed Zada, head of one of the sectors at the Suez Steel Company, said that the steel industry is linked to geopolitical aspects, and there are many challenges facing the industry on an annual basis. He explained that among the most prominent challenges facing the steel industry are the recent rise in global interest rates, and the rise in interest rates in Egypt, which raised the cost on the steel industry and at the same time the challenges of the Russian war that affected supply chains, noting that rebar production declined by 11% during the current year, and that there are many factories that have stopped working, due to reliance on imported products. In the same session, Egyptian businessman Ahmed Ezz, President of Ezz Steel, said that the production capacity of raw steel in Egypt is 17 million tons annually through 7 giant companies, with investments of one billion dollars. Source: Cairo 24