Saudi Aramco Invested $100B In Energy Projects

The Saudi national oil company, Aramco, has invested the equivalent of $100 billion to reach its current production capacity of 12.5 billion barrels/day [Actual production is about 8.5 million barrels/day with a lot of unused spared capacity.]

The company continues to invest heavily to maintain its current level of production capacity.

Source: Al-Anbaa, Saudi Arabia, October 24, 2010

Qatar Committed To Invest In Greece

Following a meeting in Athens of the joint Qatari-Greek committee that would be responsible for the concretization of investment projects in Greece, the Qatari delegation chief has confirmed that his country is committed to invest $5 billion in Greece.

Source: Al-Arab, Qatar, October 24, 2010

Financing Of Egyptian Energy Projects On IFC Priorities

The International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank, has announced that it has placed the financing of energy projects in Egypt among its priorities.

Experts have indicated that private investments in energy projects in Egypt are quite safe although there is concern among private investors about the future direction of Egypt given the failure of President Hosni Mubarak to appoint a vice president or to indicate whether he will be running for reelection next year.

IFC would be interested in co-financing natural gas-operated power projects in addition to solar and wind energy projects.

Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, October 23, 2010

Turkey Second Largest Exporter Of Pasta

Turkey has become the second largest exporter of pasta in the world, behind Italy. The head of the pasta producers said that Turkey has exported 221,000 tons of pasta to 128 countries during the first nine months of this year. The export figure would reach 300,000 tons by year's end.

Source: Al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia, October 18, 2010