Riyadh – Mubasher: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Logistic Hub, a Saudi government initiative, completed its third stop in Cairo, as part of a global roadshow, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The initiative showcased investment opportunities in the promising Saudi logistics sector, as well as enhancing cooperation with Egypt.

Saudi Minister of Transportation, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, said that Saudi Arabia and Egypt have a leading role in the region, with strategic economic and trade ties that the Kingdom always seek to boost.

Al-Jasser participated in the Council of Arab Transport Ministers and Executive Office meetings on Tuesday, held in the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, to discuss cooperation across various areas of the transportation sector.

Besides Egypt, the roadshow includes stops in the UAE, Jordan, China, Singapore, Japan, India, and Germany, to promote investment opportunities in the Saudi logistics industry.

Moreover, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) recently launched its largest integrated logistics area, Al Khomra Logistics Zone, on the Red Sea coast of Jeddah, which will include manufacturing, storage, and cooling facilities, and food distribution centres.

“This is a strategic move in line with Vision 2030, and Saudi Arabia’s efforts to continue diversifying its revenues away from oil,” said Dana Salbak, Research Director MENA at JLL, adding that with its strategic location on the Red Sea coast, a major passageway for more than 13% of global maritime trade, it could become a hub and trade route for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In April 2016, Saudi Arabia announced its Vision 2030, transforming the Kingdom into the preferred logistics hub in the region among the most important pillars of the futuristic vision.

Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on oil exports, advancing the role of the services sector.

“We are seeing a trend where investors are considering ‘defensive’ investments such as logistics, as they are less impacted by cyclical market conditions. For investors, the logistics sector offers long-term leases available to single operators, making the investment more dependent upon the value of the occupier’s covenants and balance sheet, and less dependent upon real estate market conditions,” Salbak added.

Overseas investments during the first half (H1) of 2019 by Middle East entities into industrial and logistics amounted to $315 million, according to a recent note by JLL MEA, while investments in retail malls during the same period stood at $155 million.