Latest news with #R17.56bn
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Egypt to boost gas production after years of decline, says PM Madbouly
Egypt's gas production is expected to reach 6.6-billion cubic feet per day by 2027, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday. Egypt's natural gas production began declining in 2022, forcing it to become a net gas importer whether through expensive liquefied natural gas cargoes or through Israeli supplies. The North African nation's production is currently 4.1-billion cubic feet per day, Madbouly said. The decline in output over recent years has been driven mainly by a hard currency shortage that limited the government's ability to pay international oil companies. "Foreign investors and partners have resumed investments as a result of our commitment to pay off the accumulated arrears, so we have clear plans to return to previous production levels [of 6.6-billion cubic feet daily] over the next two years," Madbouly said. Madbouly said last month that Egypt has paid $1bn (R17.56bn) to international oil companies and it was set to pay another $1.4bn (R24.58bn) before the end of the year.
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
AI 'embedded across every layer' of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund
Saudi Arabia's nearly $1-trillion (R17.56bn) sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have become embedded across 'every layer' of its operation, reshaping not only what it invests in but how it invests. The shift reflects a broader national ambition to integrate advanced technologies into the heart of the Saudi economy and to redefine the region's financial future not through oil but through algorithms. In its 2024 annual report, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) described AI as a catalyst that is fundamentally altering the way the state fund makes decisions, allocates capital and evaluates value. The report said the fund's assets under management totalled 3.424-trillion riyals (R16.02-trillion) at the end of 2024, lower than the 4.321-trillion riyals (R20.22-trillion) reported in June, with the change reflecting the use of different accounting standards. The PIF said it had implemented an AI-powered valuation platform to bring greater precision and speed to private market investment assessments. It has also developed a large language model for real-time investment reporting and is using AI tools for asset manager analysis and portfolio optimisation.
