King Salman to tour Asia under investment drive

Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz will start a month-long Asian tour tomorrow to cement relations with the world's fastest growing importers of Saudi oil, Reuters reported on Friday.

The tour – which will include Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China – also aims to promote investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, including the sale of a stake in state-run Saudi Aramco.

The king will first visit Malaysia on Sunday, after which he will travel to Jakarta and Bali in Indonesia from March 1-9, and Japan from March 12-14.

King Salman will also reportedly visit China, although neither Saudi nor Chinese officials have confirmed the visit.

Indonesian officials said the Saudi monarch will be accompanied by a 1,500-strong entourage, which will include 10 ministers.

The trip is the king’s first outside the Middle East and North Africa, since he visited the United States in 2014.

Saudi Arabia is keen to attract investment from Asia for the listing of a 5 percent stake in Aramco next year, as part of wider economic reforms following the plunge in oil prices.

Official and executives from nearly 14 Saudi companies will travel to Singapore and Hong Kong next month to lure in Asian investors to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), Reuters reported last week, citing unnamed banking sources.

Among the companies and banks said to be part of the marketing tour are Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Samba Financial Group, Savola Group, and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden).