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RIYADH: ������Ƶ’s Export-Import Bank boosted credit facilities by 44 percent in the first half of the year, reaching SR23.61 billion ($6.29 billion), as the state lender stepped up efforts to accelerate non-oil export growth. 

Export financing disbursements rose 26.2 percent to SR8.87 billion in the six months to June, while credit insurance coverage surged 58.8 percent to SR14.74 billion, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

The growth supports the bank’s mandate to help double the Kingdom’s industrial exports from SR254 billion in 2022 to SR557 billion by 2030, and SR892 billion by 2035, in line with the National Industrial Strategy. 

“The leap achieved by the bank in the credit facilities provided during this year reflects the extent of the tireless efforts and strategic plans that seek to achieve all economic development goals,” said Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalb, CEO of Saudi EXIM Bank. 

He added that the bank’s progress since its inception underscores its role in building a diversified and sustainable national economy. 

The lender launched the “Bridges Initiative” to align with the Kingdom’s industrial transformation to speed up access to industrial inputs and enhance export competitiveness. The program is expected to expand opportunities for Saudi non-oil exports and introduce more flexible financing solutions. 

“Among the achievements made during this period is the bank’s obtaining its first credit rating from Fitch International with an A+ rating, which reflects the bank’s creditworthiness and commitment to the highest standards of efficiency and transparency,” said Al-Khalb.

Fitch Ratings assigns an A+ rating to entities with an exceptionally strong capacity to meet financial commitments and a low expectation of default risk. The agency cited the bank’s strategic importance as a government-owned entity and its central role in export financing, guarantees, and insurance. 

Saudi EXIM Bank, affiliated with the National Development Fund, is working to diversify the Kingdom’s economic base by enhancing the efficiency of the national non-oil export system, bridging financing gaps, and reducing export risks. 

On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s annual meetings in Cote d’Ivoire in May, the bank signed four agreements to strengthen trade and investment ties across the continent. 

The deals were signed by Al-Khalb with Africa50, the Ghana Export-Import Bank, Blend International Ltd., and Guinea’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, according to SPA. 

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited US inventory data, while eyeing an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Brent crude futures dipped 3 cents, or 0.05 percent, to $66.09 a barrel at 9:11 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 8 cents, or 0.13 percent, at $63.09. Both contracts settled lower on Tuesday.

Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine that has shaken oil markets since February 2022.

Oil investors are in a “wait-and-see mode” ahead of the meeting, said ING commodity strategists.

“The outcome could remove some of the sanction risk hanging over the market,” the ING strategists added.

Investors also awaited further cues after an industry report showed US crude stockpiles climbed last week.

Crude inventories in the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, rose by 1.52 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories dropped while distillate inventories gained slightly.

Should the US Energy Information Administration data later on Wednesday also show a decline, it could indicate that consumption during the summer driving season has peaked and refiners are easing back their runs. The driving season typically runs from the Memorial Day holiday at the end of May to the Labor Day holiday in early September.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the EIA report to show crude inventories fell by about 300,000 barrels last week. Outlooks issued by OPEC and the EIA on Tuesday pointed to increased production this year, which also weighed on prices. But both expect output in the US, the world’s largest producer, to decline in 2026, while other regions will increase oil and natural gas production.

US crude production will hit a record 13.41 million barrels per day in 2025 due to increases in well productivity, though lower oil prices will prompt output to fall in 2026, the EIA forecast in a monthly report.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ monthly report said global oil demand will rise by 1.38 million bpd in 2026, up 100,000 bpd from the previous forecast. Its 2025 projection was left unchanged.

The White House on Tuesday tempered the expectations for a quick Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal, which may lead investors to reconsider an end to the war soon and any easing of sanctions on Russian supply, which had been supporting prices.

“Trump downplayed expectations of his meeting with President Putin ... However, expectations of additional sanctions on Russian crude continue to fall,” ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes wrote in a note.