RIYADH: Saudi Arabia closed 49 investment deals worth more than $925 million in the second quarter, according to an official report from the Ministry of Investment. In a statement, the Ministry of Investment revealed that these investments, which are spread acorss diverse sectors such as advanced manufacturing, construction and real estate, information and communications technology, tourism, entertainment and sports, will create over 2,000 jobs in the Saudi economy. One of the major deals finalized in the second quarter was a $133.3 million agreement between the Saudi Ports Authority and DP World to build a logistics park at Jeddah Islamic Port. Another deal was a $37 million funding round led by global finance giant Mastercard into Saudi e-commerce firm HyperPay to expand the Kingdom’s digital payment ecosystem. Other investments include a strategic agreement with pharmaceutical giant Novartis to boost Saudi Arabia’s biopharmaceutical capabilities, a $50 million investment by Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures into Saudi fintech Wahed and a deal by Ma’aden to build the world’s largest solar-powered steam plant to be used to refine bauxite into alumina. The report titled “Q2 2022 Investment Highlights” suggests that the Saudi non-oil sector witnessed a 5.4 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter. According to the report, the real gross domestic product also climbed 11.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. It stated that the Kingdom’s industrial production expanded by 24 percent year-on-year in May 2022, showing a strong post-pandemic rebound in business and investor appetite. March, April and May 2022 recorded the highest Industrial Production Index figures of all quarters in the last three years, the report stated. The Kingdom also witnessed a 16.6 percent rise in point-of-sales transactions in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. “The National Investment Strategy is a catalyst to deliver on our Vision 2030 national objectives of seeing the private sector contribute 65 percent to GDP and growing foreign direct investment to 5.7 percent of GDP,” said Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih.