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  • Exclusive: Tencent Cloud’s bold vision for Saudi Arabia unveiled at LEAP 2024

    At LEAP apart from making a slew of announcements, Tencent Cloud was focussed on their next steps and growth in the region. The Chinese giant works with industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation. Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Tencent Cloud and Smart Industries Group (CSIG), and Dan Hu, Vice President of Tencent Cloud International, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) spoke about the growth of the region and the company’s plans in the region at the event.

  • A look back at the developments of Saudi Srabia’s futuristic NEOM project unveiled in 2023

    In 2023, NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic giga city, sparked global excitement with the revelation of several new destinations. The ambitious project achieved significant progress in the early months of the year, hitting a noteworthy milestone as the CEO announced one-fifth completion by February. With the first wave of tourists expected in 2024, NEOM continues to unveil fresh locations and showcase rapid construction, underscoring the project’s momentum. Beyond the initial mega-cities, Sindalah, Trojena, Oxagon, and the LINE, the latest additions include the sustainable tourist hub named Leyja, the sleek Epicon Towers, the hexagonal-pillar retreat called Siranna, and an events space called Utamo. Furthermore, in 2023, NEOM introduced its own airline, as well as Topian, its food company that promises to reshape global food systems. Keep reading below to uncover all the exciting NEOM developments unveiled throughout 2023.

  • From heritage to horizon: Saudi Expo 2025’s pavilion unveiled in Osaka gala

    Saudi Arabia took center stage at the Expo 2025 Osaka International Participants Meeting with a Cultural Gala dinner held at Osaka’s River Dojima Forum. The event, under the patronage of Minister of Culture Prince Bader Bin Farhan, served as the platform to reveal the pavilion design and logo for Expo 2025 Osaka. Dignitaries, including Mayor of Osaka Hideyuki Yokoyama, and government delegates from Japan and Saudi Arabia, alongside officials from other participating countries, attended the gala that celebrated the enduring relationship between the two nations.

  • Saudi: Petro Rabigh shifts to $576mln losses in H1-23; accumulated losses unveiled

    Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) turned to net losses after Zakat and tax worth SAR 2.16 billion in the first half (H1) of 2023, versus net profits of SAR 2.10 billion in H1-22. The revenues shrank by 33.35% to SAR 21.66 billion during January-June 2023 from SAR 32.50 billion a year earlier, according to the interim financial results.

  • Iran installs cameras in public places to identify, penalise unveiled women

    In a further attempt to rein in the increasing number of women defying Iran's compulsory dress code, authorities are installing cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalise unveiled women, the police announced on Saturday. After they have been identified, violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police said in a statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law,” said the statement, carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other state media, adding that such resistance tarnishes Iran's spiritual image and spreads insecurity.

  • Designs for giant coral reef-like marine institute unveiled for Saudi Arabia

    Designs for the "world's first fully immersive experiential marine life centre", to be located in Saudi Arabia, have been unveiled by British architecture studio Foster + Partners. The cluster of four buildings, which will be at the Triple Bay Marina in Amaala and have one floor underground and another underwater, is designed to resemble coral reefs.

  • Ambitious plans unveiled to build Saudi Arabia’s own Champs-Elysees in Diriyah

    The new project was discussed during the second edition of the Saudi-French architecture tour that aims to strengthen cooperation between French architects and some of the major projects taking place in the Kingdom, including the DGDA scheme. The tour directly links French architects to the leaders of major projects, such as Inzerillo.

  • Heart of world’s first “non-profit” city unveiled for Saudi Arabia

    Australian architect Conrad Gargett will design the headquarters of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Misk Foundation. It will be the centrepiece of his planned “Nonprofit City”, announced in November 2021. The 3.4-sq-km Nonprofit City will be “a regional and global centre incubating innovative, educational and creative industries”. The nonprofit sector, is located in Riyadh’s western Irqah neighbourhood, adjacent to Wadi Hanifa valley.

  • Lionel Messi arrives in Jeddah after being unveiled as Saudi Arabia’s new tourism ambassador

    Messi arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, accompanied by a group of friends. Soon after, photos were posted on social media of the 34-year-old being welcomed to the Kingdom and users began to speculate that he might be visiting the country for Jeddah Season or for commercial activities.

  • World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Project Unveiled in Saudi Arabia

    Air Products & Chemicals, the U.S. industrial gas giant, announced plans on Tuesday to build a green hydrogen plant in Saudi Arabia powered by 4 gigawatts of wind and solar power, the world's largest such project announced so far. The $5 billion plant will be jointly owned by Air Products, Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power and Neom, a new mega-city planned near Saudi Arabia’s borders with Egypt and Jordan. The completed facility will produce 650 tons of green hydrogen daily, enough to run around 20,000 hydrogen-fueled buses, Air Products said. The fuel will be shipped as ammonia to end markets globally then converted back to hydrogen. Ammonia production is expected to start in 2025.