|
QUOTED
“Public revenue is budgeted to be $222 billion, 62 percent of which is attributed to the oil revenue and 38 percent to the non-oil revenue. The budgeted expenditure for 2020 is $272 billion, out of which about 50 percent is allocated to employee compensation. At 19 percent, education has the largest allocation in terms of sectors, followed by military, with an allocation of 18 percent.”
–Global Accounting Firm KPMG, in its newly-published KSA 2020 Budget Report
|
|
|
|
TOP STORY
This week, Saudi Arabia unveiled its 2020 budget, which signals an end to the expansionary trend of recent years, assumes lower oil prices than in 2019, and continues to invest in the economic diversification as outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform plans. [more]
|
|
TOP STORY
Saudi Aramco’s shares rose SAR 3.20, or 10% (the daily limit) to 35.2 riyals in Riyadh, raising the company’s valuation to $1.88T.
The debut, by any measure, is a success, and officially makes Saudi Aramco the world’s most valuable company. [more]
|
|
TOP STORY
A recent Arab News — Arab Strategy Forum research study conducted by YouGov found that 55 percent of Arab youth believe corruption is the main problem in their country, but unemployment was close behind at 46 percent, according to Arab News.
In the Arab world, 65 percent of the population are under the age of 30.
The study interviewed 3,079 Arabic speakers aged 18 years and above across 18 countries in the Middle East to better understand their concerns, and to gauge their opinions on the intersections of Islam and politics in Arab life, Arab News said in a report.
[More from Arab News]
|
|
TOP STORY
A Saudi soldier in training in the United States opened fire on a naval base in Pensacola, Florida on Friday, killing three and wounding 12.
Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani was then killed by a sheriff’s deputy who responded to the attack. The attack shocked Saudis and Americans alike. [more]
|
|
MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Natasha Turak in cnbc.com : Share rose 10% to 38.7 riyals apiece ($10.32) but slipped back to 37 riyals within minutes of the market open.
|
Via Vivian Nereim and Sarah Algethami in bloomberg.com : Most of the debt will be local and about 45% will be raised overseas through sukuk and conventional bonds, Fahad Al-Saif, head of the Finance Ministry’s debt management office, said in an interview on Wednesday. The country will also refinance roughly 44 billion riyals ($11.7 billion) of existing local debt, he said.
|
Via Aseel Bashraheel in arabnews.com : Two driverless shuttles, nicknamed Olli and EZ10, will undergo trials on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) campus with a view to starting regular commuter services for students and staff early next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
|
|
|
|
|
Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states have tried to avoid taking a position on America’s geopolitical rivalries in recent years,...[By Summer Said and Stephen Kalin via wsj.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Saudi Arabia is moving closer to a potential deal to acquire a minority stake in a Pakistan mine controlled by Barrick Gold Corp., people with...[By Dinesh Nair, Matthew Martin, and Thomas Biesheuvel via bloomberg.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
It’s shaping up to be a banner year for the mobile esports industry, with an unprecedented amount of activity in the space in 2024. The...[via digiday.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Saudi-based ACWA Power recognized as the world’s largest private water desalination company and a frontrunner in energy transition with a focus on green hydrogen, secured...[By Pooja Chandak via solarquarter.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
“Those Arab countries are in a very critical situation,” said Oraib Al Rantawi, director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, a think...[via nbcnews.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
When ancient humans pushed into the Arabian Peninsula, they found a world marked by magma. Swaths of it once erupted from volcanoes, leaving a landscape...[By Robin George Andrews via nytimes.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Alongside further expansion in Saudi Arabia – the largest branded coffee shop market in the Middle East – Barn’s is also expected to...[via worldcoffeeportal.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The total number of workers in the Saudi private sector reached 11.24 million in March 2024, the National Labor Observatory said.
The total number of nationals working in private-sector entities stood...[via argaam.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russia’s presence in Syria has grown since U.S. troops withdrew from the latter’s northeastern border region, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told lawmakers on Wednesday, but...[By Katie Bo Williams via defenseone.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
The Trump administration’s rapidly shifting strategy in northern Syria has American commanders there scrambling to protect their forces from an expected surge in actions by...[By Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Eric Schmitt via nytimes.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Demonstrators faced off with riot police in Algiers, the capital, and some other major cities in the north African country. Dozens of arrests were reported...[By Jason Burke via theguardian.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
No casualties in overnight attack, the 10th since late October and days after another assault wounded six members of Iraq’s elite US-trained counterterrorism force in...[via timesofisrael.com via AFP]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he discussed with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank a possible plan to rescue...[By Dana Khraiche via bloomberg.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Since 2001, Washington has spent more on nation-building in Afghanistan than in any country ever, allocating $133 billion for reconstruction, aid programs and the Afghan security...[By Craig Whitlock via washingtonpost.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Roule was one of three speakers in the discussion on the “Future of US-Arab relations”, moderated by Editor-in-chief of Arab News Faisal J. Abbas. The...[By Caline Malek via arabnews.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Emirati officials have in the discussions with European counterparts stressed the Gulf state’s need to defend itself while highlighting the UAE’s drawdown of troops in...[By Sylvia Westall via reuters.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Addressed to the head of the Pakistani air force, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, the letter began by relaying the State Department's confirmation that...[By Paul Shinkman via usnews.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Turkey on Thursday sent its accord with Libya on a maritime boundary between the two countries to the United Nations for approval, a Turkish diplomatic...[By Tuvan Gumrukcu via reuters.com]
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
