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QUOTED
“I call Saudi Arabia a continent rather than a country…We’re seeing now on TV something we’ve never seen before — we see green fields, we see skiing, we see sun and desert. You can’t believe this is the Arabian Peninsula. That makes it very attractive to every tourist or investor because they have variety, because you’re not restricted to one area or sector where you want to build something. You have a choice as to what you can do.”
–Khalaf Al-Habtoor, founder and chairman of Al-Habtoor Group. [arabnews.com]
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TOP STORY
The Saudi Heritage Preservation Society has called on UNESCO to protect traditional Khawlani coffee cultivation techniques in Saudi Arabia in a press release, noting that the Arabian tradition “has been passed down for generations by the ancient tribes of Khawlan who have grown and processed Khawlani coffee beans in the verdant valleys of Jazan, a region in the southern-most tip of Arabia, for over 300 years.” [more]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Saudi Aramco expect to announce in the second quarter whether they’ll proceed with plans to build a facility to process crude oil directly into chemicals, Bloomberg reports. [more]
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TOP STORY
A recent report from Jadwa Investment looks at the economic impact of Saudi Arabia hosting the G20 Summit, noting that while the Riyadh has hosted major summits before, “the G20 summit differs due to the sheer number of different events related to it” with more than 120 workshops, ministerial meetings and specialized seminars scheduled throughout the year. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in cpifinancial.net : In a report, Invest Saudi, the state entity in charge of promoting foreign investment, said that a total of 1,131 of foreign companies were created in 2019, a 54 per cent increase from 2018, adding that this was the biggest rise in 10 years. Of the 1,131 investor licences issued in 2019, 69 per cent were full foreign ownership and 31 per cent accounted for joint venture partnerships with local investors.
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Via Dania Saadi in spglobal.com : Saudi Arabia’s 2020 GDP will be 1.9%, down from 2.2% projected in October, the IMF said. The fund kept its 2021 forecast at 2.2%, compared with 0.2% for 2019.
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in imf.org : Trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and idiosyncratic stress in key emerging market economies continued to weigh on global economic activity—especially manufacturing and trade—in the second half of 2019. Intensifying social unrest in several countries posed new challenges, as did weather-related disasters—from hurricanes in the Caribbean, to drought and bushfires in Australia, floods in eastern Africa, and drought in southern Africa.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia and Lebanon's installations at the Venice Biennale seek to redress the balance by questioning masculine views and Western myths surrounding the portrayal...[By Rebecca Ann Hughes via euronews.com]
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Middle East countries spent 4.2 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2023, the highest rate globally, as ...[By Deena Kamel via thenationalnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy a majority stake in Saudi Telecom Co.’s tower unit for 8.7 billion riyals ($2.3 billion)...[By Dana Khraiche via ]
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The Schengen Area, which includes 29 European countries, was expanded last February to include Bulgaria and Romania, eliminating all air and maritime...[By Mona Farag via thenationalnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia is pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and the entry of more aid into the territory amid Israel’s war...[via alarabiya.net]
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The institute noted that three largest spenders in the region — Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey — all increased military spending last year. Saudi Arabia...[By Adam Lucente via al-monitor.com]
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The head of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company praised China’s exports of green technology, echoing Beijing’s talking points in what appeared to be a deliberate...[via semafor.com]
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Startups are a critical component of the 21st-century economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and fostering national economic growth. In Saudi Arabia, venture...[By Sharif Almadani via linkedin.com]
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Saudi oil giant Aramco said on Monday it is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in...[By Yousef Saba via reuters.com]
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The Ministry of Tourism has shut down as many as 67 tourism hospitality facilities, including hotels and residential apartments, across the Kingdom during the first...[via zawya.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s cinema industry has generated revenue of SAR3.7 billion ($986.42 million) just six years after the opening of its first cinemas.
According to government data...[By Elias Al Helou via economymiddleeast.com]
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Blinken is expected to participate at a special...[By Barak Ravid via axios.com]
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The agreement on Sunday came after about four hours of talks in Berlin where German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted leaders of 11 countries, with Libya’s...[via nbcnews.com]
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Rallies have rocked Iraq since October but, fearing they would lose momentum amid spiralling regional tensions, protesters last Monday told the government it had one...[via france24.com]
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Lebanese medical groups said at least 377 people were injured on Saturday, including 80 who were taken to hospital, during the culmination of days of...[By Michael Safi via theguardian.com]
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At least 80 Yemeni soldiers attending prayers at a mosque were killed and 130 others injured in ballistic missile and drone attacks by Iran-backed Houthi...[By Schams Elwazer and Sharif Paget, CNN via cnn.com]
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BBC News takes a look at some of the numbers around the 50th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland....[via bbc.com]
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Qatar Airways, Emirates and several other Gulf airlines still fly in Iraqi and Iranian airspace and to cities in both countries, even as other international...[By Alexander Cornwell via reuters.com]
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Turkey’s move to cut interest rates highlights the country’s economic fragility and its exposure to geopolitical risk, say analysts.
The latest 75 basis point cut on...[via arabnews.com]
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “expressed outrage” to Egypt’s president on Sunday at the death of an American citizen who insisted he had been...[By AP via time.com]
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Somali insurgents linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a car bombing on Saturday that wounded at least 15 people in Afgoye, northwest of the...[By Abdi Sheikh via reuters.com]
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