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QUOTED
“The most recent data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority covers the period to September 2019. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first three quarters of that year amounted to $3.5 billion, slightly up on the $3.2 billion for the equivalent period in 2018, but still very low compared to the fairly recent past. A decade earlier, FDI in the first nine months of 2009 amounted to $26.6 billion.”
Dominic Dudley in Forbes comments on declining FDI as one reason for the establishment of a new Ministry of Investment with for Minister of Energy, Khalid Al-Falih, as it’s head.
[Forbes]
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TOP STORY
Saudi Arabia is launching a soccer league for women, another step forward as the Kingdom continues ahead with its Vision 2030 social and economic reform plan. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Vivian Nereim in bloomberg.com: Lending to Saudi Arabia’s private sector grew at the fastest pace since May 2016, a sign the kingdom’s non-oil economy is sustaining momentum as businesses are borrowing again to invest. Bank claims on the private sector rose 8.5% in January from a year earlier, after a gain of 7% in December. It rose a monthly 1.1%, according to data released on Thursday by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.
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Via Matthew Martin in bloomberg.com: Saudi Arabia is planning to sell more stakes in state-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco as it looks to raise money to fuel an economic diversification plan, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan said. The kingdom, which raised nearly $30 billion last year from Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering in Riyadh, is planning to sell more of its stake in the world’s biggest oil producer, Al-Rumayyan said in an interview with Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein. Potential future share sales could be held outside Saudi Arabia, he said.
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Via Alex Lawler in reuters.com: Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is reducing crude supplies to China in March by at least 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) due to slower refinery demand following the coronavirus outbreak, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scale of the reduction underlines the drop in consumption caused by the outbreak in the world’s top oil importer. China normally takes 1.8 million bpd to 2 million bpd of Saudi crude, the sources said.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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AI and industry 4.0 technology presents an unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers to transform their operations. The market for industry 4.0 technology is expected to reach...[via businessinsider.com]
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The enduring popularity of mocktails is expected to persist, with a considerable number of individuals choosing to refrain from alcohol consumption due...[By Vivek Viswanathan via linkedin.com]
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The first director of the regional office will be Mr. Abdoul Aziz Wane who is a seasoned IMF leader with deep knowledge of the institution...[via eurasiareview.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports, including re-exports, saw a surge of 4.4 percent in February compared to the same period of 2023, official data showed.
According to...[via arabnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia's Fakeeh Care Group, one of the largest private hospital groups in the kingdom, said on...[By Hadeel Al Sayegh via reuters.com]
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Saudi King Salman left hospital after a routine check-up on Wednesday, the Royal Court said in a statement carried by the official...[By Amr Mostafa via thenationalnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia accounted for 41% of total revenues in the GCC telecommunications and information technology sector and 37% of total assets.
The revenues of Saudi-listed companies listed within the...[via argaam.com]
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Saudi Arabia is projected to have 320,000 new hotel rooms by 2030 across the country to accommodate an influx of 150 million...[via alarabiya.net]
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Sitting together last month, Graham and MBS spoke with Trump for roughly five minutes, two people familiar with the...[By Alayna Treene, Kylie Atwood and Phil Mattingly via cnn.com]
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IPWeek, a major energy industry event in London that started February 25, was overshadowed by concerns over the coronavirus as dozens of attendees canceled their...[By Kate Dourian via agsiw.org]
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Government forces, supported by Russia, have been trying to retake Idlib from jihadist groups and Turkish-backed rebel factions based there. The air strike came after...[via bbc.com]
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country already hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, has long threatened to “open the gates” for millions of...[By Mehmet Guzel and Andrew Wilks via apnews.com]
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Forces fighting with Haftar control the majority of Libya’s territory as well as its key oil facilities, and are on the outskirts of the capital.
“We’re...[By Tarek El-Tablawy and Sylvia Westall via bloomberg.com]
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Nearly two months after the death of Iran’s most important general, the Trump administration insists its “maximum pressure” campaign is working. Many allies are skeptical....[By Lara Jakes, Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes via nytimes.com]
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Unlike Tehran and other large cities where voter turnout is an indication of the country’s national politics and overall direction, smaller cities and rural areas...[By Negar Mortazavi via gulfif.org]
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The supreme leader’s engineering of Iran's parliamentary elections may help the regime to manage the multiple crises it is facing. But there will be consequences...[By Ali Alfoneh via agsiw.org]
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Iran’s vice-president has been diagnosed with coronavirus, state media have reported, as the country struggles to stop the spread of the disease.
Masoumeh Ebtekar is among...[By Chris Baynes via independent.co]
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Greece has emerged as key to American plans to counter the influence of China and Russia in the Eastern Mediterranean as countries jostle for energy resources...[By Glen Carey via bloomberg.com]
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