This week, The 966 welcomes guest co-host Robert Mogielnicki from the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University.
The hosts discuss the changed working week in the UAE and discuss why visiting Saudi Arabia is the best way to understand what’s going on in the country. Then, the hosts tackle the investment climate in Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince’s tour of GCC states this week, and the PIF’s decision to sell a stake in Saudi Telecom Company (STC).
1:04 – The UAE weekend is changing.
The United Arab Emirates is changing its workweek to have half days on Fridays and a Saturday-Sunday weekend.
8:46 – The hosts discuss their first time visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – and how perceptions differed from reality on the ground.
The 966 recently interviewed the Saudi Embassy in Washington’s top spokesperson Fahad Nazer. One of his answers to a question from the hosts prompted a new discussion on the importance of visiting Saudi Arabia and seeing the ongoing changes for yourself.
15:50 – Saudi Arabia’s Ever More Ambitious Investment Strategy
Attracting investment is pivotal to the Kingdom’s economic transformation plans. Late last month, our guest host today, Robert Mogielnicki, wrote about the Kingdom’s investment drive in an excellent piece for the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington’s blog.
“There is still time for Saudi Arabia to accomplish many of Vision 2030’s foreign investment objectives, but the window of opportunity is closing quickly…Saudi Arabia’s recent FDI figures are not overly promising, but the low investment levels offer plenty of room for growth…”
The hosts discuss the article and the investment climate in Saudi Arabia, as well as the challenges in reaching stated goals.
36:08 – Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s GCC Tour and Regional Diplomacy
The tour began in Oman. MBS was awarded a top honor by the Sultan. MBS then arrived in Dubai on Tuesday and visited Expo 2020.
Wednesday, the Crown Prince visited Qatar – his first trip there since the diplomatic standoff between the two nations which lasted several years.
47:28 – The PIF is selling shares in STC. It’s the latest in a privatization push by the Saudi government.
In the latest privatization push from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the PIF plans to raise as much as $3.1 billion through the sale of shares in Saudi Telecom Co. (STC).
The PIF is offering a 5% stake in STC. That’s 100 million shares.
The STC is the Middle East’s most profitable mobile-phone operator, and the Kingdom’s largest telecom company.
The price will be offered at between 100 riyals ($26.70) to 116 riyals starting Dec. 10.
This could be the biggest secondary offering of the year in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A secondary offering is A secondary offering is the sale of new or closely held shares of a company that has already made an initial public offering (IPO).
The Saudi Arabia telecom market is expected to register a CAGR of over 10% through 2026, according to a forecast by mordorintelligence.com.
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