Analysis

KAUST

KAUST Announces New Partnership with Dow, Launches Venture Capital Fund with ICD

• SUSTG Team
• |
• 11. 13. 2015

KAUST, with a deep endowment and brand new main campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, announced two new partnerships this week, one with Dow Chemical and another with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).

• Investment in Saudi Arabia

  

  Saudi Stock Market’s Key Players Undertake Roadshow to Promote Investment in Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul

  SUSTG Team  |  11. 9. 2015

  Key players in Saudi Arabia’s stock market have embarked on a "global roadshow" abroad to show off the attractiveness of the investment climate in Saudi Arabia, according to reports, with officials meeting potential investors in New York, London, and Singapore.

• Uber

  

  Uber Eyes Fast-Growing MENA Markets for $250m Expansion

  SUSTG Team  |  11. 5. 2015

  Uber Technologies Inc. is investing $250 million to expand in the Middle East and North Africa, which have some of the ride-sharing service’s fastest-growing markets, Bloomberg reports.

• War in Yemen

  

  Al-Jubeir: Yemen’s War in the ‘Final Stage’; But Victory May Still Prove Elusive

  SUSTG Team  |  11. 3. 2015

  “I am confident that the Yemeni conflict has entered its final stage, and I’m optimistic,” Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said about the war in Yemen. "The trend is moving in the right direction.”

• Syria

  

  Ahead of Critical Syrian Peace Summit, Saudi Arabia Looks to ‘Test’ Iran on Commitment to Peace

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 29. 2015

  "The view of our partners ... was that we should test the intentions of the Iranians and the Russians in arriving at a political solution in Syria, which we all prefer. If they're serious we will know, and if they're not serious we will also know and stop wasting time with them." - Adel Al-Jubeir.

• Extremism

  

  Bomb Rips Through Shia Mosque in Najran City, Saudi Arabia, Killing One; Daesh Claims Responsibility, Suspect Named

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 27. 2015

  Daesh has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia's Najran city in which at least one person was killed and 16 others were injured. A suspect has been named by Saudi authorities.

• U.S.-Saudi Military Sales

  

  Report: U.S. State Department Approves Sale of $11.5b Littoral Combat Ships to Saudi Arabia, Latest in ‘Biggest Year Yet’ for U.S. Arms Sales

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 20. 2015

  The State Department has approved the sale under the Foreign Military Sales program according to an official cited by Bloomberg. The approval allows the Saudis to negotiate contracts for the ships unless Congress passes legislation to block the deal.

• U.S. Middle East Policy

  

  Perspective: “Lessons from America’s Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East” – Chas Freeman’s Speech to AUSPC in Washington

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 15. 2015

  "The ongoing disintegration of the Fertile Crescent fuels extremism; empowers Iran; drives Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria together; weakens the strategic position of the GCC; vexes Turkey; and leaves the United States on a strategic treadmill."

• Jadwa Saudi Chartbook

  

  Jadwa October 2015 Chartbook: Investment in Foreign Securities Recorded a Monthly Increase, First Time in 2015

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 9. 2015

  Investment in foreign securities recorded a monthly increase for the first time in 2015, an indication that drawing down foreign reserves is not the only deficit financing tool being employed, according to a recently released report by Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment.

• Education: Saudis in the U.S.

  

  Saudi Students in the U.S. Increased 20% from 2013/2014 and Are Increasingly Placed in Diverse Institutions, Study Finds

  SUSTG Team  |  10. 6. 2015

  A recent report on Saudi students in the United States by World Education News and Review found that Saudis studying in the U.S. have increased by 20% in the last year and often apply to a wider range of schools other than the elite institutions that are a typical focus of international applicants.