The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has allocated SR452 billion to implement energy projects until the year 2021 according to SEC Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Saleh Bin Hussein Al-Awaji.

“We’d be crazy to limit ourselves to a handful of bankers when we can see oil prices are going to sustain the Saudi economy for the foreseeable future,” Rory Gilbert, the head of Middle East and North Africa at London-based Barclays’s wealth management unit, said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah yesterday opened a major workshop for the development of Saudi commercial attaches as part of the ministry’s efforts to promote trade and investment relations with foreign countries.

Saudi Arabia uses as much oil per person as America, largely to run oil-fired power plants to run domestic air conditioners. And the more of its oil siphoned off for such uses, the less cushion there is in the worlds oil supply. Thats a big problem now but is becoming less of one.

The 2nd US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Atlanta in December brought together a high level delegation of over 200 Saudi officials and business people with over 1000 Americans to explore the $1 trillion-plus commercial openings available in the coming decade in the Kingdom.

Bank deposits rose for the fifth consecutive month in January, with demand deposits accounting for the entire rise to reach almost 60 percent of total bank deposits. Bank excess deposits at SAMA remained very high, giving scope for further lending growth.

According to Jadwa, “Non-oil exports hit a new all-time high in December owing to greater production of petrochemicals and plastics. Imports also jumped that month and data on letters of credit issued for imports suggest further rises are likely in the months ahead."

In a new analysis from contributor Hussain Abusaaq, the potential opening of Saudi Arabia's Stock Market, or Tadawul, might benefit both Saudi Arabia and foreign investors.