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  • Sabalenka praises WTA’s new mission, welcomes Saudi investment

    World number one Aryna Sabalenka praised on Friday the WTA's mission to highlight the personalities of its athletes and called Saudi Arabia's investment in the women's tennis tour an important part of growing the game. The WTA rebranding, complete with a new logo and "Rally the world" tagline, comes amid a rise in global viewership and a record $4.8 million prize awarded last year to Coco Gauff for winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh, a tournament sponsored by Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

  • Aramco dividend vital to big-spending Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Aramco’s 2024 full-year results due this week are likely to again underline the importance of the world’s largest listed oil company to big-spending Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans. Aramco has said it expects to announce fourth-quarter dividends – payouts to the Saudi government are a core source of state revenue – of SAR116.5 billion ($31.1 billion), the same payout as the preceding three quarters. That would boost its total dividends for 2024 to SAR466 billion ($124.3 billion) and equate to 34 percent of the SAR1.37 trillion of state spending last year, according to AGBI calculations. The kingdom’s annual deficit was SAR115.6 billion. Aramco introduced an additional “performance-linked” dividend in 2023, which boosted payouts significantly; assuming fourth-quarter net profit is in line with that of the first nine months of 2024, Aramco’s dividend-to-profit ratio would be 110 percent. Or, put more simply, Aramco will pay more in dividends than it made in profit. Why the increased windfalls for deteriorating performance? The government, which owns 81.5 percent of Aramco, needs the money. Likewise, the state-owned Public Investment Fund, which also holds a 16 percent stake and is a lead protagonist in the country’s economic diversification programme.

  • Saudi real GDP grows 4.4% in Q4, highest in two years

    Saudi Arabia’s real GDP grew by 4.4% y-o-y in Q4 2024, the highest growth rate in two years, driven by a 4.6% rise in non-oil GDP, while oil GDP also increased by 3.4%, according to estimates by GSTAT. Saudi Arabia recorded SAR57.7 billion ($15.38 billion) budget deficit in Q4 2024, widening from SAR30.2 billion ($8.05 billion) in Q3. Total government revenues fell 15.4% y-o-y to SAR302.9 billion, while expenditure declined 8.7% y-o-y to SAR360.5 billion, noted an Al Rajhi Capital research report. Non-oil exports rose 18.1% y-o-y in December, compared to 20.4% y-o-y growth in November. The increase was led by Chemical Products (+13.8% y-o-y).

  • Will Trump strike gold with wealthy Arabs through new residency program?

    US President Donald Trump’s $5 million “gold card” visa is expected to draw wealthy Arab investors seeking economic stability, US market access, and residency prestige, experts say. With Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, successfully running their own golden visa programs, Trump’s initiative positions the US as a competitive destination for high-net-worth individuals from the region, offering them a gateway to business expansion, real estate investment, and financial security.  “Saudi investors have always been keen on expanding into the US market, particularly in sectors like technology, real estate, and energy. A more accessible visa process could encourage even greater collaboration and economic integration between both countries,” Al-Ansari said. The new initiative will replace the existing EB-5 visa program, which was established in 1990, and is expected to help reduce the national deficit. The EB-5 program grants foreign investors a green card for investing around $1 million in a US business that creates or sustains at least 10 full-time jobs for local workers.

  • Saudi Arabia denounces Israel’s blocking of aid into Gaza; calling it ‘blackmail and collective punishment’

    Saudi Arabia condemned on Sunday the decision of the Israeli occupation government to block the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Saudi Arabia's condemnation and denunciation of the decision of the Israeli government to stop the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and its use as a tool of blackmail and collective punishment. The ministry stated that it is a flagrant violation of international law and a direct violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, in light of the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinian people are facing. Saudi Arabia reiterated its call to the international community to stop these serious Israeli violations, in addition to activating international accountability mechanisms, and ensuring sustainable access to aid.

  • Saudi Tadawul profit surges 60% on higher trading value

    Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the kingdom’s stock exchange, reported a 59 percent jump in 2024 profit, as annual trading value and listing services revenues rose by 38 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Net profit was SAR622 million ($166 million) compared to SAR390 million in 2023, the company said in a bourse filing on Sunday. The average daily traded value reached SAR7.5 billion last year and 58 new securities were listed, taking the total to 353, the company said. The Saudi’s bourse capitalisation reached $10 trillion in 2024, the company said. Operating revenue rose 35 percent year on year to SAR1.5 billion in 2024, driven by increased trading services and post-trade services revenues.

  • Trump trade threats compound global ocean shipping uncertainty

    The global ocean shipping industry that handles 80% of world trade is navigating a sea of unknowns as U.S. President Donald Trump stokes trade and geopolitical tensions with historical foes as well as neighbors and allies. That is the backdrop for this week's S&P Global (SPGI.N), opens new tab TPM container shipping and supply chain conference in Long Beach, California, an annual event that marks the start of container shipping contract negotiating season. Trump has already slapped an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, the world's largest exporter, and has proposed million-dollar port entry fees for Chinese-built ships. As early as Tuesday, the U.S. could impose 25% tariffs on familiar goods like avocados and tequila from Mexico, and beef, lumber and oil from Canada.

  • Commentary: Saudi Arabia’s rise signals decline of Europe’s geopolitical centrality This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title “”. Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2025/03/03/saudi-arabias-rise-signals-decline-of-europes-geopolitical-centrality

    It signals a shift away from Europe’s centrality in diplomacy and fits well with Trump’s broader policy of bilateral, pragmatic diplomacy that prioritizes economic and geopolitical gains. The US-Russia discussions in Saudi Arabia also indicate Trump’s strategic use of Saudi Arabia to secure swift diplomatic wins, furthering his domestic and international standing. Trump’s choice of Riyadh for the Ukraine peace talks also shows that Saudi Arabia has strategically positioned itself as a neutral intermediary, leveraging its strong relations with global powers including the US, Russia, China and European nations.

  • EV maker Lucid’s CEO quits as total losses hit $13bn

    Peter Rawlinson, the CEO of the Saudi Arabia-backed electric car maker Lucid Motors, has resigned after the Californian company’s total accumulated losses rose to almost $13 billion. Earlier this week, Lucid announced that its losses in 2024 were up almost 11 percent to $3.1 billion, from $2.8 billion the year before. Shares in Lucid, which began as a specialist battery maker in 2007, have lost more than 95 percent of their value since their November 2021 peak of nearly $58. They closed at $2.61 on Tuesday. Lucid has been majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund since April 2019. PIF invested an additional $1 billion in the company in March last year and a further $1.5 billion in August, bringing its total investment to $8 billion for a 58 percent stake .

  • The Riyadh summit will shape global energy geopolitics

    All roads lead to Riyadh, which has replaced Geneva as the epicentre of global diplomacy in 2025.  Presidents Trump and Putin will meet in the Saudi capital amid the most dramatic U-turn in US foreign policy as Washington switches sides in the Ukraine war in favour of the Kremlin, bypassing the EU and the embattled Ukraine state. Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is in Riyadh to coordinate the Arab League’s counter offer to Trump’s Gaza plan. Saudi Arabia has even offered to act as a mediator to reduce the risk of war between the US, Israel and Iran. Potential sanctions relief on Russia, coupled with a Gaza settlement, will have a seismic impact on the global oil and gas market and impact the energy geopolitics of Europe, China, India and the Middle East.