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  • ‘Signs of Life’ in the Saudi Economy as Indicators Point to Improvements, Growth
     

    Recently-released monthly data show signs of life in Saudi Arabia’s economy, the Arab world’s largest, according to reports. Jadwa Investment’s monthly chartbook for May 2019 shows “marginal economic improvements” with a surge in POS transactions by 19 percent year-on-year and mild improvement in the Kingdom’s non-oil PMI index in March. The Kingdom also saw a net monthly […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Eyes Billions in Debt Raise after Aramco Success – Report
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is planning to tap the debt market for billions of dollars, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which cited comments from the country’s finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan. The PIF has “begun preliminary talks with banks on a possible bridge loan of as much as $8 billion,” the WSJ reports, […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia to Host 15th Annual G20 Meetings in Riyadh in 2020
     

    Saudi Arabia will host the 15th annual G20 Leaders’ Summit on November 21 and 22, 2020 in Riyadh, the Saudi press agency (SPA) said this week. “Saudi Arabia is fully committed to the G20’s objectives and to the stability and prosperity of the international economic system,” it reported on Wednesday. G20 consists of the 19 world’s largest […]

     
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi Visits Saudi Arabia as Relations Warm
     

    Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and a delegation visited Saudi Arabia yesterday and met with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as relations between the two nations continue to warm. The Prime Minister’s office said the leaders signed 13 agreements in areas such as trade, energy and political cooperation, without giving further details, according to […]

     
  • Princess Reema Bint Bandar Sworn In as Ambassador to the United States
     

    Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud was sworn in on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia’s next Ambassador to the United States, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The swearing in took place at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. Princess Reema is the first Saudi woman to hold the high-ranking diplomatic post after a royal decree appointed […]

     
  • Saudi-based Telecom Firm Arabsat is SpaceX’s First Commercial Mission, Falcon Heavy Launch Successful
     

    SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launched its first commercial mission today with Saudi-based telecom firm Arabsat as its customer in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts, Reuters reports and the companies involved confirm. The Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center […]

     
  • Orders for Saudi Aramco’s Debut International Bond Topped $100 billion in ‘Vote of Market Confidence’
     

    Orders for Saudi Aramco’s debut international bond topped $100 billion on Tuesday, Reuters reports, in what amounts to a  “record breaking vote of market confidence” for Aramco after facing investor concerns about government influence over the company. Al-Falih had previously said the $10 billion bond offering had been oversubscribed well above $30 billion. Demand appeared […]

     
  • Saudi Aramco Agrees to Buy 70% Stake in SABIC from Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund
     

    Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco has agreed to buy a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the kingdom’s leading petrochemical firm, for $69.1 billion in a private transaction, SABIC said in a press release. The move continues Saudi Aramco’s plans to diversify away from oil to “generating more of its profits […]

     
  • 950,000 SMEs Registered in Saudi Arabia — Jadwa Investment
     

    A recent report by Jadwa Investment highlights the progress being made in the development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia and the significance that these crucial elements of a diverse economy can have on sustainable growth in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is focusing on SME development with its Vision 2030 social and […]

     
  • Second ‘Mega Entertainment Hub’ Planned for Riyadh Will Be Over 30 Acres
     

    Saudi authorities have announced a second major entertainment hub for citizens and visitors of the Kingdom’s capital city, Riyadh. At over 135,000 square meters (33 acres), the new complex will be located in the Al-Rabwa neighborhood of Riyadh and have metro line access via the Salah Al-Din station of the soon-to-be-completed Riyadh metro mega project, the […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia expects larger budget deficits on Vision 2030 spending boost

    Saudi Arabia expects its budget deficit to widen this year and next as the Arab world's largest economy boosts spending to finance its economic diversification agenda under the Vision 2030 plan.   The kingdom's deficit will reach 118 billion Saudi riyals ($31.46 billion) or 2.9 per cent of its gross domestic product this year, with revenue at about 1.24 trillion riyals and expenditure of about 1.36 trillion riyals, the finance ministry said on Monday.  Riyadh has revised its 2024 budget deficit projection higher from the earlier projection of 1.9 per cent as it continues to pursue its expansionary economic policy.

  • Saudi Asset Management Industry Poised for Growth; Islamic Funds Dominating

    The Saudi Arabian asset management industry (AMI) is poised for growth in 2H24–2025, following regulatory reforms, expanding equity and debt capital markets, and increasing numbers of high-net-worth individuals seeking asset-management services, Fitch Ratings says. Assets under management (AUM) rose 13.5% yoy, exceeding USD250 billion at end-1H24. Saudi Arabia has the largest AMI in the GCC, the fifth-largest in the OIC, and the second-largest public Islamic funds market globally. As the AMI matures, it could attract funds that were placed with offshore asset managers.

  • Saudi Arabian FDI stalls at $5.2 bln in second quarter despite reform drive

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia stalled in the second quarter at around the same level as a year ago, government data showed on Monday, highlighting the kingdom's need for further reforms to meet its ambitious targets. Saudi Arabia drew 19.44 billion riyals ($5.18 billion) in FDI, which was little changed from 19.43 billion riyals in Q2 last year, the General Authority of Statistics data showed. Overall, Saudi Arabia recorded net FDI inflows of 11.7 billion riyals in the second quarter, down 7.5% from a year earlier.

  • Dim Outlook for Peace in the Middle East

    Nearly a year after Hamas attacked Israel, setting off the Israel-Hamas war, hopes for peace remain scarce. In Gallup surveys conducted in July and August of this year, few people in Israel or the West Bank and East Jerusalem think peace will ever be reached in the long-running conflict between Israel and Palestine. Two-thirds of people living in Israel (66%), and in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (68%), think a permanent peace will never be achieved.

  • US struggles to avoid wider war after Iran missile attack on Israel

    After days of escalating Israeli attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a day after Israel announced limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon, Iran today launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. The Biden administration said initial assessments indicated there had been very few, possibly no fatalities from the massive attack, which it nevertheless called a significant escalation.

  • Wrapping up mission, US troops will leave some longstanding bases in Iraq under new deal

    he U.S. announced an agreement with the Iraqi government Friday to wrap up the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by next year, with U.S. troops departing some bases that they have long occupied during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

  • Falconers Flock to the Northern Borders Deserts for the Hunting Season

    Al-Hammad area, located east of Arar, in the Northern Borders region, is a renowned stopover for migratory birds during the hunting season. This annual event, which begins in October, attracts falconers from all over Saudi Arabia and GCC countries. Known for its abundance of prized falcons, Al-Hammad desert draws enthusiasts from near and far. The area often sees high sales at falcon auctions, making it a popular destination for collectors.

  • Hezbollah Got Caught in Its Own Trap

    Hezbollah is entirely a creature of Tehran, unlike Hamas and the Houthis, which, though backed by Iran, were not founded under the Islamic Republic’s tutelage and have religious and political differences with it. Established in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and developed during the 18-year occupation that ended in May 2000, Hezbollah was the first Iranian-controlled militia in the Arab world, providing a model that Tehran has successfully replicated in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere.

  • Saudi oil may keep a lid on Middle East fallout

    Israel’s war in Gaza has certainly had savage economic consequences – year-on-year GDP in the Palestinian enclave fell 86%, opens new tab in January 2024, the World Bank says. But oil prices – the obvious way for the conflict to hit the global economy – have mostly hovered in the $70s and $80s a barrel region. Major hostilities on Israel’s northern border with Hezbollah were assumed to be the key reason to make them spike higher. The doomsday scenario would be for Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the global oil supply passes daily.

  • Saudi unemployment drops again in second quarter

    The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals fell to 7.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024, government data shows, down from 7.6 percent in the first quarter and 8.5 percent in the same period a year ago. The overall unemployment rate, which includes expatriate workers, dropped to 3.3 percent in Q2, down from 4.1 percent in 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ latest labour force survey.