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  • Saudi Arabia general insurance sector to beat $28bn by 2029

    General insurance in Saudi Arabia is set to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% from SAR68.8bn ($18.4bn) in 2024 to SAR105.3bn ($28.1bn) in 2029, in terms of gross written premiums. This is according to GlobalData, which also forecast that Saudi Arabia’s general insurance industry is expected to grow by 9.4% in 2024. Economic recovery, regulatory developments, as well as governmental push for healthcare support this.

  • Saudi Arabia, Poland Agree to Bolster Digital Partnership

    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski expressed his endorsement for initiating collaborative digital initiatives with Saudi Arabia, which would benefit both nations. Gawkowski's remarks came during his meeting Tuesday in Warsaw with Federation of Saudi Chambers Chairman Hassan Al-Huwaizi and a delegation of Saudi businessmen. The visit was centered on exploring trade and investment partnership prospects.

  • Cannes Chief Thierry Frémaux Set for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival With Doc ‘Lumière! The Adventure Continues’

    Cannes Film Festival general delegate Thierry Frémaux will be heading to Saudi Arabia in December to attend the Red Sea Film Festival to support his new documentary “Lumière! The Adventure Continues,” which takes a deep dive into the origins of cinema. Frémaux’s sequel to “Lumière! The Adventure Begins,” which premiered at Red Sea’s inaugural edition in 2021, will be screening as part of the event’s International Spectacular sidebar.

  • Iran agreed to cap 60% stockpile, IAEA chief says

    The head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said today that Iran had agreed to his proposal to cap its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, short of weapons grade, following his two-day visit to Iran last week. What’s more, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors on Saturday had observed preparatory steps by Iran to implement the cap, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reported.

  • The No 1 problem in a family business? ‘Not business, but family’

    Family-run enterprises account for more than 85 percent of Gulf companies and contribute about 80 percent of non-oil GDP, according to consultancy PwC. In the UAE, these businesses contribute more than 40 percent of Dubai’s GDP and employ over 70 percent of the private-sector workforce, according to the Ministry of Economy. Last year a surge in initial public offerings on Mena stock exchanges was predominantly led by government entities, but IPO momentum is now shifting toward the private sector. Listing is seen as a way to professionalise family-run companies, but Kanoo argued that it does not fundamentally change family dynamics. If founders list 10 percent of their enterprise, they still own 90 percent, he pointed out.

  • Saudi Arabia’s big bet on ‘immersive cities’

    Saudi Arabia’s ambitions may sound unrealistic to some, but it is building these cities right now – and architecture and urban design experts who attended the Cityscape Global real estate forum in Riyadh last week say they could be a blueprint for other countries to follow. Several of the $1.25 trillion giga-projects in Vision 2030 will include elements of virtual reality. These include the Mukaab cubeThe Line linear city, a winter resort town inside a mountain called The Vault, and esports and gaming districts where international competitions are already being held. Cristina Mateo, a professor at the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, said the government in Riyadh had been innovative in trying to see the world through the eyes of young Saudis – under-30s make up 60 percent of its 32 million population.

  • Major changes to Saudi commerce laws to boost $453bn private sector

    Saudi Arabia’s business landscape expects a ground-breaking shift with local investment projected to grow by up to 8.8 per cent under the Kingdom’s new commercial register law, according to a detailed report by the Centre for Economic Studies at the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, which analysed the law’s potential to transform the business climate. The report paints a vibrant picture of the Saudi private sector’s current impact, revealing its SR1.7tn ($453bn) contribution to the GDP and a total of 1.5m active commercial registers.

  • Saudi real estate: Grade A offices hit 98% occupancy as global firms rush in

    Riyadh’s premium office space has reached near-full occupancy at 98 per cent amid an influx of international companies, driving rental values up by 19 per cent year-on-year as Saudi Arabia’s capital cements its position as a regional business hub, according to Savills. More than 120 foreign companies, including Goldman Sachs and Frost & Sullivan, have relocated their regional headquarters to Riyadh this year, fuelling a surge in demand for high-end office space, the property consultant said in its Q3 2024 market report. Technology, media and telecommunications firms led the leasing activity, accounting for 40 per cent of new occupancies, followed by consulting and consumer goods companies at 20 per cent each, the report showed.

  • Israeli strikes kill scores in Gaza with many trapped beneath the rubble

    The Israeli military bombed at least five crowded homes in northern Gaza early on Thursday with many casualties buried beneath the rubble, Palestinian health officials said, as troops deepened an incursion along the territory's northern edge. Rescue operations were under way in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, medics said. Hamas media put the number of fatalities at 66, most of whom it said had not been recovered.

  • Climate funding divisions laid bare as COP29 deadline looms

    Division and discontent spilled into the open on Thursday at a U.N. climate summit in Baku, sparked by a proposal for a new global finance deal which offered two vastly different options and left no one happy as the closing deadline neared. The key goal of COP29 is to agree how much money richer developed countries should provide poorer developing ones to help them fight climate change, a critical plank in efforts to limit the damage caused by rising global temperatures.