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  • Opinion: Comprehensive Reform of the Labor Market in Saudi Arabia
     

    Besides energy subsidies and the future of energy consumption at the local level, the labor market is considered one of the key variables with respect to the economic future of the kingdom. The labor market should be an integral part of the thinking of government officials when planning at all levels, without exception. The Ministry of […]

     
  • UPDATE: Saudi Arabia Declines Seat on the U.N. Security Council for Two Year Term
     

    Saudi Arabia has been elected to the United Nations Security Council as a non permanent member, a seat the Kingdom will hold for two years. However, a Foreign Ministry statement said that it would decline to take the seat. Reuters reports that a “decision of such magnitude would have to have been taken by King Abdullah […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry Cracks Down on Counterfeits In Boost to Consumer Protection
     

    This week, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) issued a press release on the Ministry’s Web Site that authorities had seized over 6,000 counterfeit cellphones. Looking to send a message to would-be counterfeiters and violators of consumer protection regulations, MCI authorities placed the forged phones in a pile then drove over them all […]

     
  • Slideshow: Coming to Riyadh’s KAFD: A Female-Designed Metro Station
     

    A leading female architect has been chosen to be the lead architect of the forthcoming metro station in the brand-new King Abdullah Financial District, Arabian Business reports.

     
  • Are U.S. Companies Missing Out on a Saudi Nuclear Bonanza?
     

    The recently-completed Saudi Sustainable Energy Symposium at the Ritz Carlton Riyadh brought high-level officials and companies together to discuss “a common understanding between all stakeholders” concerning the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s sustainable energy program, of which nuclear energy is a big part. The event was hosted by the King Abdullah Center for […]

     
  • A Kingdom’s Thirst: The Saudi Water Challenge
     

    It’s no secret that Saudi Arabia is a dry place in a particularly arid region of the world. The dearth of water resources in the Kingdom is among its foremost challenges, with some estimates predicting full depletion by 2050 if nothing is done.

     
  • 17-day long Janadriyah festival for Saudi Heritage and Culture to begin April 3
     

    The 28th National Festival for Heritage and Culture at Al-Janadriyah showcasing the cultures and traditions of Saudi Arabia will open Wednesday, April 3, the Saudi Gazette reports. The festival is a display of Saudi culture and tradition. China is a guest country at the celebration, and will have a pavilion that is 2.000 sq. meters “at the […]

     
  • Saudi: strongest passenger growth in a decade as market expands
     

    After several years of sagging performance, Saudi Arabia’s aviation market reported its strongest growth in passenger traffic in more than a decade in 2011, even against the background of the Middle East’s regional social unrest. Despite the Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and some of the Gulf states, Saudi Arabian passenger traffic boomed in […]

     
  • Education, Women’s Empowerment and Change
     

    There has been a significant investment in education, which is great. In the last eight or nine years the number of Saudi Universities has more than quadrupled from about seven to over 30. Some of that increase has been through splitting up existing, very large universities, like King Abdul Aziz University, into more manageable sizes. […]

     
  • Opening the TASI: What You Need to Know
     

    Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and the Middle East’s biggest economy, is about to complete a gradual process to open its stock market, known as the Tadawul or TASI, directly to international investors for the first time.  The initial step toward this action was to give other GCC countries the right to invest […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Fewer countries see China as the world’s top economic power

    Of 24 countries polled by the Washington, DC—based think tank, only eight countries said China is the world’s leading economic power. Among respondents in 14 countries, the US was most widely regarded as the global economic top dog. Two countries, France and the UK, had equal shares of respondents giving that title to the US and China. The survey polled over 30,000 people worldwide between February and May of this year.

  • China, Saudi Arabia add to ties with Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport first in MENA to receive tourism accolade

    Amid growing economic ties beyond the oil trade between China and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has become the first in the Middle East and North Africa region to obtain the Welcome Chinese Certification. The accreditation, issued by the China Tourism Academy and Select Holding, recognises the airport has achieved standards developed by the two institutions in relation to meeting the needs of Chinese travellers.

  • BRICS Membership Expansion Push by China Falters as India, Brazil Push Back

    India and Brazil are pushing back against a Chinese bid to rapidly expand the BRICS group of emerging markets to grow its political clout and counter the US, officials with knowledge of the matter said. The countries have raised objections in preparatory talks for a summit in Johannesburg next month where Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will discuss potentially expanding the group to include Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. China has repeatedly lobbied for expansion during those meetings, said the officials, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

  • Insight: Obscure traders ship half Russia’s oil exports to India, China after sanctions

    A Liberian-flagged oil tanker set sail in May from Russia's Ust-Luga port carrying crude on behalf of a little-known trading company based in Hong Kong. Before the ship had even reached its destination in India, the cargo changed hands. The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was a similarly low-profile outfit, Guron Trading, also based in Hong Kong, according to two trading sources.

  • Turkey deals with Saudi Arabia, UAE herald new security ties amid US shift to counter China, Russia

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week made a landmark tour of the Gulf, returning to Ankara having secured US$11.5 billion in financial assistance from the UAE to help shore up Turkey’s depleted foreign exchange reserves, fast-depreciating lira currency and yawning budgetary deficit. Erdogan also reached agreements with the UAE and Saudi Arabia to establish joint defence production programmes with Turkey, which has the second-largest military in Nato. Turkish defence manufacturer Baykar received its largest overseas orders from Saudi Arabia for the transfer of technology and joint production of its military drones.

  • China’s Belt and Road Initiative a Decade On

    The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has evolved significantly since its launch in 2013. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the BRI in two speeches in 2013, outlining plans for a ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ – involving overland routes for rail and road transportation – intended to deepen China’s connectivity with Eurasia and boost trade between China, Eurasia and Europe; and a ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’, expected to deepen maritime links between China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe.

  • VC Firms Investing in China’s Tech Companies Draw US House Panel Investigation

    A US congressional committee is investigating four venture capital firms for their investment in Chinese technology companies, the latest sign of Washington’s increasing scrutiny of American funds suspected of helping develop sensitive industries in China. Investments by GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Walden International and Qualcomm Ventures are being probed by the House select committee on China, led by Wisconsin Republican Michael Gallagher.

  • From AI to dates, China and Saudi Arabia explore new oases beyond oil, but obstacles remain

    Saudi Arabian date exporter Omar al-Refaei once again set foot in China earlier this month, this time with higher hopes than his previous visit four years ago, as he looked to sell the traditional fruit into the world’s most populous market. “I know, when Chinese think of Saudi Arabia, they only know [about] oil,” said Refaei, having flown over 5,500km (3,418 miles) from Riyadh to attend a trade fair in Lanzhou, the capital city of northwest China’s Gansu province. “But we also have a lot of dates. No country can consume all of these, except for China,” added Refaei, who last visited China in 2019 but left empty-handed after failing to find an importer.

  • Will China ever get rich? A new era of much slower growth dawns

    China is entering an era of much slower economic growth, raising a daunting prospect: it may never get rich. Whether the world's second-largest economy chugs ahead at 3-4% annually or flirts, as some economists expect, with Japan-like "lost decades" of stagnation, it looks set to disappoint its leaders, its youth, and much of the world. Policymakers hoped to narrow China's development gap with the United States. Young Chinese went to universities to study for advanced-economy jobs. Africa and Latin America count on China buying their commodities.

  • China’s frail Q2 GDP growth raises urgency for more policy support

    China's economy grew at a frail pace in the second quarter as demand weakened at home and abroad, with the post-COVID momentum faltering rapidly and raising pressure on policymakers to deliver more stimulus to shore up activity. Chinese authorities face a daunting task in trying to keep the economic recovery on track and putting a lid on unemployment, as any aggressive stimulus could fuel debt risks and structural distortions.