MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia Kicks Off Carbon Trading to Unlock Financing

  Saudi Arabia started a carbon-trading market, launching the program a day after climate negotiators secured a major breakthrough by agreeing rules for a United Nations-administered global emissions market. Over 2.5 million tons of carbon credits will be auctioned on the kingdom’s Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Co. exchange from Tuesday, according to a statement. The trading will help fund climate projects across the global south and also support Saudi Arabia net zero goals, it said.

• King & Spalding to Merge with Saudi Law Firm

  King & Spalding is merging with Saudi-based Abdulaziz H. Al Fahad & Partners Lawyers to strengthen its presence in the Kingdom. A document was filed with the appropriate authorities on 7 November regarding a proposed merger with Al Fahad & Partners, King & Spalding said. The filing indicates that the merged entity will operate as King & Spalding Law Firm, incorporating the operations of Al-Fahad and Partners. The two law firms will integrate to form a single entity, and it will retain a primary office in Riyadh, it added. As part of the merger, Al-Fahad's partners will receive financial compensation in addition to shares in the newly combined entity, the filing reports.

• UK Nears Free Trade Agreement With Gulf Countries Including Saudi Arabia

  The UK is in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement with a group of oil-rich Middle Eastern nations including Saudi Arabia, according to several people familiar with the matter. A deal with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council is a priority for the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer as it looks to boost economic growth and attract foreign investment, and may be signed as early as this year, said UK and Gulf officials, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The UK’s trade with the bloc, which also comprises the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, is worth $73 billion (£57 billion) annually, according to the UK government. It sees an FTA boosting trade by around 16% and the UK economy by $2.1 billion in the long term.

• Could Saudi Arabia become the next global biotech hub?

  Since 2018, the Saudi healthcare sector has seen significant growth, with the overall workforce growing by 18% to 2022, according to the report. Most of those healthcare workers are nurses and midwives. A very large percentage of those healthcare workers are non-Saudis, given that the country has a vast workforce of foreign workers. That has changed somewhat since 2018, however, with the country pushing a gradual process of ‘Saudization’, which is designed to tip the scale back to a Saudi majority in the workforce. Part of the overall push in biotech and healthcare has been driven by the National Biotechnology Strategy, launched earlier this year, which focuses on attracting global investment, attracting top talent, and promoting research and development.

• Saudi Arabia Strives to Become Major Player in Mineral Supply Chains

  In early 2023, the Manara Minerals In­vestment Company was established as a joint venture between Ma’aden and the PIF to invest in mining projects and companies abroad. Manara bought a nearly 10 per cent stake in the metal division of the Brazilian mining corporation Vale for approximately US$2.5 billion. At the same time, there are planned investments in a copper and gold mine in Pakistan and a Canadian-run cop­per mine in Zambia. In July 2024, Manara expressed interest in partnering with the Chilean mining company Codelco in lithium extraction; and it has also engaged in discussions with African countries such as Guinea, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, it seems that Saudi Arabia prefers to play a backseat role by acquiring shares in strategic projects via Manara, without necessarily assuming managerial control. The investments are contractually backed by offtake agreements, with Manara planning to become a raw material trader.

• Neom CEO departs as Saudi Arabia scales back mega-projects

  Reuters reported in May that the $925bn PIF was weighing a reorganisation, aiming to sharpen its focus on investments that have a higher chance of success. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is still heavily reliant on hydrocarbon revenues, and low oil prices and production have dented state coffers. Aiman al-Mudaifer was named as acting CEO of Neom. He has been the head of the Local Real Estate Division at PIF since 2018 and has a deep understanding of Neom and its projects, Neom’s statement said.

• Saudi Arabia Replaces CEO Developing Megacity of Neom

  Nadhmi Al-Nasr, who had been chief executive officer of Neom since 2018, will be replaced by Aiman Al-Mudaifer for now, according to a statement on X. Al-Mudaifer has been head of local real estate at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is the owner of Neom, for the past six years. In 2025, teams will start laying the underlying concrete slab for The Line and then begin building upward. It’s expected to eventually contain hospitals, parks and schools and ultimately house nine million residents — all without cars. Designers came up with the foundation for the project by replicating the grid system in Manhattan, widening it and folding it in half to tower into the air, executives from The Line said at a conference on Tuesday in Riyadh.

• Adam Neumann has a $293 million Saudi real estate venture
  Working with Saudi investors Sico Capital and Safa, Flow broke ground on its first project in August. “We believe that by creating a platform like this, we’ll allow global investors to be able to invest in Saudi Arabia,” Neumann said during a brief appearance at the real estate conference Cityscape Global on the outskirts of Riyadh. Miami-based Flow, founded in 2022, has selected Saudi Arabia as its first international market. Its chic compound Flow Narjis in Riyadh, which is set to own 920 units, is billed as “a conscious community” with two and three-bedroom apartments for rent that ranges between $30,000- and $52,000 a year.

• Swiss engineering firm wins Saudi railway design work

  Switzerland-headquartered Pini Group has won the preliminary design contract for the dualisation of 230 kilometres of track on Saudi Arabia’s North Railway.  The deal also covers the preliminary design and site selection of a new depot and the preparation of tender documents for the estimated SR4bn ($1.08bn) design-and-build contract, which is scheduled to be issued to selected contractors in late 2025. The 2,750km-long North Railway, previously known as the North-South Railway, comprises a 1,550km freight line running from the Al-Jalamid phosphate mine and Waad Al-Shamal fertiliser production complex in the far northwest of the kingdom to Maaden’s diammonium phosphate fertiliser production and export facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.

• Saudi Arabia Makes Significant Leap in World Bank’s SPI

  Saudi Arabia has demonstrated remarkable progress in the World Bank’s Statistical Performance Index (SPI), jumping 22 spots in 2023. The Kingdom now leads the Gulf and Arab regions and ranks 14th among G20 nations, an improvement from 18th in 2022. The World Bank’s latest evaluation, which includes 187 countries, highlighted the Kingdom’s significant advancements across five essential development areas globally. These areas include data sources, service quality, statistical usage, infrastructure, and related technological development across various sectors in Saudi Arabia. An updated methodology and time series data from 2016 to 2023 supported this comprehensive and detailed assessment of progress. Saudi Arabia achieved an impressive 95% score in the fifth area of development, demonstrating remarkable progress in its metrics. This score placed Saudi Arabia among the top seven G20 countries in terms of this specific development area.

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