Recent stories from sustg

  • Major natural gas find by Saudis. A shift ahead?
     

    Saudi Arabia has announced that they made a major new find in natural gas in the Red Sea. The Saudis are already ranked 5th in the world for their reserves of natural gas, but they are only ranked 9th in terms of production of the commodity. They account for about 3 percent of world natural gas production. Compared […]

     
  • Muslims begin hajj pilgrimage – photo gallery
     

    Hours before sunrise Thursday, thousands of Muslims from around the world stood in the dark on a rocky desert hill, preparing for prayers on the first day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a central pillar of their faith.

     
  • Anne Habiby: Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in the Arab World
     

    In addition to featured speakers such as President Bill Clinton and Mr. Abdullah Alireza  the recent C3 Summit in New York City presented a number of compelling panel discussions addressing commercial and trade issues related to doing business in the MENA region. SUSTG has featured the remarks at this event of Abdullah Alireza (Global Economic […]

     
  • Saudi best in MidEast for doing business
     

    Saudi Arabia is the best country in the Middle East for doing business, according to a new study published by the World Bank. The Gulf kingdom, the world’s largest oil producer, was ranked 22nd globally in the ‘Doing Business 2013’ report, ahead of neighbour the UAE which placed 26th. Elsewhere in the GCC, Qatar came […]

     
  • The Saudi Economy: Still Shining
     

    A recently released October 2012 economic report by Jadwa Investment finds that a recent flow of data has been generally stronger than expected, and as a result of high oil production (which elevates the hydrocarbon sector growth to 6.1 percent for the year) Jadwa raises its projections for Saudi Arabia’s budget and current account surpluses. […]

     
  • Energy policy: What we need to talk about
     

    For starters, the United States is already over 80 percent (up from 70 percent a decade ago) self sufficient when it comes to energy production and use. We are routinely described as the Saudi Arabia of coal, and have the largest nuclear fleet in the world. We are the world’s largest natural gas producer and […]

     
  • Randa Hudome: How do I get my business over to the Middle East?
     

    In addition to featured speakers such as President Bill Clinton and Mr. Abdullah Alireza the recent C3 Summit in New York City presented a number of compelling panel discussions addressing commercial and trade issues related to doing business in the MENA region.

     
  • Saudi oil sales to U.S. robust despite refinery upsets
     

    Saudi Arabia appears to be keeping its pledge to ensure global markets are well supplied with oil, barely letting up in shipments to the United States even after two of its biggest refining customers suffered crippling glitches. A Reuters analysis of U.S. import data shows sales to the world’s top oil consumer have dipped less […]

     
  • Public policy considerations in Saudi Arabia’s new Arbitration Law
     

    We see plenty of coverage these days of Saudi Arabia’s growing economy; and justifiably so.  Expansionary government spending, elevated oil prices, a strong banking system, a maturing private-sector, increasing diversification, growing foreign investment and other factors contribute to an exciting period for Saudi Arabia. While elevated oil prices have fueled Saudi Arabia’s impressive recent growth, […]

     
  • Dubai and Saudi Chambers seek stronger ties
     

    To share expertise and best practice across the GCC region, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a delegation led by the Council of Saudi Chambers at its head office recently. The group of 17 senior officials from various Saudi chambers of commerce, led by Omar A. Bahlaiwa, Secretary General of the Council of Saudi […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia is poised to establish more smart industrial zones

    The first edition of the Global Smart City Forum 2024 concluded in Riyadh on Tuesday with a revelation that Saudi Arabia is poised to create more smart industrial zones. The two-day forum saw several deliberations focusing on the future of smart cities and the challenges facing their infrastructure. The forum stressed the importance of integrating smart energy solutions for a sustainable future. It was revealed in the forum that the smart industrial zones would have great opportunities for the future in the fields of manufacturing and mining.

  • Iran will reciprocate if its ships are seized, official says

    Iran will reciprocate if its ships are seized, the legal adviser to Iran's President told state media on Thursday, in response to a statement by the United States Department of Justice. This month, the Department of Justice issued a statement announcing the seizure of more than 500,000 barrels of Iranian fuel to clamp down on the "Revolutionary Guards' financing network". "If an Iranian ship is seized, we will reciprocate and the legal way is not closed in this regard," legal adviser Mohammad Dehghan said, adding that he was not able to confirm whether U.S. authorities had seized an Iranian vessel.

  • Israel raids main Gaza hospital as Rafah concerns grow

    Israeli forces said on Thursday they had raided the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, as video posted online showed chaos, shouting and the sound of shooting in darkened corridors that were filled with dust and smoke. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described the raid on Nasser Hospital as "precise and limited" and said it was based on credible information that Hamas was hiding in the facility, had kept hostages there and that bodies of hostages may still be there.

  • A wealthy Saudi family is buying up failing Children’s Place

    Mithaq’s reported holdings of public stocks, valued at about $200 million by S&P Capital IQ, are an eclectic mix: a British litigation-finance firm, an Israeli data-intelligence firm, a Chinese tour-guide company, an Australian goat-milk producer, an advertising-technology company that just delisted from Nasdaq.

  • Little progress seen in Cairo hostage talks, Israel downplays interest in deal

    Israel continues to downplay interest in a potential hostage release deal and extended truce in Gaza, a day after CIA chief Bill Burns attended talks in Cairo on the matter with the Egyptians, Qataris and Israelis that apparently made little progress.

  • How the Houthis mined commercial intelligence to sabotage global trade

    The Houthis' use of publicly available ship navigation data and other information that can be obtained with paid subscriptions on maritime intelligence sites is an unprecedented case of an Iran-backed group deploying open-source information widely accessible in the West against the US and its allies. “The Houthis have shown that with a computer and internet access, and maybe the help of a VPN, just how much data is available in the maritime space,” Corey Ranslem, chief executive of maritime risk advisory and security company Dryad Global, told Middle East Eye. The Houthis, once a mountain rebel group, whom one US lawmaker derided as “goat herders”, have catapulted to global prominence for their audacious maritime drone and missile attacks, which they say are on behalf of besieged Palestinians in Gaza.

  • Tiger Woods says PGA Tour does not need funding from Saudi Arabia’s PIF despite continued talks

    Tiger Woods was added as a sixth PGA Tour player director -- joining Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott and now Jordan Spieth -- last fall. His responsibilities include helping the PGA Tour produce an overall vision and plan for the future, which is especially difficult at a time when LIV Golf continues to raid the Tour of its best players. In some ways, Woods was brought in to stem the tide.

  • U.S. collaborates with allies, partners at Saudi-led Spears of Victory exercise

    Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central)’s KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and experts across the fields of command and control, security forces, and other critical operations deployed to the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Spears of Victory exercise Feb. 4-15, at King Abdulaziz Air Base. Spears of Victory includes eight countries and is one of the largest multinational exercises hosted by a U.S. partner in the region. The exercise provides opportunities to develop tactical proficiency, improve interoperability, strengthen military relationships and increase flexibility to address existing and emerging threats. The multilateral exercise builds confidence by familiarizing operators with a wide array of aircraft in various contingency scenarios.

  • No breakthrough in Gaza talks dents hopes of Palestinians in Rafah

    Palestinians jammed into their last refuge in Gaza voiced growing fear on Wednesday that Israel will soon launch a planned assault on the southern city of Rafah after truce talks in Cairo ended inconclusively. The talks in the Egyptian capital, involving the United States, Israel, Egypt and Qatar, ended without any sign of a breakthrough on Tuesday and no date was announced for the next meeting. The lack of agreement dealt a new blow to the more than one million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, next to the border with Egypt, where many are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in Gaza.

  • The energy transition would cost 20% more without China, analysis says

    Just how much would it cost to completely decouple from made-in-China clean tech products? According to a new analysis by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, the global energy transition would cost an extra $6 trillion—on top of the $29 trillion worth of capital expenditures it estimates would be required through 2050 to reach net-zero carbon emissions. That equates to an additional 20% of the original energy transition bill.