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Recent stories from sustg

  • Positive Steps: Interview with Saudi Minister of Finance Al Assaf
     

    The industrial sector is the real excitement for us, which is growing at a rate of 15 per­cent, which is not a joke. The other one is service sector, like the financial services or the restaurant and hotels or other services in the economy. A particular sector that we are excited about is the mineral […]

     
  • “Milestone” oil manipulation case unsettles traders
     

    U.S. regulators’ $14 million settlement with high-frequency trading firm Optiver over oil price manipulation in 2007 is a “milestone” victory in their toughening stance on market malfeasance which is being closely watched by traders. In its first major case against an algorithmic trader, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said late on Thursday that a court […]

     
  • Home boom aids Saudi Telecom profit surge
     

    Soaring demand for broadband helped Saudi Telecom Co (STC) post a 60 percent increase in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, with the former monopoly reporting rising revenues in its mobile, fixed line, corporate and wholesale units. The former monopoly, which will pay a quarterly dividend of 0.5 riyals per share, made a profit of 2.52 billion […]

     
  • Saudi tops in job creation in GCC
     

    The Gulf region continued to create jobs despite the impact of Arab Spring in 2011 with the regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia topping the list followed by Qatar and Oman, according to a new survey. The oil and gas industry, healthcare and retail sectors enjoyed the largest headcount expansion in 2011, while banking and construction fared the […]

     
  • Chart of the Day: A Short History of 200 Years of Global Energy Use
     

    If you want to tell the story of worldwide energy consumption over the past 200 years, you need three chapters. Chapter 1: The Coal Age. Chapter 2: The Oil Age. Chapter 3: The China Age. In the early days of industrialization, the use of biofuels such as wood declined as the West learned to live […]

     
  • Saudis Increasing Riyadh Water Supply
     

    With the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s drinking water coming from desalination plants, the country’s sky-rocketing population growth puts enormous demand on water supply. Arab News reports that a new desalination plant in the Eastern Province is gearing up to go online. When it is producing, it will nearly double the amount of water flowing into […]

     
  • Internet in the Middle East Still Short of Its Potential
     

    Last week’s third ArabNet conference for digital entrepreneurs in the MENA region was, by the standard of these things, a modest affair. But nonetheless it showed how the regional digital economy has grown, and how it is poised to take off. As one commentator said: “Jordan for the talent, Lebanon for the creativity, Egypt for […]

     
  • Saudi to maintain oil supply if U.S. draws stocks
     

    Saudi Arabia is likely to maintain high oil production in the event consumer countries release emergency stocks, but it will not seek to lure buyers for more oil by discounting its crude, industry sources said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday in Riyadh sought an assurance from Saudi King Abdullah that the kingdom […]

     
  • Hillary Clinton: Time running out for diplomacy with Iran
     

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Saturday that time is running out for diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program and said talks aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon would resume in mid-April. With speculation over a possible U.S. or Israel military attack adding urgency to the next round of discussions […]

     
  • Water Brings Green to Saudi Arabia
     

    Over the last two-and-a-half decades, a series of NASA’s Landsat satellites have captured these pictures of the growing agriculture industry in the northern reaches of the Syrian Desert in Saudi Arabia, not far from Jordan. Farmers use a technique called center-pivot irrigation to bring up water from below the desert floor to grow wheat and […]

     

MUST-READS

  • China-Gulf free trade talks stall on Saudi industrial agenda, sources say

    Negotiations between China and an Arab bloc for a free trade agreement have stalled over concerns by Saudi Arabia that cheap Chinese imports could undermine its ambitions to transform the kingdom into an industrial powerhouse, sources say.
    Saudi Arabia has backed renewed efforts over the past two years for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab bloc which includes the kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among others, to finally seal a long sought deal with China.

  • How Al Hilal won the Saudi Pro League title

    Hilal has been a ruthless, winning machine in the 2023-24 season - memorably setting a new world record of 34 successive victories in all competitions, 20 of which came in the Saudi Pro League. If Jorge Jesus’ side can avoid defeat in its final three games it has the chance to complete an invincible season, though the first of those is against a wounded Al Nassr team.

  • Economic Shocks Spur Saudi To ‘Reprioritise’ Reforms: Official

    Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan noted that Vision 2030 launched in 2016, well before the pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Gaza and problems like inflation and supply chain disruptions.
     "All of these collective shocks that are facing the world calls us also to reprioritise, to look at what we are doing, and how can we actually optimise what we are doing, optimise our plans," Jadaan said.
    Giving the reforms "more time" could ultimately be better for the Saudi economy, allowing the private sector to grow alongside the giga-projects, he said. "If you don't allow your economy to catch up with your projects, basically what will happen is you will import a lot more," Jadaan said.

  • Biggest Saudi IPO of the Year Draws $91 Billion in Orders

    Investors put in $91 billion of orders for the initial public offering of a Saudi hospital group that’s set to be the kingdom’s biggest listing of the year.

    Dr. Soliman Abdul Kader Fakeeh Hospital’s Riyadh IPO was covered 119 times by institutional investors, according to a statement on Tuesday. The company and the founding family are set to raise 2.86 billion riyals ($763.4 million) in the listing.

    The final price was set at 57.5 riyals, the top end of a marketed range, implying a total market capitalization of 13.3 billion riyals. The offering had sold out shortly after books opened earlier this month.

  • Biggest Saudi Arabia IPO of the Year Draws $91 Billion in Orders

    Investors put in $91 billion of orders for the initial public offering of a Saudi hospital group that’s set to be the kingdom’s biggest listing of the year. Dr. Soliman Abdul Kader Fakeeh Hospital’s Riyadh IPO was covered 119 times by institutional investors, according to a statement on Tuesday. The company and the founding family are set to raise 2.86 billion riyals ($763.4 million) in the listing.

  • Saudi Mega Projects Seek Partners in Bid to Hit Crown Prince MBS’s Goals

    Top officials from Saudi Arabia’s mega projects gathered in Riyadh to share progress updates and seek partners to help deliver a key pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to transform the economy. Executives from The Line, New Murabba and Diriyah Company — complex developments ranging from a futuristic mega city on the Red Sea to an urban development housing a cube-shaped skyscraper set to be the tallest in the Saudi capital — discussed challenges with supply chains, costs and finding skilled workers as they underscored the urgent need for experienced partners to assist in completing projects.

  • Saudi Arabia’s 60-Year Battle for Food Security

    For over half a century, food security has been a strategic issue for Saudi Arabia. More recently, the 2008 food price crisis and the 2020 food supply disruptions gave Saudi decision makers a taste of what the future might look like in a climate-changing world, as two of the most salient issues will be access to drinking water and food – essential resources the kingdom sorely lacks. With 90% of its land unfit for agriculture and 70% of its water coming from desalination plants, water and food security can look like an unwinnable battle for Saudi Arabia.

  • Oman Cultural Complex Highlights Shift in Arab Cultural Production

    Oman is not the first Gulf Arab state to build a cultural complex. The Saadiyat Cultural District of Abu Dhabi, which hosts the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as well as the National Museum, Performing Arts Center, and Arts Center, with five theaters, concert venues, and Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Academy, might be the most internationally recognized cultural complex.

  • What’s a Golden Visa and Where Can You Still Get One?

    Often known as a “residence by investment program,” a golden visa allows individuals to obtain temporary or permanent residency in a given country, so they can live and work there. The investments may include buying a house, creating a company or making a donation.

  • Commentary: What’s So Bad About Fixing Oil Prices?

    Oil’s history is full of attempts at stabilizing prices. Petroleum is an essential commodity that has high capital needs and long lead times: That lends itself to boom-and-bust cycles that are painful for consumers, governments and companies. There is no immediate cure for price spikes or plunges because it is impossible to turn on significant new oil supply or to turn off demand for it on short notice. Storage helps, but oil must be kept underground or in specialized tanks.