MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia blacklists 54 Umrah companies in 19 Arab and Islamic countries
  Fifty-four tour operators organising trips for Umrah or lesser pilgrimage in 19 Arab and Islamic countries have been blacklisted due to violations, a Saudi newspaper has reported. The step is part of efforts to combat illegal brokerage in bogus journeys for Umrah in Saudi Arabia after violating travel agencies were detected during last month’s Hajj pilgrimage, according to Al Watan newspaper.

• Saudi’s fintech scene books ‘remarkable progress’ with more to come

  In its report, strategy consultancy firm Arthur D. Little identified over 200 fintech’s currently active in the Kingdom, up from 89 the year previous. Taking a broader lens on the sector, the researchers observed “remarkable progress” over the past five years, a development which has lifted KSA’s fintech scene into a regional leader.

• Saudi PIF is top global investor in first half of 2024

  Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was the highest-spending state-owned investor in the first half of 2024, while three Abu Dhabi institutions were also in the top five. The PIF owns stakes in various domestic companies including Saudi Aramco, Saudi Telecom Co and Saudi National Bank and is spearheading the kingdom’s giga-project development programme. It invested $10.2 billion from January to June this year, a report by the consultancy Global SWF has revealed. The PIF – a major investor abroad as well – was also the top spender in 2023, deploying $31.6 billion last year.

• Driving Reductions in Emissions: Unlocking the Potential of Fuel Economy Targets in Saudi Arabia
  The adoption of more stringent fuel economy standards represents a pivotal pathway toward achieving net zero emissions in the transportation sector. By steadily increasing the fuel efficiency of vehicles, this approach drives a gradual but consistent decline in emissions. When coupled with the simultaneous integration of electric and alternative fuel vehicles into the market, the goal of net zero emissions becomes increasingly feasible.

• Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund swings to $36.8 bln profit in 2023
  Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF swung to a profit of 138.1 billion riyals ($36.81 billion) in 2023, it said on Monday, after posting a loss of $15.6 billion a year earlier. Total revenues at the Public Investment Fund more than doubled to $88.3 billion last year from $44 billion in 2022, according to a regulatory filing.
  The rise in revenues was driven by factors including an improvement in both investment and non-investment activities in sectors like banking, telecommunications and gaming, as well as increased dividends.

• Nazaha: 155 government officials arrested over corruption charges

  The Nazaha said in a statement on its X account that its officials carried out a total of 924 inspection raids during the last month of June. The Nazaha initiated a number of criminal and administrative cases following the oversight rounds in June, which resulted in the investigation of cases against 382 officials accused of various corruption charges.

• EV Metals Group completes initial exploration programme at Saudi Arabia project

  The Project, located 450 km east of Jeddah in the South-East of the Arabian Shield, comprises 13 tenements, covering a total area of approximately 1200km². All 13 tenements already have exploration licenses granted with the final 2 having recently being granted in April. Previous work conducted to date indicate the prospects of lithium and rare earths. RIWAQ also holds 2 separate tenements, which are prospective for nickel and copper/molybdenum porphyry systems respectively. These are both pending final grant.

• Saudi energy minister announces discovery of 7 oil, gas deposits

  Saudi Arabia’s energy minister announced the discovery of seven oil and gas deposits in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province and Empty Quarter, Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Saudi Aramco had discovered “two unconventional oil fields, a reservoir of light Arabian oil, two natural gas fields, and two natural gas reservoirs,” SPA said.

• Saudi Customs thwarts attempt to smuggle 3.6 million Captagon pills at Jeddah Islamic Port

  Customs inspectors at Jeddah Islamic Port thwarted an attempt to smuggle 3,633,978 Captagon pills, which were found hidden in a consignment coming to Saudi Arabia. The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) explained that a shipment consisting of “iron equipment” was received at the port, and when it was subjected to routine customs inspections using modern security techniques, a quantity of grains was found hidden within the shipment.

• Organizational structures for health clusters approved

  It is noteworthy that the first phase of the health transformation was completed by the Ministry of Health by the end of 2023 with the launch of 20 health clusters to serve beneficiaries in various regions of the Kingdom. Eight paths of the modern healthcare model were implemented, which include heart attack path, the stroke path, the early detection path for breast cancer, early detection path for colon cancer, serious injuries path, the obesity path in adults, the diabetes path in adults, and the palliative care path.

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