MUST-READS

• Ali Shihabi, Saudi Political Commentator, joins Frankly Speaking: Video

  On this episode of Frankly Speaking, we’re joined by renowned Saudi political commentator Ali Shihabi. With the US elections just days away, we ask - does Saudi Arabia have a preferred candidate in this divisive race? And could the historic Saudi-US security pact still redefine regional dynamics?

• The World’s Largest Building Breaks Ground in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

  Construction has begun on the Mukaab, which will be the world’s largest building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The indoor city will be the focal point of a 7-square-mile development dubbed Murabba, Riyadh's new downtown district. Derived from the Arabic word for cube, Mukaab is just that: a monumental, monolithic building that is perfectly symmetrical. The structure is slated to have a height, width, and length with the exact same measurement: 1,300 feet. Enclosed within an exterior screen whose triangular pattern is a modern interpretation of Najdi, the traditional Saudi architectural style, this geometric structure will contain an ‘interior’ city.

• Middle East’s Top Broadcaster Jumps 10% as PIF Buys Stake

  The PIF, as the fund is known, is set to acquire 54% of MBC Group from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance, represented by Istedamah Holding Company, according to a statement on Sunday. The finance ministry will transfer the entirety of its stake to the PIF at Thursday’s closing share price of 41.60 riyals ($11) per share, subject to certain approvals and non-objections that may be required from relevant entities. The move follows a flurry of activity for MBC, which started trading earlier this year in Riyadh after a $222 million listing. In October, the broadcaster sold a stake in advertising subsidiary Arabian Contracting Services and paid off a loan of almost 500 million riyals to Istedamah Holding.

• As regional violence rages, Saudi Arabia pitches itself as investment hub

  “In a world marked by uncertainty, countries that can mobilize capital and bridge gaps between east and west, north and south, are essential,” said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. “Saudi Arabia stands as a super connector, with its unique resources and strategic geographic location,” he said. “Democracies are messy; benign monarchies are efficient,” said Peter Diamandis, a summit board member and entrepreneur. With fewer regulations, less oversight and massive amounts of capital, Saudi Arabia, he predicts, will see rapid progress in technologies from AI to autonomous vehicles.

• Saudi Arabia Demanded WWE Add More Women To Show

  We love this partnership here. This all stems from His Excellency’s vision to bring the best entertainment from around the world. You know, when we first started here, I think fans were excited, but they didn’t know what to necessarily expect. And over that time, I’ve seen that change exponentially. We had the first women’s match here in Saudi Arabia. It went from us asking, “Can we bring women here” to them being on billboards all over the city, to the GEA [General Entertainment Authority] and His Excellency calling us and saying, “I don’t feel like there’s enough women on this show. Can we have more women put into the show?”

• NEOM’s Oxagon expects AI data center deal this year

  Oxagon — NEOM’s industrial city and the site of Saudi Arabia’s $8.5 billion green hydrogen project — is in talks to build a one-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center, its chief executive officer told Semafor.  Oxagon is also expanding its port facilities, aiming to handle 1.5 million ton equivalent units (TEUs) by 2026, with potential for further expansion to 12 million TEUs after 2030, nearing the size of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port. Saudi Arabia has committed 15 billion riyals ($4 billion) to the port project, he said, and it can already accommodate large vessels and support construction of The Line in NEOM.

• There is no alternative to Hezbollah’s disarmament

  Last week, representatives from around 70 countries convened in Paris to pledge nearly $1 billion in aid for Lebanon, including approximately $740 million for humanitarian support and $200 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Spearheading this initiative, France sought to position itself as a longstanding friend of Lebanon. However, the absence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken served as a reminder that while France may aim to champion Lebanon on the global stage, it is Washington, not Paris, that ultimately wields the leverage necessary to shape the country’s future — leverage it has yet to use.

• ‘The Iranian Period Is Finished’

  Two months of war have transformed Lebanon. Hezbollah, the Shiite movement that seemed almost invincible, is now crippled, its top commanders dead or in hiding. The scale of this change is hard for outsiders to grasp. Hezbollah is not just a militia but almost a state of its own, more powerful than the weak and divided Lebanese government, and certainly more powerful than the Lebanese army. Formed under the tutelage of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it has long been the leading edge of Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance,” alongside Hamas, the Shiite militias of Iraq, and the Houthi movement in Yemen. Hezbollah is also the patron and bodyguard of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims, with a duly elected bloc in the national parliament (Christians and Muslims are allocated an equal share of seats). Hezbollah smuggles in not just weapons, but billions of dollars from Iran. It runs banks, hospitals, a welfare system, and a parallel economy of tax-free imports and drug trafficking that has enriched and empowered the once-downtrodden Shiite community.

• Inside Israeli politics and public opinion with a pollster

  There is a contradictory dynamic. When it comes to the regional dimension, Israelis feel like there is an aggressive multi-front attack on them that is distinguished from Gaza in their minds. Israelis know there is an ongoing occupation and conflict with Palestinians, and they see the Hamas attack as genocidal, but they are disappointed over the failure to achieve the Gaza war aims, particularly the return of the hostages. But still, there is a more unifying national rallying when it comes to regional attacks. As a result, every time there was a significant attack on senior Hezbollah figures or others from the Iran-backed Resistance Axis, like against Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, there was an incremental, modest, but steady rise in support for Prime Minister Netanyahu, his party, and, to some extent, his political coalition.

• Saudi Arabia’s Historical Mud City Seeing Boost in Tourism FDI

  The Saudi company tasked with building a mega cultural heritage project in the heart of Riyadh is close to securing $400 million from foreign investors, indicating progress in the kingdom’s efforts to draw private funding into the tourism sector. Companies from Italy, Colombia and the United Arab Emirates are the latest to make commitments to co-develop hotels and villas at the site, Diriyah Co. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Inzerillo said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative confab in the Saudi capital. Tourism is one area he said is going better than expected. Saudi Arabia aims to draw in 150 million tourists a year by 2030 — from about 109 million last year — and plans to spend almost $1 trillion on the sector in the next decade. It wants to see $80 billion in private investment by 2030.

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