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  • Saudi Mortgage Law: Key Details Still to be Determined
     

    Saudi Arabia faces housing challenges caused by rapid population growth and an inflow of expatriate workers to the kingdom.

     
  • Saudi Athletes in London
     

    London 2012 was historic for both Saudi Arabia and the Olympic games. Saudi Arabia sent its first female athletes ever to the Olympics, completing a strong talking point for the games’ organizers: London 2012 was the first time every country competing in the Olympics sent at least one woman. Sarah Attar (800m) and Wojdan Shahrkhani (Judo) […]

     
  • Wealth Management in the Middle East: Boon or Bust?
     

    Middle Eastern policymakers and bankers will develop an indigenous wealth management industry which keeps the super-wealthy’s investments at home. Developing a local national wealth management industry requires letting in foreign competition, changing banking and securities laws, and growing local companies whose shares are worth buying. The first part of the article reviews trends in wealth […]

     
  • Living Social
     

    In their pursuit to be where the young consum­ers are, brands have long identified social media as a crucial place to establish a presence. Where else will you find huge numbers of youngsters highly active and engaged? Results from market research company TNS indicate that 68 percent of MENA youth spend 12 hours per  week […]

     
  • The problem with taxing foreign-earned income
     

    Eritrea is one of only two countries in the world that applies citizenship-based taxation in addition to residence-based taxation.  The other? The United States of America. In fact, the US is the ONLY industrialized country in the world to impose citizenship-based taxation. The immediate result for American expatriates is a blizzard of confusing and complex […]

     
  • Five Facts About Saudi Arabian Horses
     

    The 2012 London Olympics have had many controversial headlines in the news about horse sports and Saudi Arabia. With that in mind, many people know about the Arabian horse’s influence in modern Thoroughbreds and equestrian athletics, what about a country these horses originate from? Interestingly, the country of Saudi Arabia is full of horse-related facts […]

     
  • Key to the kingdom
     

    2012 is likely to be the tipping point for the Gulf’s most ambitious real estate project. If the good results continue, and companies carry on signing up to take advantage of the transport infrastructure coming online in 2013, then KAEC looks set to snowball. But when will the city be fully completed? “Our target is […]

     
  • IMAX ARABIA 3D Now Available for Mass Consumption on Netflix Streaming
     

    IMAX ARABIA 3D, the film directed by Hamzah Jamjoom, is now available to watch at any time on Netflix’s instant streaming option for the first time.

     
  • Effat University on the Forefront of Change in Saudi Arabia
     

    I was also impressed to see Effat graduating a quarter of its students from its College of Engineering, which it established in partnership with Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. When I first visited Effat seven years ago, it was still in the early stages of establishing engineering as a degree, a first for women […]

     
  • Baseball and Saudi Economic Policy
     

    Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, recently spoke to the Young Businessmen’s Committee of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Though the setting would appear innocuous, Dr. Al-Jasser’s remarks were not. The theme was the Future Vision of the Saudi Economy and they are worth reading in full.

     

MUST-READS

  • Opinion: How does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impact the Middle East?

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tested both Washington and Moscow’s leverage in the Middle East. The fact that regional leaders opted for a balancing act and chose to remain neutral showed that despite its withdrawal from Afghanistan and efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal – both seen as a sign of retreat by Arab leaders – Washington remains highly influential in the region.

  • What Can We Learn About Iran-Houthi Ties from the New UN Panel Report?

    Previous PoE reports included information that marked significant new trends, notably on Houthi missile and drone capabilities and the group’s integration into Iran’s global smuggling networks. The most recent, covering the period from December 6, 2020, to December 5, 2021, does not reveal any such dramatic developments but does confirm that existing trends are being further consolidated.

  • How Much Would Iran Gain Financially from Returning to the JCPOA?

    No matter what happens with the JCPOA, Iran’s economy is poised for solid, if not spectacular, growth in the coming months. Before the recent changes in world oil conditions, the IMF forecasted its GDP growth for 2022 at 2%. Combined with an average of 3% growth over the previous two years, this would put Tehran at 95% of where it was before the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” induced a recession in 2018-19, shrinking the Iranian economy 12.4%.

  • Did Iranian missile strike follow ‘unheeded’ warnings?

    Iran and Israel are mired in an undeclared war that has played out across the region. Iranian media has alleged that the Mar. 13 missile attack came in response to a rare Israeli strike inside Iran the previous month.

  • Will war fast-track the energy transition?

    The sudden push to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas and oil could trigger a paradigm shift to clean energy sources that might be quickly scaled up.

  • Will war fast-track the energy transition?

    The question of energy independence remains divided between two camps: should self-sufficiency come from other local or "friendly" gas, or even nuclear sources, meaning diversification; or through more ambitious energy independence achieved via local clean energy supplies such as wind and solar, which is to say decarbonization? This split was evident in the International Energy Agency's detailed 10-point plan, released on Thursday, to reduce EU reliance on Russian natural gas by next winter.

  • Turkey and the UAE are getting close again. But why now?

    From a strategic perspective, the transition in US policy in the Middle East to a more practical, less assertive approach with less ambitious objectives has impacted Turkish-UAE relations. The US policy shift isn’t new and has played out in various degrees in consecutive administrations, culminating in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. The intent is to focus on stability—as opposed to democracy promotion—because the United States wants and needs to focus on other issues, such as China, Russia, and domestic challenges like the economy. The United States also supports improving Turkish-UAE relations, which only helps incentivize both sides.

  • What does a US ban on Russian oil accomplish?

    Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Together, the imports totaled the equivalent of 245 million barrels in 2021, which was roughly 672,000 barrels of oil and petroleum products a day. But imports of Russian oil have been declining rapidly as buyers shunned the fuel.

  • Are Iran and Venezuela viable alternatives to Russian gas?

    US officials are now exploring alternatives to Russian oil that could help offset the effects of an import ban, and lifting sanctions on Iran and Venezuela is one option. But it’s not clear that easing sanctions on either country would make enough oil available to offset the loss in Russian exports, and some analysts argue the US would be better served by boosting domestic production instead.

  • A New Era in German Defense and Foreign Policy: The Source of Broadening Relations in the Gulf?

    Germany is upgrading its military, moving into a more assertive and central role in European and NATO defense. This, coupled with changes to its energy policy, could facilitate closer cooperation with select Gulf allies.