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  • Jadwa Chartbook June 2012: Banking
     

    Riyadh-based Jadwa Investments recently released its June, 2012 Saudi chartbook which includes updates on the Saudi economy, trade, oil metrics as well as assessments of various sectors including banking. Below is a snapshot of Jadwa’s banking sector analysis.

     
  • Saudi Construction Sector: A Sleeping Giant Awakes
     

    Deloitte’s recently released report, “GCC powers of construction 2012: Five lessons to learn” assesses the current prospects of Saudi Arabia’s construction sector.  Deloitte paints a very optimistic picture noting Saudi Arabia’s leading position in the GCC with regard to population and GDP.  It also highlights the ambitious spending plans established in the latest 5-year development plan announced in […]

     
  • Saudi, Kuwait, UAE lead Q1 GCC corporate earnings growth
     

    Earnings of Saudi Arabian companies totalled $6.7 billion, an increase of 15 per cent YoY and 28 per cent QoQ. SABIC, which reported $1.9 billion in Q1 profits, saw its bottom-line decline by five per cent YoY due to softening of global petrochemical prices when compared to Q1 2011. Saudi Banks continued its stable growth […]

     
  • Oil Prices Fall Below Break-Even for Several Nations
     

    Citibank expects that Russia will have a very turbulent next five years, given their estimate that Brent crude prices will likely settle close to $85 over that time period. Oil producers are beginning to feel the future threat of peak demand for oil caused by multiple factors — including unconventional liquid fuels — breathing down […]

     
  • Saudi female entrepreneurs exploit changing attitudes
     

    In Saudi Arabia, a small but determined number of women are overcoming obstacles to build their own thriving businesses. Social constraints in the conservative Kingdom have not stopped women from amassing substantial individual wealth. An estimated $11.9 billion is held by women primarily in bonds and bank accounts, according to asset managers Al Masah Capital. […]

     
  • Saudi Women Tackle Everest to Advance Breast Cancer Awareness
     

    To the ten Saudi women attempting a punishing ascent to a major milestone on the world’s highest peak, the dangers of reaching the Mount Everest base camp are no match for their cause. As a part of an ever-growing effort in Saudi Arabia, the campaign, “A Woman’s Journey: Destination Mount Everest,” intends to raise awareness […]

     
  • Statement on the Temporary Ban on Beef Imports from the U.S. to Saudi
     

    The Saudi Food & Drug Authority has issued a temporary ban on beef imported to Saudi Arabia from the United States. On May 2, 2012, the Saudi FDA issued decision 33/90 preventing the import of all beef products from the U.S. due to a confirmed case of BSE, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

     
  • 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.

     
  • Opening the TASI: What You Need to Know
     

    Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and the Middle East’s biggest economy, is about to complete a gradual process to open its stock market, known as the Tadawul or TASI, directly to international investors for the first time.  The initial step toward this action was to give other GCC countries the right to invest […]

     
  • Saudi Perspective on the Middle East: Obaid
     

    In this SUSRIS exclusive presentation, the “Saudi Perspective on the Middle East: The View from Riyadh” assessment provides: the background and context for Saudi diplomacy — assets and characteristics; economic and energy data; sources of regional instability; the “New Gulf Union”; profile of Gulf defense configurations; the Kingdom’s role in regional stabilization and its political and […]

     

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  • Lebanon’s FM goes to Kuwait with answers to Gulf suggestions

    Lebanon’s foreign minister headed to Kuwait Saturday to deliver answers to a list of policy suggestions made to the country by Persian Gulf nations in an attempt to end an impasse between both sides. Ahead of his departure, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib made it clear that Lebanon will not disarm the Iran-funded Hezbollah group, one of 10 confidence-building measures requested from Beirut.

  • Analysis: Lebanon slips further into Iran’s orbit as Hariri bows out

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  • Saudi lifts unofficial ban on Turkish goods

    Saudi Arabia has lifted the unofficial ban on Turkish goods, which came into place four years ago, Al-Khaleej Online reported yesterday. As a result of the ban, Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia declined from $2.7 billion in 2018 to $189 million in 2021. The move comes ahead of the planned visit to Saudi Arabia by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next month.

  • UAE tackles banned weapons financing, awaits dirty money list decision

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  • Saad’s Sad Goodbye: Hariri Leaves Lebanese Politics

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  • Lebanon’s Hariri expected to announce election boycott, party members say

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  • World Bank favorably revises 2022 Saudi growth forecast to 4.9% on oil rebound

    Saudi Arabia’s economy is set to grow by 4.9 percent this year due to a strong rebound in the oil sector which will induce stronger exports, the World Bank said in a report. In its Global Economic Prospects report, the international organization upwardly revised the expansion rate by 1.6 percent compared to its June forecast.

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