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  • Will the Gaza War Derail the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor?

    The corridor is envisioned as a maritime and rail trade route connecting India to the Middle East through countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel as well as to various parts of Europe. The project carries significant geopolitical implications: Built on India’s sustained effort to strengthen relations with Arab and European states, the corridor is supported by the United States as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that will bolster regional integration.

  • Germany Blocked A Eurofighter Sale To Saudi Arabia, Then Lifted It. Will Berlin Do The Same With Turkey?

    Turkey wants to buy 40 Eurofighters and was revealed in late 2023 to be in talks on a deal with the United Kingdom and Spain. While London and Madrid would happily sell Ankara Typhoons, they can only do so with German approval since Germany is a member of the consortium that developed and built the Eurofighter. Germany is reluctant to approve any deal given its opposition to numerous Turkish government policies, including Ankara’s condemnation of Israel, attacks against Syrian Kurds, acquisition of advanced Russian missiles, and natural gas drilling in the East Mediterranean.

  • What’s in store for regional startups in 2024?

    For the first year since MAGNiTT started publishing yearly reports, Saudi Arabia emerged as the region’s most funded ecosystem. Two reasons explain this novelty, and why the Kingdom will likely retain its crown in 2024. First, 2023 saw Saudi host numerous “mega-rounds” (funding rounds over $100M). Due to their disproportionate size, these types of rounds can make or break an ecosystem’s funding performance. In 2023, MENA’s five largest rounds constituted 43% of the region’s total funding. Four of those rounds were led by Saudi-based companies. The remaining one was in Egypt.

  • Saudi Arabia’s $2 trillion gamble: Can Oil wealth fund tech revolution?

    It was just a few months ago that Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, PIF, had $676 billion in assets under management. As of the month of March, Saudi Arabia transferred a $164 billion stake in Aramco to PIF, propelling it to the second-biggest fund in the Middle East for an astonishing $925 billion. This is up from $595.6 billion in 2022 and is now resulting in PIF 16 percent ownership of Aramco.

  • On a controversy in Saudi-PGA Tour deal? Xander Schauffele needs 1 word

    “My dad told me a long time ago to commit, execute and accept,” he said. “I’m swallowing a heavy dose of acceptance right now, but that’s kind of what I did. I tried to commit, I executed poorly on some shots, and here I am, accepting it.”

  • What’s the Happiest Country on Earth?

    For the first time in the report’s 12-year history, the U.S. didn’t earn a spot among the top 20 happiest countries in the world. It’s No. 23 -- down from a 15th-place finish the previous year. The report, which ranks countries by age group for the first time, shows the U.S. decline is at least partly attributable to Americans under age 30 feeling worse about their lives. The U.S. still ranks in the top 10 countries for those 60 and older, with a score of 7.258 out of 10. But for those under 30, it ranks 62nd, with a score of 6.392. While the U.S. lost ground, Finland retained its crown as the happiest country in the world for the seventh straight year. But it wasn’t No. 1 for those under 30 or over 60. Lithuania and Denmark, respectively, took those honors.

  • Can Saudi Arabia buy the future? A trillion bet on tech

    as the GCC's Sovereign Wealth Funds compete for global dominance, we'll see a significant shift in investment priorities. Energy revenue will flow into new sectors like green hydrogen, AI, smart cities, and tourism. While both Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be aggressive competitors, Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 plan positions it as a potential front-runner.

  • Metals: Saudi Arabia’s new oil?

    Saudi Arabia's economy has historically been dependent on oil exports, but the country is eager to diversify. Mining valuable minerals hidden under its vast deserts could help to reduce its reliance on oil and grow its share in the energy transition. The kingdom is thought to hold significant deposits of key critical and battery metals including copper, nickel, lithium and bauxite. In January, mining CEOs and investors headed to Riyadh to attend the two-day Future Minerals Forum and rub elbows with the kingdom's influential energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and multiple ministers from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

  • Is Saudi Aramco cooling on crude oil? Don’t bet on it

    Has Saudi Arabia stopped believing in a bright future for petroleum? That is the question that in recent weeks has hung over Saudi Aramco. The desert kingdom’s national oil goliath has a central position in the world’s oil markets. Its market value of $2trn, five times that of the second-biggest oil firm, ExxonMobil, and its rich valuation relative to profits are predicated in large part on its bountiful reserves of crude and its peerless ability to tap them cheaply and, as oil goes, cleanly (see chart 1). So Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry stunned many industry-watchers in January by suspending the firm’s long-trumpeted and costly plans for expanding oil-production capacity from 12m to 13m barrels per day (b/d). Was it proof that even the kingpin of oil had finally accepted that oil demand would soon peak and then begin to decline?

  • Saudi Arabia Is Splurging on Sports. Is It Working?

    As Saudi Arabia looks toward a post-oil future, the kingdom is spreading around its largess as never before. The Public Investment Fund, led by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is making big bets on global sports including golf and football.