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  • GCC, Southeast Asian countries dominate global Islamic fintech landscape

    Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the UAE have produced more than half of the 490 Islamic fintech firms present globally, a new report has revealed. A total of 248 Islamic fintech firms are based out of the four countries, constituting a shade over half of the global Islamic fintech pool, according to the Global Islamic Fintech Report (GIFT) 2024/25, co-produced by DinarStandard and Elipses.  The UK, with 52 firms, rounded off the top five. Meanwhile, the top ten countries, including Qatar (26), United States (21), Pakistan (19), Singapore (13), and Egypt (11), house 79% of the Islamic fintech enterprises globally. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, the UAE, Indonesia and Türkiye were the largest markets in terms of estimated transaction volumes in 2023/24, comprising 83% of the global Islamic fintech market. Each country had an estimated market size of more than $7.5 billion during the same period, the report identified.

  • It’s a tough time for consulting globally. In big-spending Gulf states, not so much.

    According to Source Global, a UK-based research firm that tracks the consulting industry, the GCC consulting market grew 13.2% in 2023. Source Global's research found that in the more mature US and British markets, growth in 2023 slowed to 5.2% and 4.7%, respectively. In previous years, growth in both countries had been in double digits. Dane Albertelli, a senior analyst at Source Global, told Business Insider that the scale of growth in the GCC advisory market is "unprecedented" and that it has become "the place for opportunity and the place where these companies can make a lot of money." Albertelli said that data for 2024 has yet to be finalized but that the GCC market was expected to have accelerated by more than 15%.

  • Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector achieves record 128 million passengers in 2024

    According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Saudi Arabia’s air transport sector reached a new milestone in 2024, recording over 128 million passengers. The figure represents a 15% increase from 2023 and a 25% rise compared to pre-pandemic levels, confirming the kingdom’s continued expansion as a leading global aviation hub. Of the 128 million travellers, 59 million were on domestic flights, while 69 million travelled internationally. According to British travel data provider OAG, the Jeddah-Riyadh domestic route recorded the largest increase in seat capacity globally, while the Cairo-Jeddah route ranked as the second busiest international route worldwide. The number of flights across Saudi airports reached 905,000 in 2024, reflecting an 11% increase compared to the previous year.

  • Saudi Arabia sets Guinness World Record for largest Ardah performance during Founding Day festivities

    Saudi Arabia has clinched a Guinness World Record for hosting the largest performance of the traditional Saudi Ardah. The event, staged on Sunday at Al Adl Plaza in Riyadh, drew more than 50,000 people and concluded four days of Founding Day celebrations starting from February 20 to 23. The Ardah — one of Saudi Arabia’s most distinctive cultural expressions — featured 633 performers in synchronized drumming and dancing, claiming the record for the biggest gathering of its kind. The performance was the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s commemoration of its Founding Day, an annual occasion celebrated on February 22 to honor the early origins of the Saudi state.

  • PIF unit to manufacture lifts in Saudi Arabia

    Alat, a Public Investment Fund-backed manufacturing company, is setting up a €160 million ($168 million) joint venture with Germany’s TK Elevator to manufacture lifts and escalators in Saudi Arabia, the German company said in a statement. Alat, which was launched in February last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has acquired a 15 percent stake in the Dusseldorf-based TK Elevator, becoming a direct shareholder, the company said. The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of the year. The new entity will have its headquarters in Saudi Arabia and will manufacture lifts, escalators and moving walkways in the kingdom for the region’s giga-projects and other large-scale developments. In February 2020 Germany’s Thyssenkrupp sold its elevator division, later renamed TK Elevator, for €17.2 billion.

  • Investors Snap Up Saudi Arabia’s Debut Euro Green Bond

    Saudi Arabia is on track to sell a €1.5 billion ($1.58 billion) debut green euro bond after drawing in €7.25 billion of investors bids as it seeks to fund its ambitious economic-transformation plan. The transaction, the first such trade from a sovereign in the Middle East and North Africa, is being sold alongside a €750 million 12-year conventional bond that is expected to price at 145 basis points over mid-swaps, the person said. Books on that tranche are over €2.7 billion. The green offering is a first for the Saudi central government as the world’s top crude-oil exporter looks to reach net zero emissions by 2060. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund known as the PIF started issuing green debt in 2022.

  • Flow48 Secures $69M Series A Funding to Expand into Saudi Arabia and Scale Operations

    Flow48, a leading fintech transforming SME lending across emerging markets, is excited to announce today the successful close of its $69 million Series A funding round. The round, which is a combination of debt and equity, was led by Breega and has seen further investments from 212, Speedinvest, Daphni, Endeavor Catalyst, Evolution Ventures, and Plus VC, among others. This milestone marks a major step forward in the company’s mission to redefine access to capital for underserved SMEs across the Middle East and Africa.

  • Saudi Arabia’s housing market challenged with soaring prices, high borrowing costs

    Saudi Arabia faces growing challenges in its residential real estate market as soaring prices and high borrowing costs cool appetite for home ownership, according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Demand from first-time buyers looking to purchase a home has slipped to 29 percent from 40 percent in 2023, the firm said, citing a survey of more than 1,000 households. Many home buyers believe prices are too high, need more time to save and want more financing options, according to Knight Frank’s 2025 Saudi report. Apartment prices in the capital of Riyadh rose almost 11 percent to the equivalent of about $1,500 per square meter in 2024, according to the research firm. “The crux of the issue is the misalignment between buyer expectations and the current pricing or market realities,” Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said in an interview in the kingdom.

  • Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud.  The Secretary and the Defense Minister underscored the importance of strengthening the U.S.-Saudi security partnership.  They also discussed ways to jointly promote peace and stability in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and across the region, to include Red Sea security and freedom of navigation.  The Secretary highlighted the need to stand together against Houthi threats to regional security.

  • Saudi Arabia hosts 15 million expatriates with full rights protection: HRC chief

    Addressing a high-level segment of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, president of the Human Rights Commission and head of the Saudi delegation, called for rejecting any attempts to undermine Item 7 of the Council's agenda items referring to "Human rights situation in Palestine and other Occupied Arab Territories", and activating it until an independent Palestinian state is established on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.