MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia megaprojects: 24 massive developments in the making

  Saudi Arabia has announced several ambitious plans to build a series of large-scale projects aimed at reshaping the country into a prominent global economic force, over the past few years. These initiatives, which involve substantial investments amounting to billions of dollars, seek to diversify the nation’s economy beyond oil, generate employment opportunities, and enhance its reputation as a premier destination for trade and tourism.

• Foreign Companies Rush To Set Up Riyadh Offices as Saudi Deadline for Move Expires

  Riyadh is aiming to rival the reigning regional hub, Dubai, but still has work to do. Despite having a larger population, with 7.6 million people in Riyadh compared to 3.3 million in Dubai, only 30% of the 196 Fortune 500 companies with offices in the Middle East and North Africa have regional headquarters in the Saudi capital. The remaining 70% have made Dubai their business center, according to research conducted by Infomineo. “It will not be a case of one or the other, Dubai versus Riyadh, for businesses operating in the Gulf,” Taimur Khan, head researcher in the CBRE commercial real estate and investment firm’s UAE office, told The Media Line. “The reality is, firms and people will have to have a presence in both countries, and it’s great for the region if that’s the case.”

• Saudi Arabia sets record with 2100 new investment licenses in Q3 of 2023

  The Saudi Ministry of Investment has revealed that it issued more than 2100 investment licenses in the third quarter of 2023, with a growth rate of 135.4 percent on an annual basis. This does not include licenses issued as part of the campaign to combat violators of the Anti-Commercial Concealment (tasattur) Law. The ministry said that the growth in the volume of issued licenses reflects the Kingdom’s position as an attractive investment destination that enjoys strong competitive advantages represented by a stable and supportive business environment.

• Perspective: Rushing to fail: Understanding construction disputes in Saudi Arabia
  The case for change is clear. Construction and engineering projects in the Middle East are subject to more delay than in most other regions.
  Our integrated research programme, CRUX, shows that contractors across the Middle East sought extensions of time averaging 81.6% of planned project schedules.
  The Saudi average was 98.8%, meaning the extra time sought nearly doubled the time originally specified.
  Claimed costs in Saudi Arabia typically amounted to 29.8% of original contract values, lower than the 37.4% average elsewhere in the Middle East.
  There are clearly legacy challenges in the Kingdom, and now also recognition that things need to change.

• Secretary Blinken’s Travel to Türkiye, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt

  Throughout his trip, the Secretary will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza; securing the release of all remaining hostages; our shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services; and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza.

• Iran Suspends Relaunch of Saudi Flights in Setback For Detente

  The flights would have been the first of their kind from Iran to Saudi Arabia in eight years, IRNA said. They would also have marked a step in thawing relations between the two regional rivals, which agreed to restore diplomatic relations last March after years of hostility but are yet to finalize talks on investment.

• Exploring AlUla: Saudi Arabia’s oasis of hidden history and heritage

  With so many sites to see, it can be overwhelming trying to decide where to begin, but one cannot find a better introduction to AlUla than Old Town. This fascinating maze of winding streets and mud-brick dwellings—some of which go as far back as the 12^th century CE, including the hilltop fortress overlooking the town—is still inhabited to this day, its bustling souks filled with artisanal shops and traditional ware. However, the site is much more ancient, representing continuous waves of settlement and resettlement one after the other.

• Saudi Arabia announces ‘active lifestyle’ area of Neom
  The “Norlana” area will contain space for 3,000 residents in 711 properties, two hotels and a 120-berth marina and club for superyachts. Among these properties will be mansions, apartments and villas built into sand dunes.
  There will also be an 18-hole golf course in the mountains, an equestrian and polo centre, as well as facilities for sailing and diving.
  Hong Kong architect 10 Design, which handled the concept design, said its aim was to make it appear as if Norlana’s buildings were growing out of mountains.

• U.S. strike in Baghdad raises specter of wider regional war

  While the U.S. has targeted militia-linked locations in Iraq and Syria several times in recent months, an American operation in such a central location of Iraq’s capital is exceedingly rare. The Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba group falls under the command of the Iraqi army, which responded swiftly, and in anger, saying agreements between Baghdad and Washington had been violated.

• ‘Polluter pays’ doctrine will take on new meaning

  Yet the environmental cost of regular plastic is 10 times higher once waste management, greenhouse gas emissions and the damage to the ecosystem are factored in. The additional economic burden, which the World Wildlife Fund calculated at over $3 trillion per year in 2019 against a market cost of $370 billion for all plastics produced that year, is currently borne by governments and consumers rather than companies.

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