SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Browse Research Topics

Recent stories from sustg

  • Bloomberg Lands Another Wide-Ranging Sit-Down Interview with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
     

    Bloomberg‘s reporting team in Saudi Arabia landed another wide-ranging sit down interview with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, revealing the powerful leader’s thinking on many issues from Vision 2030 to the Saudi Aramco IPO and others. Bloomberg’s Senior Executive Editor for Economics, Stephanie Flanders, and five other Bloomberg journalists sat down with the […]

     
  • Kingdom’s Finances Trending Positively as Higher Oil Enables Government to Increase Spending by 7% in 2019
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance told reporters in Riyadh on Sunday the Kingdom would accelerate state spending next year in what he hopes will be a clear message to the private sector that the government is determined to support economic growth, according to reports. Saudi Arabia may spend SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) more than originally planned in 2019 […]

     
  • PIF Launches Plans to Build Amaala, a Brand New ‘Ultra-Luxury’ Tourist Destination to Compete with Riviera
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the launch of Amaala, set to become an uber-luxury destination on the northwestern coast of Saudi Arabia that the Kingdom hopes will compete with the French Riviera for tourism dollars when completed. Amaala is a new 3,800 square kilometer project that aims to create an all-new concept […]

     
  • Uptick in Saudi-Pakistan Relations Following Visit of New PM Khan to Riyadh
     

    New Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Saudi Arabia this week for meetings with high-level Saudi officials to discuss trade and diplomatic issues. Khan met directly with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit. As a result of the Prime Minister’s meetings, Pakistan has reportedly invited Saudi Arabia to become the third […]

     
  • Saudi private-sector growth in August is fastest this year: PMI
     

    Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector edged up in August to its fastest rate this year, according to reports, “suggesting a long-awaited recovery of the economy may have begun.” The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 55.1 last month from 54.9 in July; a level above 50 indicates expansion, Reuters […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Seeks $11 Billion Loan, FT Reports
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to choose international banks to lend the wealth fund $11 billion, according to a report in the London-based Financial Times. The FT reports that there is strong interest from major international lenders in participating in the loan to the PIF, including “[s]ome of the most senior names in international banking, including JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Morgan […]

     
  • 2.3 Million Attend Hajj in Saudi Arabia
     

    An estimated 2.3 million pilgrims reassembled in Mina on Tuesday in celebration of the Eid Al-Adha with the rest of the Islamic world, as part of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, a 5-day journey to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrimage represents one of the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied […]

     
  • Saudi Aramco Weighs Global Bond Sale to Finance Purchase of Sabic Stake from PIF
     

    Saudi Aramco is considering tapping the international bond market for the first time, Bloomberg and the WSJ report, in order to finance the acquisition of petrochemical giant Sabic. The move into global capital markets could offer an alternative to an initial public offering, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the talks. ‘The plans for a bond, […]

     
  • Jadwa Investment Raises Projected Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia to 2.2% in 2018
     

    Saudi Arabia’s economy is forecast to grow faster this year following a significant improvement in the global oil market, according to a recently released report by Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment. Jadwa Investment raised its forecasts for the Saudi Arabian economy’s growth in 2018 to 2.2%, compared with previous estimates for a growth rate of 1.5%. Jadwa expects Saudi production […]

     
  • Saudi Women Take the Wheel as Kingdom Marches to More Vibrant Society
     

    Saudi women exercised their new legal right to drive across the Kingdom for the first time in decades this weekend, with many taking to social media to document their experience. The new law allowing women to drive took effect on June 24th, with some newly licensed women drivers in the kingdom doing so right at […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Women footballers call on FIFA to end partnership with Saudi Aramco

    A group of over 100 professional women's soccer players on Monday sent an open letter to FIFA urging the world governing body to end its partnership with oil and gas conglomerate Saudi Aramco. In April, FIFA signed a four-year deal which will see Aramco become a worldwide partner, including in major tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup and the Women's World Cup the following year. Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sports like soccer, Formula One and golf in the last few years while critics, including women's rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community, accuse the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund (PIF) to "sportswash" its human rights record.

  • Saudi Arabia ‘in talks’ to invest in Qatar’s BeIN Sports

    Saudi Arabia has held talks to acquire Qatari sports broadcaster BeIN Sports, according to The Telegraph. The newspaper reports that negotiations began immediately after the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) takeover of Premier League club Newcastle United in October 2021, and have continued since then. BeIN is the second sports broadcaster to be linked with Saudi investment this month, with the PIF denying it was in talks to take a stake with streaming service DAZN.

  • IMF lowers Saudi Arabia’s 2024 growth forecast to 1.5%

    The International Monetary Fund further lowered its GDP growth forecast for Saudi Arabia for 2024 to 1.5% and estimated growth to accelerate to 4.6% next year in its latest World Economic Outlook Report released on Tuesday. In July, the IMF lowered its GDP projections for Saudi Arabia's 2024 GDP by nearly a percentage point from its April estimates to 1.7%. Growth for the Middle East and Central Asia region is forecast at 2.4% in 2024, and projected to increase to 3.9% next year as temporary disruptions to oil production and shipping are expected to fade away, the IMF said.

  • Carrefour probes Saudi partner’s work practices after Amnesty report

    French supermarket retailer Carrefour has initiated a review of employment practices at its Saudi Arabia franchise partner, Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), in response to concerns raised by Amnesty International, Reuters has reported A report by the human rights organisation, published on 21 October 2024, levelled allegations of underpayment and excessive working hours among employees, particularly migrants, at Carrefour/Majid Al Futtaim stores in Saudi Arabia.

  • Top US diplomat heading to Saudi Arabia for Gaza ceasefire efforts

    The top US diplomat is heading to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as part of Washington's efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and potentially in Lebanon, sources familiar with his trip told Al Arabiya English. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel where met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and said that the latter needed to “capitalize” on the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar to secure the release of Israeli hostages and end the war in Gaza.

  • Blinken urges halt to Middle East conflict as Israel bombs historic Lebanese port

     U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed on Wednesday for a halt to fighting between Israel and militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, but heavy Israeli air strikes on a large historic Lebanese port city demonstrated that there was no respite. Israel began to bomb the UNESCO-listed port of Tyre in south Lebanon roughly three hours after issuing an order online for residents to flee central areas. Huge clouds of thick smoke billowed above residential buildings.

  • Twenty reported killed in Gaza as Israel intensifies siege of north

    Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 20 people on Wednesday as Israeli forces intensified a siege of northern parts of the Palestinian enclave, surrounding hospitals and refugee shelters, and ordering residents to head south, medics and residents said. The Gaza health ministry and the World Health Organization said they would be unable to start a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza as planned because of the intense bombardments, mass displacements and lack of access.

  • Russia, Iran, China could stoke post-election violence, US intelligence officials say

    Russia, China and Iran are intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. elections and may consider fomenting violence after voters go to the polls, U.S. intelligence officials said on Tuesday. The officials, briefing reporters on U.S. election security, said foreign actors could consider physical threats and violence, and are highly likely to conduct disinformation operations to create uncertainty and undermine the election process.

  • Identifying key issues in Saudi commercial sector for regulatory review: Report

    Private companies and institutions in Saudi Arabia are actively compiling a list of challenges facing the commercial sector, along with proposed solutions, in preparation for submission to the relevant authorities, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. The newspaper noted that the National Commercial Committee within the Federation of Saudi Chambers urged its member companies and institutions to participate in identifying challenges related to the commercial sector and to propose solutions for review before presenting them to the authorities concerned. These challenges will be submitted to various entities, including the ministries of Commerce, Human Resources and Social Development, Finance, and Municipalities and Housing, as well as the General Directorate of Civil Defense.

  • Saudi Arabia’s 3.7 GW solar tender attracts lowest bid of $0.0129/kWh

    Saudi Power Procurement Co. (SPPC) announced this week the shortlisted bidders for the final phase of the fifth round of the Saudi Arabian government's National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).  For the 2000 MW Al-Sadawi Solar PV IPP Project, the shortlisted bidders are a consortium comprising UAE-based Masdar and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which offered a price of $0.0129/kWh, and a consortium formed by China-based SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. and France-based EDF Renouvelables, which submitted a price of $0.0131/kWh.