MUST-READS

• China’s Wemart opens first branch in Saudi Arabia

  Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua announced the launch of the first branch of the Chinese hypermarket chain Wemart in Saudi Arabia. “I am delighted to launch the first Chinese Wemart hypermarket in Riyadh. There is a wide range of Asian goods and foods, and all vegetables are produced on its own farm. I would like to thank my fellow ambassadors for joining us today,” the Chinese Ambassador said on X.

• Eminem Provided ‘Epic’ Opening to Saudi Arabia’s Massive Mdlbeast Soundstorm Music Festival That is Creating Inroads For Saudi Artists, Says Event Chief

  This year’s Dec. 12-14 edition of Soundstorm – which started out in 2019 as an electronic dance music festival – featured over 200 international artists spanning rap, rock, pop, and house music. It marked Soundstorm’s strongest lineup thanks to chart-topping artists such as Eminem, Linkin Park, and rock bands including Thirty Seconds to Mars and U.K. trio Muse, as well as hip-hop stars like Russ, G-Eazy, J.I.D., and Busta Rhymes, to name a few. Along with a host of top Arabic acts such as Lebanese artist Elissa, Syrian singer Nassif Zeytoun, and Saudi DJ and producer Cosmicat. Variety spoke to Mdlbeast CEO Ramadan Alharatani about how he attracted bigger acts from the U.S. such as Eminem who, making his first appearance in Saudi Arabia, performed his hit “Love The Way You Lie” for a crowd of more than 100,000 fans.

• Saudi Arabia’s FDI Inflows Drop, Setting Up Tough Fourth Quarter

  FDI inflows dropped 8% quarter-on-quarter to 18 billion riyals ($4.8 billion) in the three months through September and were also down from a year ago, according to data released Monday by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics. The tally brings inflows to $14.5 billion for the first nine months of 2024. That’s below year-ago levels and just half way to reaching the government’s target of $29 billion in 2024. To meet that goal, Saudi Arabia would need one of its biggest quarterly hauls ever for foreign investment. Saudi Arabia aims to quadruple FDI inflows to $100 billion by 2030 as it seeks to share some of the financial burden of spending on its economic diversification plan. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s government also sees foreign expertise as critical to training the local population in new industries like technology and minerals exploration and catalyzing growth in those sectors.

• Rock art in Saudi Arabia’s Harrat is testament to ancient life, cultural exchange

  The Harrat region, south of Tabuk, is a treasure trove of ancient history, boasting a remarkable collection of rock art that provides a fascinating glimpse into past civilizations, according to the Saudi Press Agency report. The rugged volcanic landscape served as a canvas for ancient inhabitants, who expressed their beliefs, experiences, and social interactions through intricate engravings and paintings. Depictions of hunting scenes, made using simple tools, offer a window into the daily lives of the early inhabitants of these areas, the SPA report noted. Rock art also provides a record of the fauna that once lived in the region, including oryx, gazelles, and even tigers.

• Saudi foreign minister takes part in GCC extraordinary meeting in Kuwait

  Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan took part in the 46th extraordinary meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s ministerial council in Kuwait on Thursday. Ministers and officials from GCC countries discussed the latest developments in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza. They stressed the need to uphold Syria’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in early December. The ministerial council rejected foreign interference in Syrian affairs and called for Western sanctions that have weakened the country’s economy to be lifted, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

• Snowflake Expands to Saudi Arabia with New Regional Headquarters

  Customers across the Middle East have already been using Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud to discover and securely share data, as well as execute diverse analytic workloads, via Snowflake’s existing regional deployment in Dubai. With the addition of Snowflake’s deployment on Google Cloud in the KSA, regional customers have further flexibility of choice for deployment, and are able to choose a geographical region that best suits their operational needs. Organisations such as Almarai are using Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud to better access data to drive business decision making, all in a secure and governed platform.

• Alat, a Company Created by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Has Become a Strategic Corporate Partner of EvoNexus

  EvoNexus is California’s premier non-profit technology incubator with locations in San Diego and Irvine. Alat, a PIF company, will create a global sustainable technology manufacturing hub in Saudi Arabia focused on advanced industrials and electronics. Alat will focus on seven key Strategic Business Units: advanced industrials, semiconductors, smart health, smart appliances, smart devices, smart buildings, as well as next generation infrastructure and create products both for Saudi Arabia and the world. In December, EvoNexus and Alat entered into a strategic corporate partnership.

• Top US officials in Damascus to meet new Syrian rulers, State Department says

  Top diplomats from the Biden administration are in Damascus on Friday to meet new Syrian authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a State Department spokesperson said, the first in-person and official meeting between Washington and Syria's de-facto new rulers. The State Department's top Middle East diplomat, Barbara Leaf, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and newly appointed Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein, who is now tasked with leading the Department's Syria engagement, are the first U.S. diplomats to travel to Damascus since Syria's opposition militias overthrew oppressive President Bashar al-Assad. The visit comes as Western governments are gradually opening channels to HTS and its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and start debating whether or not to remove the terrorist designation on the group. The U.S. delegation's travel follows contacts with France and Britain in recent days.

• Turkey’s central bank expected to start cutting rates next week: Reuters poll
  Turkey's central bank is expected to start a cycle of interest rate cuts next week after eight months of steady policy, according to a Reuters poll on Thursday. Fourteen of 17 poll respondents forecast that the bank would cut its policy rate next Thursday, according to the poll. Three respondents expect the central bank to keep rates on hold until the first quarter. While most expected that the easing cycle will be launched this month, economists differed over the size of the first cut.

• Mubadala backs US-based AI startup in $600m funding round

  Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company is among the investors backing Crusoe, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence infrastructure provider, in its $600 million funding round. The Series D funding round was led by Founders Fund, with participation from new and existing investors, including Fidelity, Long Journey Ventures, Nvidia, Ribbit Capital and Valor Equity Partners. In June 2022, Mubadala participated in a $350 million series C funding round for US-based Crusoe Energy.

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