“Project Transcendence would aim to team up with large, established tech companies, with the Saudis offering help with infrastructure and capital. Ultimately, the amount invested could be $50 billion to $100 billion.” Saudis Plan $100 Billion AI Powerhouse to Rival UAE Tech Hub [Yahoo]
“Year-to-date, Aramco has paid dividends of $93.2 billion, financed by taking on debt as its free cashflow amounted to just $63.7 billion during the same period. Put simply, Aramco has burned through more than $100 million a day – a day – to finance its distribution to shareholders. Even the fortress-like balance sheet of the Saudi company cannot sustain that for ever.” Javier Blas, Opinion: Saudi Aramco Is Burning Cash – It Needs to Stop [Bloomberg]
“This [conference of the parties to the UN convention on combating desertification to be held in Riyadh in December] is about land degradation, land preservation and drought. It’s very important for water security, food security, biodiversity, and human community. We need to go back to basics and remind the world of this connection we all have with the land. Desertification tells us that we have not exercised good land management.” Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment and Water, Degradation of land is threat to human life, Saudi government says, [The Guardian]
“We love this partnership here. You know, when we first started here, I think fans were excited, but they didn’t know what to necessarily expect. And over that time, I’ve seen that change exponentially. We had the first women’s match here in Saudi Arabia. It went from us asking, “Can we bring women here” to them being on billboards all over the city, to the GEA [General Entertainment Authority] and His Excellency calling us and saying, “I don’t feel like there’s enough women on this show. Can we have more women put into the show?” WWE wrestler, Triple H, Saudi Arabia Demanded WWE Add More Women To Show [TJR Wrestling]
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said that potential US-Saudi agreements on trade and artificial intelligence are “not tied to any third parties” and “can progress probably quite quickly.” Adding, “Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome the opportunity to finalize them before the end of the Biden administration’s term, but that’s reliant on factors outside of our control.” Saudi-US bilateral accords ‘not that connected’ to Israel normalization [Arab News]
“I think globally, the serious, serious issue that we need to watch is sovereign debt issues, particularly in low-income countries and emerging economies that do not have the fiscal buffers to lean into in case of disruptions in the market. And hopefully between the IMF and the G20 we will find a solution, and we will be ready to support the world economy in case of shocks in that area, but it is an area that we need to watch, as global leaders, to make sure that it doesn’t surprise us.” Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Sovereign debt is the biggest risk to global growth in 2025, Saudi finance minister says [CNBC]
“There’s every reason to think that Saudi in particular can become one of the big winners here. The simplest thing for this country to win is to use its abundant resources and create facilities that no one else can build. There is a huge shortage of electricity in the developed world.” Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, AI Leaders Gather in Saudi Arabia to Talk Energy, [Bloomberg]
“According to Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center, the kingdom’s total debt stood at some $308.7 billion at the end of September. Of this total, $183.7 billion was domestic debt, and the remaining $125 billion was foreign debt. Compared to U.S. debt, this is nothing. But compared to 2019 debt levels, it is a palpable increase: in 2019, Saudi debt stood at $180.8 billion.” Saudi Arabia Turns to Debt Markets for Vision 2030 Financing [Oilprice.com]
“People used to come to us and ask for money. We are now seeing a shift from people wanting to take our money to people wanting to co-invest.” PIF Governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan speaking at the Future Investment Initiative, Saudi Arabia’s PIF pivots to domestic focus, eyes AI revolution, says Al-Rumayyan [Arabian Business]
“You are seeing more share of exits taking place in Saudi Arabia, but because Saudi’s venture has really only been active for about five years, many companies in Saudi have not hit the window for exits, relative to the rest of the Mena region. We are waiting and anticipating for exits to continue to rise in the next two to three years.” Philip Bahoshy, chief executive of data platform Magnitt, Why Saudi Arabia is emerging as key exit market for start-ups [The National]
