“The unparalleled decline is staggering in both its scale and swiftness, with serious potential implications for energy security and clean energy transitions.”
–The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that global investment could plunge by a record $400 billion this year, with spending expected to plummet across every major sector, from oil and gas to renewable energy. [CNN]
“South Asia is the second-largest remittance receiving region in the world, while India is the single-largest country recipient, clocking in at $83 billion in the year 2019. Two countries alone – the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – account for nearly 40% of all remittances to South Asia.”
-Afshin Molavi, writing for the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW), examines the impact of contracting Gulf economies on the flow of remittances to South Asia. [AGSIW]
“You don’t want to waste a crisis . . . So for us, definitely we are looking into any opportunities.”
-Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, to more than 2,000 bankers and executives tuned in to a virtual conference in April. “They were not idle words,” the Financial Times writes. The PIF says it is “identifying opportunities to invest in solid companies with strong, long-term outlooks who we expect will be sector leaders when global economic activity begins to approach pre-pandemic levels.” [Financial Times]
“Saudi Arabia will be a particularly diverse source of urbanisation-related opportunities over the coming decade. The kingdom has an above-average per capita income for MENA ($23,339 in 2018) and its urban population is expected to increase by almost 5m by 2030. Moreover, according to the UN, Saudi Arabia has the largest construction industry in the region, valued at $40.3bn in 2018.”
-Castlereagh Associates examines how the MENA region will handle the expected 25% growth in urban populations over the next decade. Iraq and Egypt will see the largest increases, with almost 10m additional urban residents in both countries over the period. [Castlereagh]
“People’s reaction[s] prove how aware the audience has become to the point where you can’t just present TV shows with any content and call it comedy or drama. Because of streaming services and movies reopening, people have a lot to compare it to, and if it doesn’t live up to their expectations, then it has to go.”
–Arab News reports on popular Saudi YouTuber Abdul Majeed Al-Kinani’s take on the popular Ramadan Viewing Season of TV shows and specials. Not surprisingly, the season has inspired plenty of commentary with many increasing their focus on the production quality of home-grown Saudi content. [Arab News]
“One of the first businesses I launched was when I asked my mother to make me balela (a traditional chickpea soup), and I sold it to my friends in the street.”
–Saleh Kamel, the Saudi billionaire who rose from humble beginnings to achieve great success as a businessman. Kamel passed away Monday at the age of 79. Arab News celebrated the life and accomplishments of Kamel in a feature story today. [Arab News]
“Vision Fund’s results are not something to be proud of. If the results are bad, you can’t raise money from investors. Things aren’t good, that’s why we are investing with our own money.”
-Masayoshi Son, chairman, president and CEO of Softbank, discussing SoftBank’s Vision Fund whose net value has declined 6% over the last 12 months representing a $17.6 billion loss. [Bloomberg]
“For an hour, the eight of us talked about video games, about being unable to function during the workday abstaining from coffee while fasting, and about finding community in the times where it’s most needed. Having grown up Muslim, the experience struck me as outright familiar — regardless of how abstract the little avatars eating apples on the screen may seem to outside observers.”
-Imran Khan reports on the virtual Suhoor/Iftar environment created by Rami Ismail for his Animal Crossing avatar. Animal Crossing only allows seven guests on a host’s island at one time and Ismail’s on-line sign up form to visit booked up immediately for the entire month of Ramadan. [Washington Post]
“VAT has several advantages as a tax instrument: By using exemptions for basic commodities, it can be used progressively; it generates a stable revenue stream; it is relatively cheap to collect; and compared to other taxes, such as capital gains tax, it does not disincentivize investment.”
-Omar Al-Ubaydli, an economist who is Director of Research at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, and affiliated with George Mason University, analyzes the history of value-added tax (VAT) and the thinking behind the Saudi government’s decision to increase VAT to 15%. [Al Arabiya]
“This virus just may become another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away…”
-Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program. [CNN]
