“I did not know at the time that I would be the first woman to serve as the US consul general in Dhahran. I really wanted to learn about energy! I was lucky enough to meet people from the very first moment I arrived. I have always made an effort to get to meet people at different occasions. Saudis have welcomed me into their homes, shared meals and traditions with me. I really have the best job in the best place at the best time.”
-Rachna Korhonen, the US consul general in Dhahran, in an interview with Arab News. [arabnews.com]
“Saudi Arabia has been a strong supporter of Lebanon for decades, it’s not new, but we are watching what is happening at the moment. We are talking to the IMF and others. I would like to see a very clear reform plan that is doable, viable, accepted by the IMF and the supporting countries, and we will obviously assess it and stand ready.”
-Mohammed al Jadaan, Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, in comments to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. [CNBC.com]
“The divergence of opinion over coronavirus’s effect on oil demand goes beyond OPEC. The International Energy Agency warned on Feb. 13 that demand for oil is likely to be 435,000 barrels a day less in the current quarter compared with a year ago. Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, is more pessimistic, expecting that quarterly demand will fall by around 2.2 million barrels a day. Under either scenario, a quarterly decline would be the first since the height of the global financial crisis.”
-Summer Said and Benoit Faucon (Wall Street Journal) report on the disparity within OPEC+ regarding the impact of China’s coronavirus on global oil demand and the urgency of a response. They report that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE – which represent over half of OPEC’s production capacity – are considering a possible joint output cut of their own. [WSJ]
“We celebrate [Banksy’s] artwork in Riyadh, a first for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is really a true celebration of who he is.”
-Mohammed Al-Muhaidib, chief investment officer of Nowaar Entertainment company, which organized the exhibition. [Arab News]
“We engaged in a very open discussion, and to be honest we are artists. This festival is for artists; it’s backed by artists. It’s some sort of national dream [for us] to have this festival. We know that we come from the grassroots. This makes us really strong. When we make a case for coming to our festival, people see that we come from their world. They can relate. And to be honest, the result is beyond phenomenal.”
-Mahmoud Sabbagh, Saudi Arabian film director and president of Saudi’s Red Sea International Film Festival, the kingdom’s first full-fledged festival and market. The ambitious event will run March 12-21 in Jeddah. [variety.com]
“Job numbers in Saudi Arabia are buoyant and demand for talent has increased significantly. In turn, employers are having to be competitive with the salaries they offer in order to attract the very best individuals over the competition. As the main business hub in Saudi Arabia, it is not surprising that Riyadh was home to the greatest number of pay increases, as competition amongst employers for top talent is highest here and increasing salaries is one of the sure ways to secure this talent in the short term.”
-Chris Greaves, MD of Hays, a recruiting organization in the Gulf region. The ‘Hays Saudi Arabia Salary and Employment Trends’ report reveals 45% of employees experienced a pay increase in Saudi Arabia. [recruiter.co.uk]
“We want Saudi Arabia to emerge as one of the centers of great content production in the region besides Egypt and Lebanon. We see ourselves doing more and more there. There is significant investment under the Vision 2030 plan and it goes into the entertainment industry — everything from developing acting schools and sound stages to encouraging physical production in Saudi. It’s a big theme for the Saudi government and we are very supportive of that.”
-Johannes Larcher, MBC executive, after the company said earlier this month to become an anchor tenant in the new media zone in the Saudi capital. [arabnews.com]
“We just came back from a very important trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the first such trip we have had to the kingdom and we feel it was very productive. Very encouraging…We had an open dialogue. We met with high-level officials and raised our concerns, they raised their concerns, and we firmly believe that this a step in a long and productive relationship.”
-Arthur Stark, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, speaking about a recent visit group leaders made to Saudi Arabia. The visit, which took place from Monday to Thursday, included meetings with senior Saudi officials. [timesofisrael.com]
“We just came back from a very important trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the first such trip we have had to the kingdom and we feel it was very productive. Very encouraging…We had an open dialogue. We met with high-level officials and raised our concerns, they raised their concerns, and we firmly believe that this a step in a long and productive relationship.”
-Arthur Stark, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, speaking about a recent visit group leaders made to Saudi Arabia. The visit, which took place from Monday to Thursday, included meetings with senior Saudi officials. [timesofisrael.com]
“The strongest clusters of emerging markets are in the Arabian Gulf and Southeast Asia, thanks to business-friendly conditions and core strengths that draw logistics activity. In the Gulf, UAE (No. 3), Saudi Arabia (6), Qatar (7), Oman (14), Bahrain (15) and Kuwait (19) rank strongly.”
-Agility.com published its 2020 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, which ranks countries by factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, shipping lines, air cargo carriers and distributors. Saudi Arabia was also ranked top 3 for ‘best business fundamentals.’ [Yahoo Finance]
