“It takes a long time to export anything to Saudi Arabia with the existing road. The new road will cut travel time by more than half. We have to drive for nearly 18 hours to reach Saudi Arabia. I calculate that the new road will take only six hours.”
–Khamis Al Shibli, 44, an Omani fish exporter from the town of Ibri in Oman discussing the almost complete 720 kilometer road from Ibri, Oman to Alkwifriah, Saudi Arabia. Originally scheduled for completion in 2014 the $475 million project passes straight through the Rub Al Khali desert. [The National]
“Trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage points in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic – with 44% of our total sample saying they trust most news most of the time. This reverses, to some extent, recent falls in average trust – bringing levels back to those of 2018. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (65%), and the USA now has the lowest levels (29%) in our survey.”
–The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism issued the tenth edition of it’s Digital News Report which is based on data from six continents and 46 markets and aims to cast light on the key issues that face the industry. [Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism]
“Commercial competition in the aviation industry has always been fierce, and regional competition is heating up. Some turbulence in regional relations is on the horizon.”
-Robert Mogielnicki, resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. Saudi Arabia plans to target international transit passenger traffic with its new national airline, going head-to-head with Emirates and Qatar Airways and revving up regional competition. [Reuters]
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saudi Arabia has entered a post-Wahhabi era, though the exact religious contours of the state are still in flux. Religion no longer has veto power over the economy, social life and foreign policy.”
-Kristin Diwan, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, regarding the evolving role of religion in Saudi Arabia. [France24]
“Our view is, and this came straight from the top, is that this should have been done years ago…There’s no better time than now.”
–Yazaid Al Salloom, the head of Standard Chartered Plc, which has opened its first branch in Saudi Arabia with 35 employees as the kingdom attracts Western banks keen to cash in on the country’s economic reform. [Bloomberg]
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saudi Arabia has entered a post-Wahhabi era, though the exact religious contours of the state are still in flux. Religion no longer has veto power over the economy, social life and foreign policy.” Kristin Diwan, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, regarding the evolving role of religion in Saudi Arabia. [France24]
“Since I arrived in my role last year, I have been impressed by what I’ve seen emerging in Saudi Arabia. It is truly incredible and inspiring to consider the future potential of Saudi, with its remarkable infrastructure projects and rapidly changing business environment. There is no doubt this is already creating significant opportunity for the hospitality industry. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of Hilton in Saudi Arabia… Saudi Arabia represents Hilton’s largest development pipeline in the Middle East.”
–Jochem-Jan Sleiffer, Hilton’s president of Middle East, Africa and Turkey, discussing his company’s construction and labor plans in Saudi Arabia. [Hotelier Middle East]
“In the UAE, the growth of EDGE has been catalysed by a strategy that begins with reaching back into the education system to academically prepare Emiratis to feed potential employees into the defence sector. That model is imitable if Saudi chose to go that route, but it’s not instantaneous… Of interest, looking at academic statistics in Saudi Arabia, should that happen, the majority of those future employees would be female.”
–Kirsten Fontenrose, Middle East security director at the Atlantic Council, commenting on Saudi Arabia’s plan to substantially grow its domestic weapons industry. [Middle East Eye]
“We’re going to have a large share [of the market for blue hydrogen]. The scale up isn’t going to happen before 2030. We’re not going to see large volumes of blue ammonia before then. From the time you make clear off-take agreements, you’re talking about a five- to six-year capital cycle to invest in the production and conversion requirements.”
–Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s chief technology officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Sunday in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, where the company’s based. [Bloomberg]
“Scale is a benefit that helps in relationship management, cost management and in negotiations, so it helps in many aspects which will improve returns.”
-Saad Al-Fadly, CEO of Hassana Investment Co, the investment management arm of the kingdom’s General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) which was recently combined with the Public Pension Agency to create a new entity with assets exceeding $250 billion. [Bloomberg]
