“I thought he enjoyed it phenomenally. Bob Marley is a global icon and so all of our international visitors that come to Jamaica want to have a piece of understanding of the man himself – what made him tick and some of his phenomenal achievements and that of his family.”
-Donovan White, Director of Tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, describing Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb’s visit to the Bob Marley Museum. The Saudi minister is on the island this week to participate in the 66th meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Regional Commission of the Americas and the Ministerial Dialogue on ‘Reactivation of the tourism sector for inclusive growth’. [Jamaica Information Service]
“Shale is facing a second revolution. It had to change its relationship with investors and return money to investors and that’s what it’s doing. There’s a mantra of capital discipline that wasn’t there before.”
-Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the oil industry and Vice Chairman of IHS Markit consultancy, speaking with Frank Kane about OPEC+ and oil markets. [Arab News]
“Saudi Arabia at $130.3 billion is the 14th ranked worldwide investor in the US treasury bonds in April this year leading other Arab investors Kuwait ($45.8 billion) and UAE ($43.7 billion). Japan tops the list with $1.27 trillion worth of holdings.”
–Mubasher, the news website, reporting last week that Saudi Arabia has reduced its holdings of US treasury bonds to $130.3 billion in April, hitting the lowest level in eight months. [Mubasher]
“We have also seen an increase in listed debt issuances by Saudi corporates, particularly government-related entities (GREs), which represented about 90 percent of the about $26 billion listed corporate bond and sukuk issuance in 2019 and 2020.”
-Khalid Albihlal, head of S&P Global Ratings KSA, takes a deep dive into how Saudi Arabia will fund it’s $3.2 trillion economic reform plans and the state of development of Saudi banking and capital markets. [Arab News]
“The steps he has taken to implement taxes, raise the cost of foreign labor and encourage investment in non-oil sectors are part of a larger recognition that the Saudi economy has to change. He is unlikely to reach all the goals set in Vision 2030 to reduce the role of oil in the Saudi economy, but even if he achieves 25% of the goals, it will be a step in the right direction.”
–F. Gregory Gause III comments in an interview with the Institut Montaigne about Saudi Arabia, President Biden and MBS. [Institut Montaigne]
“According to data released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in highlighting the vital role of patents in university research and innovation, King Abdul Aziz University rose to 33rd place in the list of the top 100 universities in the world in patents 2020, and jumped 50 places within a year, as it was 83rd in 2019, and King Saud University ranked 45th in the list of universities that were granted patents in the United States.”
–Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education, in a statement confirming that three Saudi government universities were among the first 50 universities in the list of the world’s top 100 universities granted patents in 2020. [MOE.gov.sa]
“Going forward, we expect to see an increase in international investment in mining, particularly because demand for minerals around the world is growing fast. According to geological surveys dating back 80 years, the kingdom has an estimated reserve of untapped mining potential valued at $1.3 trillion.”
-Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Saudi vice-minister for mining affairs, discussing plans to auction two major mining licenses in 2022 for commodities including gold, copper and zinc. [S&P Global]
“I think it’s my job, and others’ jobs, to make sure this super-cycle doesn’t happen.”
–Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Saudi Energy Minister, speaking at the Robin Hood Investors Conference regarding his concern about a lack of new investment in energy exploration. [Bloomberg]
“I think it’s my job, and others’ jobs, to make sure this super-cycle doesn’t happen.”
-Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, in comments to the Robin Hood Investors Conference on Wednesday. Prince Abdulaziz said that his job is to prevent such a supercycle, warning that it could be triggered by a lack of new investments in exploration.
“The global environment has been supportive of healthy equity markets – both frontier and emerging markets this year – and within that Mena markets, have actually demonstrated some of the most exceptional returns. The regional index [is] up by over 20 per cent barely halfway into the year.”
-Bassel Khatoun, managing director of the Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity group, expects a strong recovery in corporate earnings in Mena markets this year with earnings expected to grow 71% compared with 31% contraction in 2020. [The National]
