“Corruption costs developing countries US$1.26 trillion every year and represents a major obstacle to investment, negatively impacting economic growth and job prospects for these markets in the long term.”
-Frank Orlowski for Global Trade Magazine interviews Mathad Al-Ajmi, Vice President and General Counsel at Saudi Telecom Company and Chair of the B20 Saudi Arabia Integrity & Compliance Taskforce. Mr. Al-Ajmi is also involved with the Pearl Initiative, a global coalition of business leaders from the Gulf Region aimed at fostering a corporate culture of accountability and transparency [Global Trade Magazine]
“Amazon is building a local logistics and operations network spanning across the kingdom. Currently, it operates three fulfillment centers and 11 delivery stations across the nation, with a workforce of more than 1,400… women will make up approximately 40 per cent of the workforce at its newest 226,000 square-foot Jeddah facility.”
-The National reports on the official launch of Amazon.sa which replaces Souq.com in Saudi Arabia nearly three years after Amazon acquired Souq for $580m. [The National]
“We learned about retailing while other families went on holiday. We started as bag packers, then cashiers. Aged 11, I remember figuring out that I needed to ask the right questions to make a sale. I celebrated selling my first toy on the ninth day.”
-Ahmad BinDawood, 34-year-old “down to earth” supermarket boss who started off working as a child in his family’s store, on his first sale. He is now CEO of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest retailers. [ft.com]
“After climbing for six straight years between 2010-2015 ($26.3 billion to $41.8 billion) foreign remittances from Saudi Arabia have declined annually over the 2016-2019 period with $33.4 billion remitted in 2019.”
-Reporting based on research conducted by Saudi Arabia’s Okaz newspaper tracks the trajectory of foreign remittances over the last decade. They are expected to decline even further in 2020. [Middle East Monitor]
“The Secretariat assesses that the cruise missiles and/or parts thereof used in the four attacks [on Saudi Aramco facilities and a Saudi airport] are of Iranian origin.”
-U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a report to the U.N. Security Council in a report seen by Reuters on Thursday. Guterres also said several items in U.S. seizures of weapons and related materiel in November 2019 and February 2020 were “of Iranian origin.” [reuters.com]
“The collaboration goes beyond merely conducting business – it is a reflection of the robust Saudi-Chinese ties that … will open new doors of collaboration on future and grander projects across the world.”
-Paddy Padmanathan, ACWA Power’s president and chief executive officer, describes the company’s perspective on China’s state-owned Silk Road Fund which completed a 49% acquisition of ACWA in May 2020. Writing for AGSIW, Robert Mogilenicki explores China’s expanding position in the Gulf’s renewable energy market. [Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington]
“More work is needed to make carbon capture technology commercially viable for the private sector. This is especially important because CCUS offers much more than capturing emissions alone. Aramco has invested in a conversion technology that uses captured CO2 to create useful polymers, such as plastics, with just one-third the carbon footprint of conventional polymers. We have also developed a technology that uses CO2 instead of air to cure concrete — storing up to 20% carbon dioxide within the most ubiquitous construction material.”
-Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, chief technology officer of Saudi Aramco, discussing how capturing carbon emissions can help combat climate change. [cnn.com]
“We’re just trying to have an art scene like everyone else, so why marginalize it? We’re finally initiating a dialogue—come have one.”
-Raneem Farsi, co-curator of Desert X, speaks with Kelly Crow in a Wall Street Journal report on Saudi plans to build more than a dozen major art institutions over the next decade. [Wall Street Journal]
“As the population in The Kingdom reached about 34 million by the end of 2019, Saudi now holds the largest domestic food and beverage market in the GCC. With this and the rapidly changing demographics, including a larger younger population with high disposable income, it also highlights the many opportunities available for developing the F&B industry in Saudi Arabia.”
-Alexis Marcoux-Varvatsoulis, JLL MENA foodservice consulting lead, in a recent report on the food and beverage sector in Saudi Arabia. [hoteliermiddleeast.com]
“I think a lot of things are changing in the industry now. I believe within the next three to four years, the big players will understand that MENA is one of the world’s major markets. We should not underestimate it at all. It’s an opportunity, as the fastest growing market in the world. 50% of the audience is under 30.”
-Mo Fadl, CEO, Sandsoft Games which announced it has opened a video game studio in Saudi Arabia and intends to target the market with games that are tailor-made for the culture and tastes of the region, starting with mobile games. The MENA region with more than 500 million people has few domestic video game publishers and developers, and most game makers simply localize games for the region, modifying them for language or local tastes. [Venture Beat]
