“There are many, many female tour guides, and even more in training. In the class that I took to become a licensed guide, there were twice as many women as men, and I think that’s pretty common.”
-Fatimah Al Zimam, a 34 year-old Saudi woman who is self-employed as a tour guide in the Kingdom. [New York Times]
“Despite an influx of venture capitalist spending on artificial intelligence companies—fueled by ChatGPT hype—global venture funding overall still fell by 18% in the second quarter of 2023, according to new data from Crunchbase.”
Even the ChatGPT-fueled AI boom couldn’t offset a slide in venture funding [Quartz]
“It is a significant milestone for KSA as, prior to this new Law, Islamic Law (Shari’a) derived mainly from the principles of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah (prophetic teachings of the Prophet Muhammad) has governed contracts in KSA. This codification will have a major impact on contractual relationships in KSA, both nationally and internationally. It is most definitely a seismic shift for KSA, underpinned by its Vision 2030, to attract major investment to the country at a time when KSA is also in parallel rolling out its Regional Headquarters Program.”
The New KSA Civil Transactions Law in Saudi Arabia [Dentons]
“The annual volume of the currency exchange market during the current Hajj season is $6.66bln and it brings huge profits to the money exchangers.”
Saudi: Transactions of money exchanges soar 80% with dollar witnessing highest demand during Haj season [Zawya]
“Saudi Arabia produces the most crude oil among OPEC members, and it accounted for the largest share of OPEC total revenue in 2022. We estimate that Saudi Arabia’s net export revenue was $311 billion, which accounted for about 35% of all OPEC oil revenue in 2022.”
OPEC net oil export revenues – 2022 [US Energy Information Agency]
“Saudi Arabia never has to worry about foreign competition, as there is only one Mecca and only one Medina. This is a great foundation for building a successful income source. Enabling people to shop, visit museums, attend conferences while performing Umrah is a great strategy for income growth.”
-Omar Al-Ubaydli, Bahrain-based economist, How Mecca is the lynchpin for Saudi Arabia’s hospitality and tourism drive [ABC News]
“Saudi Arabia is not the first petrostate in the Middle East to attempt a move away from hydrocarbons. For several decades, other Arab economies have pursued similar diversification efforts with little success. A notable exception is Dubai, which reinvented itself as a logistics center, tourist destination, and offshore finance hub to offset declining oil reserves. But the city-state model that has succeeded elsewhere may not be scalable, which is why policymakers in the region and beyond will closely watch the ambitious development program in Saudi Arabia, a country with nearly 37 million inhabitants.” Saudi Arabia’s Great Transformation [Zawya]
“This (deal) really kicks off that wing of the Lucid Group’s business…Do we ever want to make a $25,000 car because that’s what it’s going to take to change the world? I’m not sure if we want to be in that business, but licensing our tech to a company that could do that makes more sense.”
–Lucid Group CEO Peter Rawlinson. Lucid Group and Aston Martin recently entered a partnership agreement to share technology. [Reuters]
“In Miami, when you get out of your office, you are on vacation — immediately you are next to entertainment, culture, sport and retail. We are competing with Miami.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi crown prince discusses design origins of The Line, the Kingdom’s iconic megacity [Arab News]
“I’m just absolutely shocked at how beautiful it is. Because, you know, in my head I’m thinking, nothing but sand.”
Kris Gibson, 53, Idaho bookkeeper Saudi Arabia Wants Tourists. It Didn’t Expect Christians. [New York Times]
