“With roughly 70 percent of its population under the age of 35, the Kingdom is home to 23.5 million gamers. There are currently about 21 million amateur and semi-professional esports players in the country, with hundreds of professional esports players pursuing full-time careers. The gaming and esports sector will contribute more than SR50 billion ($13.32 billion) to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2030.”
Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Gaming Group, a Saudi gaming company launched by the Public Investment Fund. Can Saudi Arabia tap into the multi-billion dollar female gaming market? [New Arab]
“68% of the world’s population is expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. The current global urban model driven by the automobile is failing and must be revisited considering its impact on the environment and on people’s wellbeing.”
Antoni Vives, Chief Urban Planning Officer of NEOM [designboom]
“New record temperatures have been set in many areas around the world in the heatwaves of the past year, but those highs may only be the beginning, according to the report, as climate breakdown and the impact of a developing El Niño weather system combine to create heatwaves across the globe.” World likely to breach 1.5C climate threshold by 2027, scientists warn [The Guardian]
“Long term, Aramco looks likes it’s going to be in a more powerful position with a larger share of the market as the energy transition progresses. Oil prices might fall, but for those who want oil exposure, Saudi Arabia is a pretty safe bet.”
Jim Krane, energy expert and fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Aramco: Why Saudi Arabia is considering a new stock offering [Middle East Eye]
“The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) announced that the average rainfall in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hit an exceptional record of 31.81 mm in April 2023.”
According to MEWA, this is the highest average recorded in 40 years; it is higher than the average of 9.23 mm which it recorded in April 2022.” Saudi Arabia hits record 31.81 mm average rainfall in April, the highest in 40 years [Zawya]
“The World Travel and Tourism Council expects Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism market to become the fastest-growing in the Middle East, forecasting it to grow at an average of 11% annually over the next decade. The contribution of travel and tourism to the Middle East’s GDP grew 46.9% in 2022 compared to 2021, at a value of $107 billion, while Middle Eastern airlines witnessed a 157.4% increase in traffic in 2022 compared to 2021, with capacity surging by 73.8%, according to IATA.”
The Middle East’s Top 100 Travel & Tourism Leaders 2023 [Forbes Middle East]
“Saudi Arabia has repeatedly voiced concern about attempts to smuggle Captagon into the Kingdom inside consignments of fruit and other food items. In September, authorities seized the largest shipment of illicit drugs in the Kingdom’s history after 47 million amphetamine pills were found hidden in a flour shipment. The Captagon pills were seized at a warehouse in the capital Riyadh. In the past six years, Saudi authorities have intercepted an estimated 600 million Captagon pills at its borders.”
Killing of Syrian Captagon kingpin turns up the heat on drug smugglers of the Middle East [Arab News]
“The total installed capacity of solar energy in Saudi Arabia was 440MW in 2022, compared to just 22MW in 2013, while Egypt’s total installed capacity of wind energy had risen to 1,643MW from 555MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. However, the share of renewable energy in the energy mix in the Middle East remains lower than in other regions. While a lot of the renewable energy capacity is expected to come from solar energy due to very favorable irradiation resources, the region also benefits from good wind resources.”
Middle Eastern Countries Continue to Target Higher Renewable Energy Capacity [Fitch Ratings]
“It is very difficult to identify any off-take agreement in Europe [for blue hydrogen]… and they explained it’s because of the high cost. Even the customers in Japan and Korea [which are planning massive H2 economies] are waiting for government incentives. Until they get these incentives, it’ll be costly for them to pursue that blue hydrogen.”
Amin Nasser, CEO, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Aramco struggling to find buyers for its blue hydrogen due to high costs [Hydrogen Insight]
“The Middle East can be part of the solution for the global gas markets as the region continues to ramp up production from its gigantic gas reserves.”
Alexandre Araman, principal analyst for Middle East Upstream, Wood Mackenzie. Middle East gas producers set to spend $120bln to boost output by 2030 [Hellenic Shipping News]
