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QUOTED
“Saudi Arabia has clinched a Guinness World Record for hosting the largest performance of the traditional Saudi Ardah. The event, staged on Sunday at Al Adl Plaza in Riyadh, drew more than 50,000 people and concluded four days of Founding Day celebrations starting from February 20 to 23. The Ardah — one of Saudi Arabia’s most distinctive cultural expressions — featured 633 performers in synchronized drumming and dancing, claiming the record for the biggest gathering of its kind.” Saudi Arabia sets Guinness World Record for largest Ardah performance during Founding Day festivities [Gulf News]
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TOP STORY
Over 128 million travelers passed through Saudi airports in 2024 marking a 15% increase compared to 2023 and a 25% rise from pre-pandemic levels. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in alarabiya.net: Saudi Arabia faces growing challenges in its residential real estate market as soaring prices and high borrowing costs cool appetite for home ownership, according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Demand from first-time buyers looking to purchase a home has slipped to 29 percent from 40 percent in 2023, the firm said, citing a survey of more than 1,000 households. Many home buyers believe prices are too high, need more time to save and want more financing options, according to Knight Frank’s 2025 Saudi report. Apartment prices in the capital of Riyadh rose almost 11 percent to the equivalent of about $1,500 per square meter in 2024, according to the research firm. “The crux of the issue is the misalignment between buyer expectations and the current pricing or market realities,” Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said in an interview in the kingdom.
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Via Pramod Kumar in agbi.com: Alat, a Public Investment Fund-backed manufacturing company, is setting up a €160 million ($168 million) joint venture with Germany’s TK Elevator to manufacture lifts and escalators in Saudi Arabia, the German company said in a statement. Alat, which was launched in February last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has acquired a 15 percent stake in the Dusseldorf-based TK Elevator, becoming a direct shareholder, the company said. The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of the year. The new entity will have its headquarters in Saudi Arabia and will manufacture lifts, escalators and moving walkways in the kingdom for the region’s giga-projects and other large-scale developments. In February 2020 Germany’s Thyssenkrupp sold its elevator division, later renamed TK Elevator, for €17.2 billion.
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Via Mirette Magdy and Olga Voitova in yahoo.com: Saudi Arabia is on track to sell a €1.5 billion ($1.58 billion) debut green euro bond after drawing in €7.25 billion of investors bids as it seeks to fund its ambitious economic-transformation plan. The transaction, the first such trade from a sovereign in the Middle East and North Africa, is being sold alongside a €750 million 12-year conventional bond that is expected to price at 145 basis points over mid-swaps, the person said. Books on that tranche are over €2.7 billion. The green offering is a first for the Saudi central government as the world’s top crude-oil exporter looks to reach net zero emissions by 2060. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund known as the PIF started issuing green debt in 2022.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea Global’s newest ultra-luxury offering, Desert Rock Resort, has quickly established itself as a global draw since...[By Tala Michel Issa via arabianbusiness.com]
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The report sheds light on financial performance during the fourth quarter of last year, including revenues, expenditures, and public debt indicators. It highlighted a 21...[via com.sa]
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Unlike Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City, which has dominated English soccer over the past decade, and Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain, which has done likewise in France, it...[By James Robson via apnews.com]
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Trump’s renewal of the maximum pressure campaign could lead to rising tensions in the Gulf after a brief period of relative stability. The Saudis remember...[By Sultan al-Amer via newlinesinstitute.org]
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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Mark Carney on Friday, on the occasion of the formation of the new government headed by him...[via arabnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 50 people, including 11 women on prostitution charges, in a new crackdown on “immoral acts” amid ongoing social and...[via middleeastmonitor.com]
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Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the recruitment of domestic workers from Indonesia to Saudi...[via argaam.com]
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The Ministry of Interior conducted inspection campaigns across Saudi Arabia between March 6 and March 12 to ensure compliance with residency, labor, and border security...[via saudigazette.com]
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Saudi Arabia is set to launch a groundbreaking global Twenty20 league, backed by its $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Spearheaded by Australian cricket figure Neil Maxwell,...[via geosuper.tv]
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The Saudi Architecture Characters Map highlights 19 architectural styles inspired by geographical, natural and cultural characteristics, derived...[via saudigazette.com]
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Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley witnessed on Sunday the signing of an agreement between the Environment Fund and the Small and...[via saudigazette.com]
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Developer Diriyah Company — backed by Public Investment Fund — secured $1.6 billion in financing to develop the Wadi Safar project, an upscale residential...[By Kelsey Warner via semafor.com]
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The United States will keep attacking Yemen's Houthis until they end...[By Phil Stewart, Mohammed Ghobari and Gabriella Borter via reuters.com]
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Improvements in the availability and quality of digital infrastructure and services have yet to impact productivity growth in the Gulf economies...[By Valentina Pasquali via agbi.com]
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CERAWeek, the annual gathering of the energy elite in Houston, Texas, is an intense crash course in the state of world...[By Frank Kane via agbi.com]
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Between 10am and 4:30pm on March 11 the tariff rate on Canadian aluminium and steel imports to the US was hiked...[By Robin Mills via agbi.com]
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S&P Global Ratings has raised Saudi Arabia’s credit rating for the first time in two years, citing the country’s economic...[By John Benny via thenationalnews.com]
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Syria's interim president has told a national dialogue conference that the country has a "historic" opportunity to rebuild after the overthrow of Bashar...[By David Gritten via bbc.com]
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Hamas agreed to release the last hostage bodies included in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal,...[By Nafisa Eltahir and Rami Amichay via reuters.com]
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"The war in Gaza and the disastrous situation in the Middle East have led to a freeze in cooperation between Arab countries and Israel," Youssef...[By Ignacio Cembrero via middleeasteye.net]
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