Economy Saudi reforms needed to attract investment and lower deficit Saudi Arabia must reduce its budget deficit and speed up its regulatory reforms if it is to remain competitive in a tight global market, its finance minister told a conference in Riyadh this week. The country needs to get “the budget deficit down to 2 percent (of spending) or less than that, that’s how a […] February 19, 2024
Media & Advertising Saudi Arabia sets up Big Time film investment fund Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has set up the Big Time investment fund to support pan-Arab cinema, in Riyadh’s latest push to develop soft power through sports and culture. The authority’s head Turki Alalshikh said during a visit to Cairo that the entertainment authority would act as the Big Time fund’s main sponsor along with […] February 19, 2024
Logistics Expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port complete The Saudi ports authority said this week it had completed a SAR1 billion ($270 million) expansion of Jeddah Islamic Port as tensions in the Red Sea continue. The project to deepen and expand the northern container terminal in Jeddah, to be operated by the Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) company, more than doubles capacity from 700,000 […] February 16, 2024
Giga-projects Neom opens for business in US with New York office Saudi Arabian giga-project Neom has opened an office in New York in a move designed to attract investment from the US for its green industries. Neom said in a statement on February 6 that the Manhattan office would facilitate its business across the US, citing “industries, corporations, and investors” who could help in the development […] February 16, 2024
Economy Saudi’s ‘whistleblower law’ to bolster anti-corruption drive Saudi Arabia has ramped up its public anti-corruption measures in recent weeks, in a further effort to attract foreign investment and shore up its massive economic reform programme. On February 13 cabinet approved a new law intended to protect whistleblowers, a week after the General Authority for Endowments said it would give a reward of […] February 16, 2024
Economy Saudi foreign reserves fall 5% as oil revenue drops Saudi Arabia’s international reserve assets fell 5 percent in value year on year in 2023, after oil output cuts that hit GDP had only limited success supporting prices. Central bank figures show total reserve assets were at SAR1.6 trillion ($437 billion), from SAR1.7 trillion in January 2023, when the government was embarking on a policy […] February 14, 2024
Trade Hundreds of companies consider Saudi Arabia A survey of 660 companies described as high-growth and from more than 50 countries around the world found more than two thirds were considering expanding into Saudi Arabia. Of the 450 across 37 sectors looking to move into the kingdom, half of them plan on doing so within the next six months. Ease of doing […] February 14, 2024
Giga-projects Neom announces exclusive beach club Xaynor Saudi Arabia’s mega-city Neom has launched its latest development – Xaynor, an exclusive private beach club on the Gulf of Aqaba for “the most fascinating people in the world”. Xaynor will be a “discreet destination where club members can unwind on the Gulf of Aqaba’s beautiful unspoiled coastline”, Neom said in an announcement. Neom has […] February 13, 2024
Tech Saudi CubeSats could send green monitoring into orbit Saudi Arabia plans to launch two nanosatellites – also known as CubeSats – per year to help with environmental issues such as finding water and locating oil spills. These will also play a security role in monitoring the large territory, a space cybersecurity expert said at a Saudi defence forum. CubeSats – low-altitude, cheap-to-produce microsatellites […] February 12, 2024
Manufacturing China and Russia beaten by South Korea at Riyadh arms show China and Russia displayed their wares and Iranian officials toured the exhibits, but South Korea took the top prize at the Riyadh arms show. Saudi Arabia’s second World Defense Show, held in Riyadh this week, was a stark indicator of a military procurement strategy that is not only relying more on local manufacture, but also […] February 9, 2024
Tech Gulf militaries rush to keep up with drone tech progress A new form of drone warfare used during the Ukraine conflict has changed the nature of battle and created a challenge for military planners in the Gulf region, industry experts said at a defence show in Riyadh this week. Drone swarms have been launched by both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The unmanned […] February 8, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabia buys South Korean missile system Saudi Arabia has signed a $3.2 billion deal to buy a mid-range surface-to-air missile defence system from South Korean company LIG Nex1, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence said this week. The agreement was made in November but finalised via a memorandum of understanding signed on February 6 by Saudi defence minister Khalid bin Salman […] February 7, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi Arabia shows off local arms industry gains Saudi Arabia showed off locally manufactured military equipment at a major defence show in Riyadh this week as it tries to offset its massive foreign arms spending through its own arms production. Government officials at the World Defense Show said the country has managed to increase domestic military spending to 14 percent of the total […] February 7, 2024
Giga-projects Jeddah Central signs contracts for major landmarks Jeddah Central, the developer of one of Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects, signed four construction contracts this week for a set of major landmarks. According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Jeddah Central’s CEO Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Saleem signed the contracts to construct a sports stadium, an oceanarium, an opera house and infrastructure work in the Red […] February 6, 2024
Economy Saudi ministry posts then removes budget data Saudi Arabia’s ministry of investment has removed incorrect data from its website after news media published erroneous fiscal data suggesting a large budget surplus for 2023. In an apparent glitch, the ministry’s monthly data update on February 5 showed an estimated budget surplus of SAR16 billion ($4.27 billion) in 2023, including the fourth quarter, according […] February 6, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabia signs defence deal with South Korea Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement on defence cooperation with South Korea under which Seoul could sell weapons to Riyadh. It could also help Saudi Arabia to develop its own armaments industry. The memorandum of understanding was signed on February 4 by Saudi Arabian minister of defence Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and South […] February 5, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality Arabic publishers pushing writers to aim for lucrative prizes Publishing houses are pressuring Arabic authors to produce novels that will win prestigious book prizes or be turned into TV dramas and films, writers and publishers said at a literary festival in Dubai this week. Arabic publishing has become a lucrative industry for those shortlisted for the Abu Dhabi-funded International Prize for Arabic Fiction – […] February 2, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi’s PIF ‘in talks’ to invest in British rugby Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is said to be in talks to buy stakes in four British rugby clubs. British media has reported that discussions are taking place to pay a total of £60 million ($76 million) for shares in a quartet of top-tier clubs: Gloucester, Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints. This […] February 1, 2024
Trade UK agrees instant two-year visas for Saudi nationals Saudi Arabian nationals can obtain instant two-year multiple entry visas to the UK for business, tourism and study visits following a deal made during a British business delegation trip to the kingdom this week. “The new visa offers a validity period of up to two years and multiple entries during the validity period, in addition […] February 1, 2024
Economy IMF predicts 2025 rebound for Saudi GDP The International Monetary Fund this week lowered its 2024 forecast for GDP in Saudi Arabia to 2.7 percent, down from 4.0 percent forecast last October. The IMF cited the kingdom’s lower oil production, a day after state oil company Saudi Aramco surprised markets by scrapping plans to expand maximum output capacity to 13 million barrels […] January 31, 2024
Media & Advertising Saudi TV fights off the smartphone challenge Smart television is holding up as the main platform for accessing sports, news and entertainment in Saudi Arabia, despite the boom in streaming services that can be watched on smartphones, a leading media researcher said this week. “In the past decade there was a lot of transformation in Saudi. New devices, behaviours and trends,” said […] January 30, 2024
Health Saudi university developing AI for early diabetes detection King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) said this week it is working with Saudi company AmplifAI Health to develop AI technology for use in the early detection of diabetes. Saudi Arabia and the UAE in particular are investing in health technologies that can predict medical risk and help develop medicines, and the kingdom […] January 30, 2024
