People & Lifestyle Saudi film festival showcases growing movie industry The third Red Sea Film Festival kicked off in Jeddah last week, highlighting the city’s rejuvenation as part of Saudi Arabia’s economic reform plans and rapid growth of its movie industry. Stars including Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Sharon Stone, Catherine Deneuve and a coterie of Saudi directors and actors graced the red carpet for gala […] December 4, 2023
Giga-projects Riyadh Expo 2030 to spur giga-project construction Saudi Arabia will host the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh, surpassing bids from Italy and South Korea in what analysts and officials said would be a boon for tourism and a spur to finish ambitious development projects on time. A total of 119 countries endorsed Riyadh’s candidacy during the 173rd general assembly of the Bureau […] November 30, 2023
Employment Saudisation push leads to half a million jobs since launch Saudi Arabia has found work for 176,000 nationals over the past 12 months, through a programme set up two years ago to promote Saudisation – requiring companies to hire Saudi nationals for jobs in the private sector. This figure is likely to increase following a government announcement this week that Saudi nationals can now hold […] November 29, 2023
Real Estate Saudi property prices hold up despite drop in sales The Saudi residential property market is beginning to take a hit from the economic slowdown caused by the kingdom’s oil production cuts. Yet according to figures published by real estate consultancy CBRE, prices remain resilient in the face of a fall-off in third quarter sales. A total 61,473 transactions took place in the third quarter, […] November 28, 2023
Real Estate PIF expects $1trn real estate spending over next decade Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) says it intends to invest SAR4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) in the real estate sector over the next 10 years, mainly developing 12 cities as part of the Saudi Downtown project. The Saudi Downtown Company was established in 2022 as a fully owned subsidiary of the PIF to develop city […] November 27, 2023
Analysis Construction Neom registers 33 new patents for projects Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city Neom has ramped up its applications for patents on names and logos, registering a total of 33 this year, including 27 within the last two months, indicating that at least two new major projects are still to come. Neom Company has made a total of 45 applications to the US patent […] November 24, 2023
Video length: 06:55 Development Foreign investment flows to Saudi Arabia suffer drop Foreign direct investment to Saudi Arabia in the second quarter of 2023 stood at SAR6.2 billion ($1.65 billion), 21 percent down from the previous year and at a three-year low, a report said this week. The figures, published by Saudi business news site Argaam and based on ministry of investment data, showed investment down from […] November 22, 2023
Manufacturing Saudi’s Avalon plans massive export drive The Saudi pharmaceuticals firm Avalon Pharma plans to treble revenue to SAR1.1 billion ($290 million), with a drive to increase exports from 10 percent to 30 percent of output. As Saudi Arabia pushes to produce within its own borders more of the medicines it consumes, Maher Al Ghannam, managing director and CEO of Avalon Pharma, […] November 21, 2023
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia finds natural gas fields in east and south Saudi Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in the south and east of the country, the state news agency said on October 19, in what could be a significant boost for the kingdom’s gas plans. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, said the Al-Hiran and Al-Muhakik fields, both with strong natural gas flows, […] November 20, 2023
Banking & Finance PIF maintains US holdings as giga-project demand eases US equity holdings of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) showed little change in the third quarter, as recently revised foreign direct investment figures eased pressure on it to support the kingdom’s giga-projects. PIF total ownership in US equities slipped to $36.48 billion from $38.93 billion in the second quarter, according to a PIF filing […] November 16, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Neom flying taxis ‘should be ready by 2026,’ says developer Neom could have “flying taxis” in the air by 2026 if testing and regulatory work stays on track, according to the company developing them for the Saudi giga-project. Borja Blond, CEO of the joint venture between Neom and German manufacturer Volocopter, said it ran successful test flights in the summer and was working with the […] November 16, 2023
Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia’s new civil code aims to reassure investors Saudi Arabia hopes a new civil commercial code, due to go into effect by the end of the year, will finally provide foreign investors with clarity on doing business in the country as it tries to shake off a reputation for opaque and arbitrary justice. The code’s 721 articles, first published in June, could be […] November 16, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Supersonic a future option as Riyadh Air builds fleet Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new flagship airline which is set to start flying in 2025, is still in talks with Boeing over further orders for wide and narrow-bodied aircraft. “We’re in continued negotiation with manufacturers about aircraft,” chief operating officer Peter Bellew said on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow on Monday. “We’ve ordered 39 […] November 13, 2023
Tourism Ancient rock art to draw modern tourists to Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is funding research and excavation of the ancient rock art in its caves and mountains as it seeks to develop cultural tourism, an archaeologist has told AGBI. Dr Majeed Khan, who acts as a consultant to the kingdom’s Ministry of Culture, has been researching its petroglyphs – images carved out of rock thousands […] November 12, 2023
Development Saudi Arabia to invest $500m in African development Saudi Arabia is to sign agreements worth more than SAR2 billion ($533 million) with African nations to invest in development projects and help boost “Africa’s voice” in international affairs. “Today we’ll witness the signing of agreements between the Saudi Fund for Development and a number of African countries for projects exceeding 2 billion riyals,” the […] November 9, 2023
Trade Saudi Arabia says 180 HQs moved to Riyadh so far Saudi Arabia has issued licences to 180 companies to set up regional headquarters inside the country, as a January deadline approaches for international businesses to move or be cut out of lucrative contracts. The kingdom’s investment minister, Khalid al-Falih, gave the figure, which he said exceeds the target of 160, at the Bloomberg New Economic […] November 9, 2023
Economy Saudi Arabia quadruples FDI figure to $33bn in 2022 Foreign direct investment to Saudi Arabia amounted to $33 billion in 2022, the Saudi investment ministry said on Wednesday, revising a previous lower estimate of about $8 billion. The corrected Saudi number would rank Saudi Arabia 10th amongst G20 economies last year. It also puts Saudi Arabia far ahead of the UAE’s 2022 total of […] November 8, 2023
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco net profit down 23% after output cuts Saudi Aramco’s third quarter profit dropped by 23 percent year-on-year, after falls in both prices and volumes sold, the company said in a results announcement on November 7. The drop in volumes reflects Opec output cuts that the kingdom has championed. “The decrease principally reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold,” […] November 7, 2023
Economy New body created to manage Riyadh economic zones Saudi Arabia said this week it was establishing a new body to manage economic zones in the capital Riyadh. The Center for Riyadh Special Economic Zones was announced by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to “create a regulatory ecosystem and build a competitive environment for business growth”, the official Saudi Press Agency said. The […] November 7, 2023
Giga-projects Saudi construction contracts balloon since 2015 Saudi Arabia has signed off on $78 billion of construction projects so far this year, up 42 percent from $54.5 billion in 2015, just before the announcement of the Vision 2030 project. The statistics, provided by the Saudi Contractors Authority (Scavo), show the total value of ongoing projects as of the end of October at […] November 7, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia extends oil cuts to end of year Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it will continue its additional voluntary oil output cuts to the end of the year as part of an Opec+ policy of acting to stabilise and balance the markets. The production cuts, which began in April, come as prices cool after hitting a 2023 high in September of nearly $98 […] November 6, 2023
Renewable Energy Saudi Arabia urging businesses to make solar shift Saudi Arabia is doing more to encourage commercial and industrial enterprises to shift to solar energy as part of its green transition but the regulatory environment is still lagging due to a conservative gradualist approach, industry players say. The kingdom is trying to put itself at the forefront of green energy technology and consumption through […] November 1, 2023
