Business of Sport PIF could buy into English cricket’s The Hundred Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly considering buying a stake in the UK’s The Hundred cricket tournament. The potential move comes after confirmation that the sovereign wealth fund will next turn its attention to the sport. PIF would acquire a new team to be established in Durham in England’s north-east, adding to the eight […] August 2, 2024
Construction Finance ministry to help Binladin Group pay off debts Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry has said it will lend Binladin Group money to pay back debts to banks. It is also considering raising its stake in the construction giant. The finance ministry’s Al Istedamah Holding currently holds around 36 percent of Binladin Group, a private company owned by the Bin Ladin family since it was […] August 2, 2024
Finance PIF in $50bn pact with Chinese financers The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed six memorandums of understanding worth up to $50 billion with Chinese financial institutions as it seeks to raise more cash for its giga-projects. The agreements were signed with the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Export & Credit Insurance […] August 2, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid outlines 11 new stadiums Saudi Arabia plans to build 11 new stadiums as part of its 2034 World Cup bid, including one inside its horizontal city The Line, but without any breakdown of the costs. The Saudi bid – which is expected to win formal Fifa approval this year – centres on five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha and […] August 1, 2024
Economy Saudi Arabia’s GDP falls as revenue tightens Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted in the second quarter of 2024 as non-oil activity slowed amid retail pricecutting. However, the end of oil output cuts next year could give the country’s coffers a much-needed boost. The General Authority for Statistics said in its latest report this week that real GDP fell 0.4 percent compared to the […] July 31, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects Giga-project slowdown to hit Riyadh population growth Riyadh’s population is unlikely to meet a growth target by 2030, when it is due to host the World Expo, as giga-projects are scaled back. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set an ambitious goal for the population to grow to between 15 and 20 million in 2021. However it is now absent from the website […] July 29, 2024
Telecoms STC approves PIF purchase of telecom company Shareholders of Saudi telecom giant STC have approved plans to create a new telecommunications infrastructure company in which the Public Investment Fund will have a 51 percent stake valued at SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion). Under the deal, the STC-owned Telecommunication Towers Co. Limited (Tawal) will become a PIF subsidiary through a merger with Golden Lattice […] July 26, 2024
Real Estate Interest in Saudi commercial space may be peaking Weakening demand in Saudi Arabia’s commercial sector suggests the market could be reaching a plateau, a new survey indicates. The Global Commercial Property Monitor report by the UK’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found that demand for space rose by 20 percent in the second quarter of 2024, compared with a 53 percent rise […] July 25, 2024
Banking & Finance PIF appoints investment chief as it shifts focus to local projects Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has appointed a head of investments as it seeks to manage funding challenges for the giga-projects at the centre of the country’s economic transformation programme. Fahad AlSaif will be responsible for “guiding the development of PIF’s overarching investment strategy” and helping the fund’s leadership in its decisions, a statement said. […] July 24, 2024
Giga-projects Full steam ahead on ‘largest urban park in the world’ Saudi Arabia is forging ahead with construction of what it calls the “largest urban park in the world”, publishing videos of its first buildings under construction after a tunnel opened earlier this year. King Salman Park in Riyadh is owned by the Public Investment Fund and was recently valued by real estate consultancy Knight Frank […] July 19, 2024
Aviation Saudia to buy 50 air taxis from Germany’s Lilium Saudi national carrier Saudia has agreed to buy at least 50 pilotless electric flying vehicles from Germany’s Lilium in the region’s biggest “air taxi” deal so far. The deal for what the industry calls electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is Saudia’s second major order this year. In May Saudia ordered 105 Airbus aircraft, […] July 18, 2024
Analysis Aviation Damascus resumes Saudi flights but sanctions stifle trade Syria has resumed weekly flights from Damascus to Saudi Arabia as commercial relations warm up further after diplomatic ties were restored last year. But Syrian integration into regional economies is still moving slowly, because of US sanctions. Syrianair began the once-weekly flights to Riyadh on July 10, adding its list of Gulf destinations including Dubai, […] July 17, 2024
Economy Slowing Chinese economy no threat to Saudi oil exports – yet Slower economic growth in China in the second quarter of this year has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s ability to maintain funding lines from its main trading partner. The Chinese economy grew at a year-on-year rate of 4.7 percent, down from 5.3 percent in the previous quarter. In the retail sector, the pace of growth […] July 17, 2024
Economy Non-oil discounting brings Saudi inflation down Saudi Arabia’s year-on-year consumer inflation rate fell to a low of 1.5 percent as non-oil businesses competed over prices but the wholesale price index remained at a high of 3.2 percent, reflecting high prices globally. The consumer price index was down from 2.7 percent in June 2023. The CPI was also down from the 1.6 […] July 16, 2024
Aviation Saudi air passengers up 17% in first half of 2024 Saudi Arabia had a 17 percent increase in the total number of air passengers in the first half of the year, rising to 62 million. This was based on a 12 percent rise in total flights to 446,000, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said. Air freight was also up, showing an increase of […] July 15, 2024
Retail Saudi shoppers heavily favour local produce Saudi shoppers heavily favour local produce over imported foodstuffs and have a high interest in the use of artificial intelligence in food shopping, a new survey has found. It also described the Saudi supermarket sector as a huge opportunity for discount retailers. The Customer Perception Map by global consultancy Oliver Wyman, which included Saudi Arabia […] July 15, 2024
Tourism Saudia reports big rise in international passengers Saudi Arabia’s national carrier Saudia reported a 24 percent increase in international passengers to 9.1 million in the first half of 2024. There was also a 13 percent rise in the number of flights. The Hajj pilgrimage in June played a large part in the growth. The number of passengers flying on domestic routes rose […] July 12, 2024
Giga-projects AlUla plans Nabataean resort carved into Saudi mountains Saudi Arabia is spending around $15 billion on the ancient site of AlUla, including a resort for the super-rich chiselled into the face of its rock formations and mountains. AlUla is the site of the pre-Islamic Nabataean kingdom that was based in Jordan’s Petra. The resort, called Sharaan, will include 38 suites “carved into sandstone […] July 11, 2024
Real Estate Sports and entertainment to push up Riyadh retail rents The sports and entertainment sectors will be key drivers in Riyadh retail rents rising by 28 percent by 2026, according to new research, with rates already up 3 percent in the past year. “The total existing retail supply in Riyadh stands at 3.6 million square metres, with around 27,050 square metres of retail space entering […] July 11, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Google to fund AI research at Saudi university Kaust Google is providing research grants into artificial intelligence at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust). The $100,000 grants will boost recognised Kaust researchers doing work in multilingual and multimodal machine learning, and the development of large language models. The academic staff will be associated with its new Centre of Excellence on Generative […] July 9, 2024
Transport Saudi-backed Lucid EV makes more cars but lags target Saudi-backed US electric vehicle maker Lucid has increased Q2 production by 22 percent but still looks likely to miss its annual targets. Some 2,110 vehicles were produced, compared to 1,728 in the previous quarter. However, the company’s annual target is 9,000 units. The company also received a setback when the US National Highway Traffic Safety […] July 9, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi companies form AI cloud services partnership The Saudi IT company Al Moammar Information Systems, an investor in the US artificial intelligence (AI) research company OpenAI, has formed a partnership with the investment banker Saudi Fransi Capital to look into launching cloud services for the kingdom’s AI market. Al Moammar will “recommend an optimal business model considering demand, regulations, and technology, assess […] July 8, 2024
