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  • Saudi Arabia Applauds Trump Decision on Iran Nuclear Deal
     

    Saudi Arabia has embraced President Trump’s decision yesterday to pull the United States out of the JCPoA, the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions by offering sanctions relief in exchange for Iran’s compliance with non-proliferation standards, according to statements made by top Saudi officials and the Saudi Press Agency. As the chief rival of Iran in […]

     
  • For Oil Markets, ‘Volatility is Back’
     

    Rising optimism around global economic growth coupled with continued OPEC compliance to output targets and rising geopolitical tensions all contributed to pushing Brent oil prices to near 2014 highs, according to a recent report on the oil market by Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment. “Although oil prices were pressured somewhat at the start of April  due to trade tensions […]

     
  • Major Fossil Discovery in Saudi Arabia is 90,000 Years Old
     

    A recently discovered fossil finger bone dating back about 90,000 years that was unearthed in Saudi Arabia’s Nefud Desert is “pointing to what scientists are calling a new understanding of how our species came out of Africa en route to colonizing the world,” Reuters reports. The discovery, the middle bone of an adult’s middle finger, […]

     
  • Trump, King Salman Speak by Phone; Trump Urges End to Qatar Crisis
     

    President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman spoke by phone yesterday and discussed a number of regional issues, according to a readout of the call and wire reports. On the call, Trump “emphasized the importance of resolving the Gulf dispute and restoring a united Gulf Cooperation Council to counter Iranian malign influence and defeat terrorists and extremists.” The leaders […]

     
  • President Trump Calls King Salman, Urges End to Qatar Dispute
     

    President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman spoke by phone yesterday and discussed a number of regional issues, according to a readout of the call and wire reports. On the call, Trump “emphasized the importance of resolving the Gulf dispute and restoring a united Gulf Cooperation Council to counter Iranian malign influence and defeat terrorists and […]

     
  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Attends High-Powered Dinner in Los Angeles with Studio Brass, Stars
     

    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and members of his entourage were welcomed to Hollywood last night with a high-powered dinner hosted by the Entertainment industry’s elite, according to a report in the Hollywood Reporter. An intimate dinner was held at Rupert Murdoch’s estate with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Morgan Freeman, James Cameron, Michael Douglas, Disney CEO […]

     
  • Saudi Leadership Delighted at FTSE Inclusion for Tadawul; Billions Expected in Fresh Inflows
     

    The Saudi Arabian stock market will join FTSE Russell’s emerging market index starting in March next year in a move that will likely bring billions of dollars of fresh investment into the Kingdom, Reuters reports. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan met with the Mark Makepeace, chief executive of […]

     
  • Saudi Aramco IPO Delayed Until 2019, Financial Times Reports for Second Time
     

    Saudi Aramco’s long-awaited IPO “could be delayed until 2019 at the earliest,” the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing British officials briefed on the matter. It is the second time the London-based newspaper was the first to report that the IPO would be delayed. The Financial Times reported the same news in September, but Saudi officials […]

     
  • Saudi Officials, Current and Former, Downplay Oil Demand Concerns
     

    Saudi officials downplayed the risk of waning demand for oil as electric vehicles become more mainstream, according to comments made by Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser and by former Minister of Petroleum Ali Al Naimi. According to comments at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference on Tuesday reported by Bloomberg, Nasser said he is “not […]

     
  • Soft Opening for New $7.2 Billion Jeddah Airport Set for May
     

    Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport is set to unveil its long-awaited new look at a soft opening in May, the Jeddah-based Saudi Gazette reports, citing confirmation by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and the emir of Mecca. Once recognized by travelers as one of the worst airports in the world, Saudi Arabia’s second largest city is […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Humanoid Robot Won’t Talk About Sex or Politics, Creator Says

    Saudi Arabia's first humanoid robot won't talk about sex or politics because she is Saudi, her creator says. Elie Metri, the CEO of Riyadh-based QSS AI & Robots, told Business Insider that "Sara knows that she's a girl, she's 25 years old, she's 1.62 centimeters, she's wearing Saudi clothing."

  • Tencent to expand cloud business in Saudi Arabia and UAE

    Tencent is planning to expand its cloud business in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and will reportedly make "huge new investments" in data storage. The company's plans were revealed in a report by Bloomberg.

  • Australia, Saudi get a chance to advance but Japan has to wait in World Cup Asian qualifying

    Australia and Saudi Arabia are among the Asian Football Confederation heavyweights aiming to secure a spot in the next stage of World Cup qualifying with wins Tuesday, while Japan’s bid to advance will have to wait after North Korea cancelled a home game in Pyongyang. Just hours after a 1-0 loss to Japan in Tokyo last week, the North Koreans informed tournament organizers that they could not host the return match.

  • Blinken cites progress with Saudis on normalising ties with Israel

    The United States and Saudi Arabia have made "good progress" in talks on normalising ties between the kingdom and Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday without providing a timeline for concluding a deal. "I believe we can reach an agreement, which would present a historic opportunity for two nations, but also for the region as a whole," Blinken said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

  • What’s in store for regional startups in 2024?

    For the first year since MAGNiTT started publishing yearly reports, Saudi Arabia emerged as the region’s most funded ecosystem. Two reasons explain this novelty, and why the Kingdom will likely retain its crown in 2024. First, 2023 saw Saudi host numerous “mega-rounds” (funding rounds over $100M). Due to their disproportionate size, these types of rounds can make or break an ecosystem’s funding performance. In 2023, MENA’s five largest rounds constituted 43% of the region’s total funding. Four of those rounds were led by Saudi-based companies. The remaining one was in Egypt.

  • Forward motion: The Saudi film industry is poised for an era of dynamic growth

    In 2023, 443 films were released in local cinemas, amassing 17.4 million admissions – an impressive increase of more than 20% from 2022. Total ticket sales exceeded $240 million, propelling Saudi Arabia to the 15th position globally in box office rankings for the year, according to ComScore. The top three highest-grossing films in Saudi Arabia during 2023 were Oppenheimer, Sattar, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

  • Saudi air traffic hits new heights: Flights up 16% to 815,000, passengers surge 26% to 112 million in 2023

    The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has reported remarkable progress in Saudi Arabia's air traffic performance for 2023. There has been significant growth across flights, passenger numbers, and global connectivity, which is attributed to the implementation of the Saudi Aviation Strategy. In 2023, the Kingdom experienced a 16% increase in the total number of flights, rising from 701,290 to 814,995. The number of passengers surged by 26% from 88 million to 112 million, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia expanded its air connectivity, now linking 148 destinations with at least 52 flights to and from the Kingdom daily.

  • The Middle East’s Oil Giants Have Entered the Critical Minerals Race

    “This is not about replacing the bedrock of their economic engine away from oil to minerals,” said Ahmed Mehdi, managing director at Renaissance Energy and a visiting fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. “This is more about making sure that they have a seat at the table in the energy transition, especially given how geopolitically charged this industry is.”

  • Saudi Arabia is not abandoning upstream investment

    The 13 million bpd capacity expansion plan would have cost Aramco $40 billion. A big focus area that was stressed by Aramco’s management this year is increasing gas production by 60 percent by the year 2030. The gas will mainly come from the Jaffoura basin and will help Aramco displace around 1 million bpd of liquids that are currently being burnt for power generation in the Kingdom.

  • Opinion: Iran-Saudi ties prove an unlikely Middle East safety valve

    By October 11, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi had initiated a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the first ever between them and the first conversation at this level between the two countries since before the 2016 breakdown in relations. A week later, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian travelled to Jeddah for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Iran’s message was understated but clear: we don’t want war. Absent this channel, the risk of misreading intentions of the different players in the region would have been considerable.