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  • Saudi Arabia Will Remove its Ban on Internet Phone Calls on Thursday
     

    Saudi Arabia will remove its ban on internet phone calls on Thursday, a government spokesman said, in a bid “aimed at stimulating online business as the kingdom looks to boost non-oil revenue,” Reuters reports. The news is sure to be welcomed by the many foreign men and women who travel to Saudi Arabia for business, […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s ‘Third Rail’ No More? Kingdom Eyes Ambitious Energy Subsidies Cuts By November 2017, Report Says
     

    Energy subsidies have long been a significant drag on the Saudi economy on numerous fronts, but as Vision 2030 reforms move ahead, Saudi Arabia is reportedly eyeing further cuts to its domestic energy subsidy program, long a third rail for Saudi domestic politics. According to a Bloomberg report, the government will aim to phase out “subsidies for gasoline and jet […]

     
  • Conflicting Reports on Delay of Saudi Aramco IPO ‘By a Few Months’ as Key Decisions Remain
     

    Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Saudi Aramco is “preparing contingency plans for a possible delay” to the initial public offering of its state-owned oil company “by a few months into 2019,” citing people familiar with the matter. The offering of part of Saudi Aramco is the most visible of the key pieces of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform […]

     
  • New York Times Profiles New Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Khaled bin Salman
     

    The New York Times published a profile and interview with Saudi Arabia’s new Ambassador to the United States Prince Khaled bin Salman and the significant role the young prince will play in the U.S.-Saudi diplomatic and economic relationship. Prince Khaled, who is brother of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and son of King Salman, […]

     
  • Al-Falih: Steps Taken by OPEC Have Brought Greater Stability, Further Cuts Eyed
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said he agreed with other OPEC nations to keep all options open in the organization’s push to re-balance world oil markets, “including the possible extension of output cuts beyond next March,” according to reports. According to three emailed statements from his ministry obtained by Bloomberg, steps taken by […]

     
  • ‘NTP 2.0’ Keeps Key Policies and Privatization Plans in Place, Report Says
     

    Revision to Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan (NTP), dubbed ‘NTP 2.0’ that was released a year ago will keep key policies of fiscal reforms and a massive privatization program in place, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. “It is looking increasingly unlikely that some of the targets can be hit by their 2020 deadline, however, partly […]

     
  • ‘NTP 2.0’: FT Obtains Copy of Draft of Changes to Saudi National Transformation Plan
     

    The London-based Financial Times has obtained an internal copy of a document that outlines Saudi Arabia’s desire to amend the Kingdom’s National Transformation Plan (NTP), dubbed “NTP 2.0.” The draft document “strips out some areas earmarked for change and extend[s] the timeline of other targets” of the NTP. The changes will keep the deadline of 2020 generally, […]

     
  • Dow Chemical to Buy 15% More of Sadara to Boost Stake to 50%
     

    Dow Chemical plans to buy an additional 15 percent stake in its $20 billion joint venture with Saudi Aramco, the companies said on Monday according to reports. The U.S.-Saudi joint venture, named Sadara, aims to transform Saudi Arabia “from a consumer and importer to a global exporter,” according to Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih. U.S.-based Dow Chemical […]

     
  • Qatar Restores Full Diplomatic Relations with Iran
     

    Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran on Thursday and promised to send its ambassador back to Tehran as the Gulf nation digs in against the demands of several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia. According to the AP, in announcing its decision, Qatar made no mention of the diplomatic crisis roiling Gulf Arab nations since June, […]

     
  • Looking East, Saudi Arabia Plans $20b Investment Fund with China, Al-Falih Says
     

    Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that the Kingdom and China plan to establish and operate jointly a $20 billion investment fund, sharing costs and profits on a 50:50 basis, according to a Reuters report based on comments from the minister. H.E. Al-Falih, who is Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, was […]

     

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  • What is behind US strategy of keeping troops in post-Assad Syria?

    The administration of United States President Joe Biden has said it is taking a wait-and-see approach to the fledgling government in Syria, with diplomats in recent weeks holding initial meetings with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) head, and the country’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. But since rebels toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in early December, the US has maintained it will keep its deployment of troops in northeast Syria, where US personnel continue to support the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as part of a decade-long anti-ISIL (ISIS) mission.

  • What’s behind Egypt and China’s ‘golden decade’ of partnership

    The beginning of 2025 marked the end of the “Year of the Egyptian-Chinese Partnership” and closed out the “golden decade”: A ten-year period during which Egypt and China grew their bilateral relationship as part of their efforts to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership. Given the trajectory of the relationship over the past ten years, expect to see a larger Chinese presence in Egypt—a country that has long been one of the United States’ most important allies in the Middle East.  The 2024 partnership year ended with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty visiting Beijing on December 13 for a meeting with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This came shortly after Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s visit to Beijing in September to attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. While there, a delegation from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) signed one billion dollars’ worth of contracts and memoranda of understanding with Chinese companies.

  • Saudi Arabia condemns ‘greater Israel’ map

    Saudi Arabia condemned and rejected on Wednesday an Israeli map that claimed Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese territories as part of so-called “greater Israel.” The Kingdom stressed that such extremist allegations demonstrated Israeli intentions to consolidate its occupation, continue blatant attacks on the sovereignty of states, and violate international laws and norms. The Kingdom’s foreign ministry renewed its call for the international community to play its role in stopping Israeli violations against countries and peoples of the region.

  • Saudi Arabia, Already Pumping Money Into Boxing, May Start League With TKO

    The potential investment in TKO follows a Saudi Arabian effort in June to create a multibillion-dollar boxing league that would aim to unite the world’s best boxers, who for decades have been divided by rival promoters and fighting for titles controlled by an alphabet soup of sanctioning bodies. That effort, while not completely abandoned, had proved complicated and expensive, even for a country like Saudi Arabia, which for the past half decade has disbursed billions to become a player across some of the world’s biggest sports.

  • Saudi Arabia taps Islamic banking to shore up mega-project financing

    Saudi Arabia has borrowed $7bn through Islamic loans as it looks to shore up financing to press ahead with costly mega-projects designed to diversify the kingdom’s economy from relying on energy revenue. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, announced on Monday that it raised $7bn through "Murabaha" loans supported by a syndicate of 20 international and regional financial institutions. Murabaha is a type of Islamic financing mechanism in which the interest on a loan is already built into the final price paid by the borrower to avoid the payment of interest, which is barred by Islamic law. Investment in sectors such as alcohol, pornography and gambling are prohibited.

  • US, Arab mediators make some progress in Gaza peace talks, no deal yet, sources say

    U.S. and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday. As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people on Thursday, Palestinian medics said. The deaths brought to 70 the number of people killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the territory's health ministry.

  • Saudi leadership offers condolences to Chinese president for earthquake victims

    King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed their condolences in separate messages to Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the victims of the earthquake that hit Dingri County in the Xizang Region of southwest China. The Saudi leadership extended heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy to the Chinese president and the families of those who died in the natural disaster, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. On Tuesday, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest China, leaving more than 120 people dead and over 100 injured.

  • Saudi Aramco and Sonatrach cut LPG prices for January

    Oil producer Saudi Aramco and Algeria's Sonatrach lowered January's official selling prices (OSPs) for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by between 1.6% and 6% from December because of weaker demand for the fuel, traders said on Thursday. Aramco's January OSP for propane decreased by $10 to $625 a metric ton while butane dropped by $15 to $615 a ton, the traders said. Propane and butane are types of LPG with different boiling points.

  • Saudi foreign reserve assets fall 3% to SAR 1.63T in December

    Saudi Arabia's foreign reserve assets declined by SAR 49.1 billion, or 3%, month-on-month (MoM) to SAR 1.63 trillion in December 2024, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Reserve assets include investments in foreign securities, foreign cash and deposits, reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), special drawing rights (SDRs), and monetary gold.

  • Saudi Oil Exports to China Set for February Decline

    According to a Reuters report citing unnamed trade sources, Saudi oil shipments to China next month would stand at 43.5 million barrels, which would be down from 46 million barrels this month. Aramco is seen reducing deliveries to CNOOC and PetroChina while boosting deliveries to Sinopec and Sinochem. Earlier this week, Aramco raised the price of its flagship crude grade, Arab Light, by $0.60 per barrel to a premium of $1.50 a barrel over the Oman/Dubai average, the benchmark off which Middle Eastern crude oil going to Asia is priced, a price list seen by Bloomberg showed on Monday.