SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • Saudi National Orchestra dazzles London with a breathtaking concert at Westminster Hall

    In a night filled with grandeur and cultural resonance, the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir performed to a full house at Westminster Hall in London, marking a momentous occasion for Saudi music on the international stage. Organized by the Saudi Music Commission, the concert, titled Marvels of Saudi Orchestra, was the grand finale of the orchestra’s London tour before heading to its next destination, Tokyo. This event is part of Saudi Arabia's broader efforts to elevate the global presence of its cultural and artistic talents.

  • Chinese esports firm launches multi-title tournament in Asia with Saudi Arabia backing

    The Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) will kick off next year, with tens of thousands of professional players set to compete across the continent in a six-month season each year, VSPO announced on Tuesday. The Tencent Holdings-backed company is the biggest esports operator in Asia.

  • Benchmarking VC Investment Against Macro Dynamics: Middle East, SEA, and Africa Focus

    Singapore and the UAE lead the way with the highest VC/GDP ratios in their regions, averaging 1.49% and 0.22%, respectively, between 2019 and 2023. These hubs offer optimal environments for scaling into larger markets due to government-backed initiatives, favorable regulations, and sovereign wealth fund support. On the other hand, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are emerging as key players. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has seen consistent year-on-year growth in VC/GDP contribution since 2019, setting it apart from other regions.

  • Saudi Arabia’s fiscal breakeven oil price is rising fast. What will the kingdom do about it?

    In May of 2023 the International Monetary Fund forecast the kingdom’s breakeven oil price at $80.90 per barrel, which moved it back into a fiscal deficit following its first surplus in nearly a decade. To be sure, the fiscal breakeven isn’t the price at which Saudi Arabia makes a profit on crude but the average oil price it needs to balance the books. The IMF’s latest forecast, in April, put that breakeven figure at $96.20 for 2024; a roughly 19% increase on the year before, and about 32% higher than the current price of a barrel of Brent crude, which is trading at around $73 as of Wednesday afternoon.

  • Saudi FIFA World Cup 2034 bid chief spotlights Kingdom’s hosting credentials

    The head of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s FIFA World Cup 2034 bid unit, Hammad Albalawi, insists the Kingdom is primed to deliver the biggest single-host nation event in the tournament’s history a decade from now. The Saudi bid was officially unveiled last month, with 15 stadiums across five host cities - Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Al Khobar and NEOM - set to welcome fans when the quadrennial festival of football is, as expected, awarded to the Kingdom.

  • Saudi Arabia at 94: How the kingdom rewrote the rules of innovation

    This policy has helped turn the kingdom into a major tourist hub in the region, harnessed new markets overseas especially in Africa for Saudi exports, attracted efficiency-seeking investors from all over the world, adopted low-carbon technologies and strategies in its oil industry, as well as it is developing a large manufacturing base under the slogan of ‘Made in Saudi.’

  • Saudi Arabia’s Groundbreaking Telfaz11 Studio Announces Satirical Film ‘Saify’ Involving Banned Religious Sermons

    Saudi studio Telefaz11, the groundbreaking label behind hit dark comedy “Mandoob” — in which a struggling man becomes a bootleg booze runner in Ryadh — is set to push the kingdom’s cultural envelope a bit further with a humorous take on the world of Saudi Arabia‘s ultraconservative  clerics.  Telfaz11 has announced that its next title will be the satirical drama “Saify,” directed by studio chief Wael Abu Mansour and set against the backdrop of the late 1990s, a time when, incidentally, cinema was banned.

  • Saudi Arabia approves first ETFs tracking Hong Kong-listed equities

    Saudi Arabia has granted approval for its first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking equities listed in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said, marking the debut of such a product in the Middle East. The move follows efforts by Beijing and Hong Kong to deepen ties with Arab countries in response to escalating tensions with the West.

  • Saudi Arabia approves first exchange-traded funds tracking Hong Kong-listed equities

    Saudi Arabia has granted approval for its first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking equities listed in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said, marking the debut of such a product in the Middle East. The move follows efforts by Beijing and Hong Kong to deepen ties with Arab countries in response to escalating tensions with the West.

  • Travelex looks at expansion into Saudi Arabia amid kingdom’s $800bn tourism push

    Travelex, the UK-based foreign exchange company, is exploring opportunities for its entry into Saudi Arabia as the kingdom aims to invest $800 billion to develop its tourism sector, attract international visitors and diversify its economy away from oil revenue. The global travel money services business is currently in discussions to enter the lucrative market and is considering airports across the country as part of wider plans to expand into high-growth markets in the Middle East and Asia, Richard Wazacz, chief executive of Travelex, told The National.