MUST-READS

• Saudi Universities Top Global Patent Ranking

  Saudi universities have dominated the National Academy of Inventors' (NAI) 2024 Top 100 Worldwide Universities list, which ranks the top 100 universities granted utility patents during the calendar year. According to a Council of Universities Affairs press release, King Faisal University led the global list with 631 patents. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals secured 5th place with 265 patents, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University ranked 15th with 141 patents, and King Saud University placed 64th with 56 patents. Council of Universities Affairs Secretary-General Dr. Bassam Al-Bassam attributed this success to the significant transformation of Saudi universities, particularly in scientific research and innovation. He emphasized their emergence as hubs for research aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, supported by the Kingdom's leadership and the minister of education. Al-Bassam congratulated the universities and expressed optimism for continued achievements.

• Saudi quick commerce startup Ninja, by HungerStation’s founder, in talks to raise at $1B+ valuation: report

  Ninja, a Saudi quick commerce startup founded and led by Ebrahim Al-Jassim, the founder of HungerStation is in talks to raise fresh funds at a valuation of over $1 billion, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The round, according to the report, could be finalized and closed as early as this month, and is being led by Riyad Capital, the investment arm of Riyad Bank, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest banks. While it launched 1957 Ventures last year to focus on fintech, this investment will likely come from its main entity due to the round’s large size. The firm is is also behind Riyad Taqnia Fund (RTF), a VC fund it founded with Taqnia, a Saudi technology investment and development company, in 2016.

• More Saudi women take the lead with over 78,000 in senior roles, 551,000 business owners

  In honor of International Women’s Day, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics released data highlighting the increasing role of Saudi women in the workforce, leadership positions, and entrepreneurship. According to the report, Saudi Arabia is home to 9.8 million women, with 36.2% participating in the labor force as of the third quarter of 2024. The employment-to-population ratio for Saudi women reached 31.3%, reflecting steady progress in workforce inclusion. The report also shows that more Saudi women are stepping into leadership and business roles. In 2024, 78,356 Saudi women held senior management positions, while 551,318 women registered businesses in 2023. Freelancing is also on the rise, with 449,725 Saudi women obtaining freelance work permits in 2023. Meanwhile, the tourism industry saw a boost in female employment, with 111,259 Saudi women working in tourism-related jobs in 2024.

• Saudi Arabia opens 24-hour childcare centers at Grand Mosque for Ramadan worshippers
  As millions of worshippers flock to the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the holy month of Ramadan, the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque has launched dedicated centers to host young children, providing round-the-clock care and educational programs. Designed for children aged 1.5 to 9 years, the centres offer a secure environment where children can engage in activities that foster learning and personal growth while their families perform religious rites. In addition to supervised learning, the centers provide meals, spaces for watching educational videos, and designated areas for rest and sleep.

• Saudi construction surge draws interest from around the world

  Growing numbers of small construction companies, contractors and materials suppliers from around the world are entering the Saudi market for the first time or expanding their existing foothold, looking to capitalise on opportunities in the Gulf’s largest construction market. That market could even grow to be the world’s largest in 2028, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Saudi companies and suppliers in other parts of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council are unable to fully meet Saudi demand, offering an opportunity to others beyond the region. “Saudi companies cannot provide for all the buildings that are coming so I think that, for the next few years, they will be very open to foreign companies.” Even excluding flagship projects such as Neom, Saudi Arabia is home to at least six giga-projects, so called because they are monumental in terms of either physical structure or financial investment.

• Middle East is top recipient of Chinese Belt and Road deals

  The Middle East was the top recipient of construction and investment deals under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2024, with the total value reaching $39 billion. That may not go down well in Washington. Saudi Arabia and construction topped the list, according to a report by Griffith Asia Institute, based in Queensland, Australia. The value of construction projects involving Chinese companies doubled from 2023. Saudi Arabia accounted for the biggest chunk of those deals, or $19 billion, more than triple the number for 2023 of $5.9 billion. Riyadh’s subway contract accounted for nearly a third of that, or $5.6 billion.  The BRI, often referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organisations. After Saudi Arabia in the BRI “engagement” report, Iraq came in second at $9 billion – a ninefold increase over 2023 – and the UAE at $3.1 billion.

• Aramco slashes blue ammonia output to reduce costs

  Saudi Aramco has scaled down its low carbon ammonia production target by 80 percent because of high costs and low demand. The company has adjusted its production objective from 11 million tonnes per annum (mpta) by 2030 to 2.5 mpta, it has said. The new target is still subject to the availability of commercially viable long-term offtake projects, Amin Nasser, Aramco CEO, told analysts during an earnings call this week. “We refined the target. The market is not evolving quickly enough considering the high cost,” Nasser said. Nasser said Aramco, which is the world’s largest oil company by value, is in discussions with potential ammonia buyers but will only go ahead with production if it secures agreements with “appropriate” returns.

• US immigration agents arrest Palestinian student protester at Columbia University in Trump crackdown
  U.S. immigration agents arrested a Palestinian graduate student who has played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian protests at New York's Columbia University as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's promised crackdown on some anti-Israel activists. Mahmoud Khalil, a student at the university's School of International and Public Affairs, was arrested by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents at his university residence on Saturday evening, the Student Workers of Columbia labor union said in a statement.

• Syria’s Sharaa scrambles to contain deadliest violence in years
  Syria's leader vowed on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of violent clashes pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country's new Islamist rulers and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped their authority. The clashes, which a war monitoring group said had already killed over 1,000 people, mostly civilians, continued for a fourth day in Assad's coastal heartland. In a speech broadcast on national television and posted on social media, Ahmed Sharaa, whose rebel movement toppled Assad in December, accused Assad loyalists and foreign powers that he did not name of trying to foment unrest.

• What to know ahead of the talks between the US and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

  Saudi Arabia is to host talks on Tuesday between the United States and Ukraine in a new diplomatic push after an argument erupted during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Feb. 28 visit to the White House. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday identified the location for the talks as Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea. It’s not clear why the kingdom picked Jeddah as opposed to Riyadh, the Saudi capital where the initial Russia-U.S. talks took place on Feb. 18. However, Jeddah has hosted other diplomatic engagements in the past and is home to royal palaces. Zelenskyy plans to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of the talks. He earlier delayed a trip to the kingdom after traveling to the neighboring United Arab Emirates, which also has been considered as a possible venue for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

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