Recent stories from sustg

  • Saudi Arabia Enters Global Race for 5G Telecom with New STC Deals
     

    Saudi Arabia is in the global race to launch one of the first 5G telecom networks in the world and the largest 5G in the Middle East and North Africa, according to reports. The stakes are high for all countries in the 5G race; the new cellular system will potentially transform the world as we […]

     
  • Visa Launches Apple Pay in Saudi Arabia as Executives Continue Probe of Absher App
     

    Visa on Tuesday launched Apple Pay in Saudi Arabia, allowing its Kingdom-based cardholders to make payments using their Apple devices, according to reports. Early reports via Apple Insider show “compatibility with previously confirmed financial partners including the country’s largest institution, the National Commercial Bank….Separately, individual banks like Al Rajhi confirmed access to the service in release notes accompanying […]

     
  • Fahad Nazer Named New Saudi Embassy Spokesperson in Washington
     

    The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington has appointed Fahad Nazer as official spokesperson, according to a press release and announcement made public yesterday. Nazer, who has been a contributor to SUSTG.com as well as Arab News and other publications in the region and United States, replaces Ms. Fatimah Baeshen, who served in the role since September 2017 […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Explores Interconnected Gas Grid for Region
     

    Saudi Arabia may pursue an interconnected natural gas grid in the region that would link together the Kingdom with Oman, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, according to reports. “I am talking to my colleagues in Oman, Kuwait, UAE, about extending a gas grid in the region and we hope to exchange gas and we also have […]

     
  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Launches Project for First Nuclear Plant in Saudi Arabia
     

    Saudi’s crown prince on Monday launched a project to build the first nuclear research reactor in the kingdom, Reuters reports, citing the Saudi Press Agency. The project is one of seven “cutting edge ventures” in the fields of renewable energy, atomic energy, water desalination, genetic medicine and aircraft design that were inaugurated by the crown […]

     
  • Global Advisory Board for NEOM Includes Diverse Experts
     

    The Saudi government has appointed a global advisory board for Neom, the kingdom’s $500 billion city of the future planned for Saudi Arabia’s northwest coast near Egypt on the Red Sea. The board is composed of experts in a variety of sectors – including urban planning, architecture, design, technology, sustainability, energy and manufacturing – to provide […]

     
  • PIF Picks All-Star Investors for FII Advisory Board
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has formed an advisory board of 11 top technology, finance and business executives that will provide strategic guidance on developing the kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative as a platform that attracts investment. The advisors include Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Japan’s SoftBank Group, Joe Kaeser, the president and chief executive of German industrial […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Seeks $11 Billion Loan, FT Reports
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to choose international banks to lend the wealth fund $11 billion, according to a report in the London-based Financial Times. The FT reports that there is strong interest from major international lenders in participating in the loan to the PIF, including “[s]ome of the most senior names in international banking, including JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Morgan […]

     
  • Report: Saudi-backed SoftBank Earnings Surge on Vision Fund Valuation
     

    SoftBank has reported a 49.2 percent surge in its latest quarterly earnings due in part to a $2.2 billion gain at its tech-focused Saudi-backed Vision Fund, Zawya reports. According to Zawya, the fund’s investment gain was a result of the sale of the Indian e-commerce company Flipkart to US chain Walmart. An increase in the value of the fund’s […]

     
  • ACWA Power to Build 100MW Solar Project in South Africa Following Major Investment Announcements from Saudi, UAE
     

    ACWA Power says it will begin construction this year on a 100MW solar energy plant in South Africa as Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced that the two countries will invest a combined $20 billion into the country, according to reports. The 100MW Redstone concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant, whose construction had initially been scheduled […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Travel
    Technology Drives Travel Spontaneity in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

    Travellers in the UAE and Egypt are using smartphones more often to engage with travel-related content pre-trip in 2014, catching up with travellers in Saudi Arabia who already displayed a significant affinity to smartphones in 2013. Tablet usage is up slightly in the UAE and significantly in Egypt, with particularly high usage of tablet apps and reading more involved information sources such as online travel guides.

  • Camel Fashion
    The latest compression-suit technology comes to camel racing and beauty contests

    A skin-tight fit for a camel, however, has its own difficulties – after six months of research, the design is still a work in progress. While race horses have a sleek and streamlined uniformity, race camels are too lumpy for a one-size-fits-all suit. It’s not just the variability in hump size, but hump placements that ­matters.