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  • Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom of Oil. However, is It Now the Kingdom of Metals?

    Media reports indicate that mining now plays a central role in Riyadh’s strategy to reduce oil dependency, with a focus on utilizing its significant reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite. The reports claim that Saudi Arabia holds considerable amounts of minerals necessary for the energy transition, such as aluminum, copper and rare earth elements. According to Arab News, the World Risk Report 2023 published by UK-based consultancy MineHutte last year pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s mining sector had been one of the world’s fastest-growing regulatory and investment-friendly environments for five years. The report added that after the passing of a new Mining Investment Law in 2021, there was a 138% increase in the number of exploitation licenses issued. Saudi Arabia recently revised its estimate of untapped mineral resources, raising the value from the US $1.3 trillion forecasted eight years ago to $2.5 trillion. According to a report from Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s mining minister, Bandar Al-Khorayef, stated that the Kingdom’s reserve potential had grown by nearly 90%.

  • Saudi Manuscripts Exhibition: A Cultural Icon Introducing the World to a Heritage Spanning Over a Millennium

    Organized by the Library Authority under the theme "Stories Told for a Lasting Legacy," the exhibition serves as a global platform for dialogue and innovation. It engages visitors and researchers through 22 workshops and 30 discussion sessions that showcase the latest methods in manuscript preservation and restoration. This opens new avenues for collaboration among experts from around the world.

  • Iran, Hezbollah aim to bolster Assad as rebels bear down on Homs

     Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as rebel forces pushed their lightning offensive south towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge for years to President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Seizing Homs would cut off Syria's capital Damascus from the coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.

  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Bpifrance sign $10bn finance deal

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Bpifrance Assurance Export, represented by the French Treasury office in Riyadh, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the bilateral partnership and cooperation. The deal will see Bpifrance Assurance Export provide financing support of up to $10bn to PIF and PIF portfolio companies. Bpifrance Assurance Export General Director Denis Le Fers said: “This agreement will mutually benefit both countries by strengthening Franco-Saudi commercial relationships, increasing trade flows, and developing opportunities for French companies to forge new partnerships, as well as contributing to the development of Saudi Vision 2030.”

  • How Saudi Arabia is leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle land degradation

    The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines land degradation as the reduction or loss of land’s biological or economic productivity caused by human-induced activities, including deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable agricultural practices. Saudi Arabia’s Climate Envoy and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir believes land degradation is driving the displacement of millions and destabilizing entire regions across the globe. “When people cannot grow food, they migrate,” he told delegates at the COP16 summit in Riyadh on Tuesday.

  • Red Sea International Film Festival kicks off in Saudi Arabia

    Hollywood stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Emily Blunt and Cynthia Erivo joined Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh on the red carpet while there was also a strong showing from Bollywood with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor posing for photographs at the opening ceremony. Vin Diesel, Will Smith and Riyadh-based model Georgina Rodriguez also made surprise appearances. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee — known for films such as “Malcom X” and “BlacKkKlansman” — is presiding over the features competition jury this year, while Oscar-winning actress and producer Viola Davis and Egyptian star Mona Zaki are this year’s honorees at the festival, which will run until Dec. 14 under the theme “The New Home of Film.”

  • Pharmaceutical industry in Saudi Arabia – statistics & facts

    Multinational companies like Sanofi, Novartis, and GSK hold a dominant share of Saudi Arabia’s pharmaceutical market. Sanofi leads with the largest market share, while local firms are also gaining ground. Notably, Jamjoom Pharma is the fastest-growing local player, driven by top brands like Azi-Once, which have seen impressive growth. Jamjoom Pharma’s revenue exceeded one billion Saudi riyals in 2023.

  • Gulf could turn a crisis into opportunity with catastrophe bonds

    Flooding in April 2024 in the UAE, for example, killed five people and cost $1.8-$2.3 billion in property damage, according to Gallagher Re reinsurance brokerage. In July 2022 torrential rains in the northern Emirates killed seven people and  caused millions of dirhams worth of damage. In 2021 Cyclone Shaheen hit Oman, killing 14 and causing damage costing about $100 million, according to the Omani authorities. Up to now the financial costs of these disasters have largely been borne by governments.

  • OPEC+ delays oil hike until April, extends cuts into 2026 – sources

    OPEC+ has agreed to delay plans to raise oil output until April from January 2025 and the group will also take one extra year to fully unwind the cuts by the end of 2026, OPEC sources said. OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, had been planning to start unwinding cuts from October 2024 but a slowdown in global demand and rising output outside the group forced it to postpone the plans on several occasions. OPEC+ groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia. It started online talks on Thursday at 1100 GMT and talks were still ongoing by 1230 GMT.

  • Dubai to reintroduce 30% alcohol tax

    Dubai will reintroduce the 30 percent sales tax on alcohol in January, according to an email sent by a local alcohol distributor to venues in the city. The correspondence sent by MMI, which also operates off licences in the city, said: “Please note, Dubai Government have informed us the 30 percent municipality tax on alcoholic beverage purchases will be reinstated effective January 2025.” African and Eastern, which sells wholesale to the hospitality sector and retail via outlets in the city, is understood to have sent a similar message to customers.