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  • King Salman Consolidates Development Funds and Promotes New Transportation Minister
     

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has created a new organizational body to centralize and consolidate control and management of its economic development funds, called the National Development Fund (NDF), under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The NDF will “link the Saudi Fund for Development, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, the Agricultural Development Fund, the Social Development Bank, the Human […]

     
  • Saudi-Russia Ties Strengthen as King Salman Visits around Russia Energy Week
     

    Saudi-Russia ties continue to warm ahead of King Salman’s visit as the Kingdom looks to expand bi-lateral investment opportunities, according to reports. Saudi Arabia and Russia are the two biggest energy players, producing almost a quarter of the world’s oil between them. As the de facto leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia has forged a working […]

     
  • Saudi Economy Contracts as Production Cuts, Reforms Begin
     

    Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted by 1.03 percent in the second quarter of this year following a 0.5-percent contraction in the first quarter, according to reports, as participation in the OPEC oil production cut and disappointing growth in non-oil industries weighed on the economy. While the contraction in the economy is to be expected as OPEC and Russia seek […]

     
  • Saudi’s PIF Continues Investment Drive in Kingdom’s Tourism and Hospitality Development
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is continuing to expand its investment portfolio in Saudi Arabia’s travel, tourism, and leisure infrastructure across different regions of the country as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform plans. The latest such development came in the form of an announcement by the PIF today that it […]

     
  • Goldman Sachs Head Lloyd Blankfein Visits Saudi Arabia, Calls Changes in Kingdom ‘Striking’
     

    Goldman Sachs Group’s CEO visited Saudi Arabia this week and praised the Kingdom’s reform efforts on Twitter, calling the progress in Saudi Arabia “striking.” Lloyd Blankfein visited Saudi Arabia after speaking on a panel with the managing director of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Yassir Al-Rummayan, on September 20th. In comments on that panel, Blankfein said Saudi […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Takes Charge of $5b Jeddah Corniche Redevelopment to create “New Downtown”
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced it will lead the redevelopment of Jeddah’s waterfront corniche, creating a “unique tourist, residential and commercial destination” that aims to become the “New Jeddah Downtown.” The PIF will look to add 12,000 housing units as well as shops and other attractions like museums, a cultural and social area, an activities center, […]

     
  • With Historic Decree on Saudi Women Driving, An Economic and Social Game-Changer
     

    Saudi women and champions of equal rights around the world embraced a decision by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to allow women to drive for the first time, a landmark royal decree that will change the Kingdom’s economy and society in countless ways. Saudi Women will now be able to legally apply for their own driving licenses without having to secure […]

     
  • Saudi-based Restaurant Management Startup Raises $4m
     

    A restaurant management startup in Saudi Arabia has raised a $4m Series A investment as the Kingdom sees signs of life for new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Foodics, which is a Saudi-based company, offers an all-in-one iPad-based point of sale and restaurant management system. Foodics raised its venture funding from Saudi VC firms Raed […]

     
  • The Impressive New Cranes Custom Built to Make the World’s Tallest Building in Saudi Arabia
     

    A video posted to YouTube shows the impressive array and implementation strategy for the custom cranes that will build the world’s tallest building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Tower Jeddah is set to be the world’s tallest skyscraper when construction is completed, soaring up to 1 KM (almost 3,300 feet). The original design was to be one-mile-high […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia to Get New Bankruptcy Law Next Year, Al-Qassabi Says
     

    Saudi Arabia will begin implementing a new bankruptcy law early next year as part of efforts to attract foreign investment and encourage private sector activity, Reuters reports, citing Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya which aired comments from Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed Al-Qassabi. “(The) bankruptcy law has been passed to the Shura Council and […]

     

MUST-READS

  • VoloCity Became the First Electric Air Taxi to Fly in Saudi Arabia

    Pair a futuristic smart city powered by clean energy with a new type of aircraft for zero-emission air mobility, and you have a Sci-Fi movie scene come true. In an era of ultimate globalism, it's unsurprising that a German-made aircraft became the first eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) to complete flight tests in Saudi Arabia in preparation for future commercial service in NEOM.

  • Dubai’s Latest Property Spree Has Rich Buyers Taking More Risk

    Long known for sharp booms and busts, Dubai had one of its most dramatic downturns in 2008, when a debt fueled real estate crash left some of its biggest developers teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The Arab Spring sweeping the Middle East revived the market in 2011 as capital from Arab nations sought safety in Dubai. But the tides quickly turned in 2014 as a collapse in oil prices sent the residential property market on a seven-year downturn.

  • Bahrain’s Mumtalakat extends McLaren group stake in purchase from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ares Management

    Bahrain's state investment fund Mumtalakat said on Thursday it has bought the senior preference shareholder stakes in McLaren Group, as part of a proposed broader restructuring. The move will expand Mumtalakat's majority stake in McLaren, which includes the British supercar maker and McLaren Racing.

  • Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli aggression in Jenin raid that led to the death of 6 Palestinians

    Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned Israeli aggression in the city of Jenin the previous day that led to the death of six Palestinians and injured dozens of others. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement denouncing and condemning the Israeli escalation of actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Kingdom expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Palestine, wishing those injured a speedy recovery.

  • Saudi Space Agency meets Airbus to discuss collaboration opportunities

    In a bid to enhance future cooperation, the Saudi Space Agency Vice Chairman Mohammed Saud Al-Tamimi and Airbus’ head of Aerospace Jean-Marc Nasr met on Tuesday to discuss ways to collaborate, reported the Saudi Press Agency. The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the 54th edition of the Paris Air Show, addressed potential ways to develop the space sector and invest in upcoming joint projects. Al-Tamimi and Nasr aim to realize shared objectives in the economic and strategic fields related to space and its technologies. Two Saudi astronauts, Ali Al-Qarni and Rayana Barnawi, recently completed a mission to the International Space Station, marking the country’s rapid advancement in this field. Barnawi was the first Arab and Muslim female astronaut to orbit Earth.

  • NEOM and Volocopter: First Electric Air Taxi Flight in Saudi Arabia

    NEOM, the smart and sustainable regional development in northwest Saudi Arabia, and Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), announced today the successful completion of a series of air taxi test flights. This marks the first time an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft has received a special flight authorization and performed test flights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The flight test campaign lasted over a week and built on 18 months of collaboration between NEOM, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), and Volocopter, with the aim of implementing and scaling an electric UAM ecosystem and testbed in NEOM. The parties worked closely to ensure full regulatory compliance and safety ahead of the test campaign.

  • Raids, executions as Saudi Arabia wages war on drugs

    "I don't deal with new clients or go to the clients myself," said the 37-year-old, using a pseudonym to protect his identity. "They have to take on the risk," he told AFP from the Red Sea city of Jeddah, weeks after several of his customers were arrested. Ibrahim is on the front lines of a war on drugs in Saudi Arabia, which has seen an influx of the addictive amphetamine captagon flooding in from war-torn Syria and Lebanon.

  • Dubai’s Economy Needs More Than Luxury Real Estate Deals

    Dubai's focus on the luxury construction sector is a narrow, risky strategy that is uncomfortably similar to past economic crashes.

  • Soft power: Saudi Arabia flexes muscles with launch of new Gulf airline Riyadh Air

    As the deafening roar of an F35 fighter jet washes over the Paris air show, Tony Douglas allows himself a moment of nostalgia: he was formerly responsible for the UK government agency charged with buying the planes. Now he is in charge of a different aviation proposition, leading the launch of a new commercial airline belonging to the Saudi Arabian state. Riyadh Air, owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund, was first revealed in March alongside a provisional order for up to 72 Boeing 787 aeroplanes.

  • Egypt Private-Sector Minimum Wages Hiked Again After Pound Devaluations

    Egypt hiked the minimum wage for private-sector workers for the second time in six months, as a series of dramatic currency devaluations leaves tens of millions of people struggling with soaring living costs. The National Council of Wages approved raising the figure 11% to 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($97.10) per month, Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said in a statement Tuesday. In December, authorities upped the minimum wage to 2,700 pounds from the level of 2,400 pounds set a year before.