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  • The Surprising $100 Billion Solar Investment
     

    If you thought Germany and California were aggressively trying to add solar power to the grid, the oil state of Saudi Arabia is giving both of them a run for their money with recent plans to enter the solar market. The country is looking for investors in a $109 billion plan to build 41 GW […]

     
  • Effat University on the Forefront of Change in Saudi Arabia
     

    I was also impressed to see Effat graduating a quarter of its students from its College of Engineering, which it established in partnership with Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. When I first visited Effat seven years ago, it was still in the early stages of establishing engineering as a degree, a first for women […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s First Female Director Brings ‘Wadjda’ to Cannes
     

    Wadjda, the first-ever film shot in Saudi Arabia, hits the Cannes market as The Match Factory begins pre-sales at Cannes’ Marche du Film on the coming-of-age drama from Haiffa al Mansour, the first female Saudi filmmaker. Haifaa wrote and directed Wadjda, which tells the ordinary but uplifting story of Wadjda, an 11-year-old girl growing up in […]

     
  • Baseball and Saudi Economic Policy
     

    Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Minister of Economy and Planning, recently spoke to the Young Businessmen’s Committee of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Though the setting would appear innocuous, Dr. Al-Jasser’s remarks were not. The theme was the Future Vision of the Saudi Economy and they are worth reading in full.

     
  • Opening the TASI: What You Need to Know
     

    Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and the Middle East’s biggest economy, is about to complete a gradual process to open its stock market, known as the Tadawul or TASI, directly to international investors for the first time.  The initial step toward this action was to give other GCC countries the right to invest […]

     
  • Seven years of prosperity and development
     

    Saudi Arabia will mark the seventh anniversary of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s accession to the Saudi throne on May 17 with a variety of programs highlighting the remarkable progress achieved by the Kingdom in education, health, industry, agriculture and other sectors under his wise leadership. King Abdullah’s announcement at the Shoura […]

     
  • Saudi Perspective on the Middle East: Obaid
     

    In this SUSRIS exclusive presentation, the “Saudi Perspective on the Middle East: The View from Riyadh” assessment provides: the background and context for Saudi diplomacy — assets and characteristics; economic and energy data; sources of regional instability; the “New Gulf Union”; profile of Gulf defense configurations; the Kingdom’s role in regional stabilization and its political and […]

     
  • Petchem projects lead Saudi industrialization drive
     

    The Saudi project market continues to thrive. Latest data from Meed put the value of projects “planned or underway” at $745 billion in mid-April, around 13 percent higher than a year earlier. These figures need to be treated with some caution: The topline number is some 30 percent larger than the nominal size of the […]

     
  • USTR: Saudi Continues to Protect Intellectual Property Rights
     

    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday released the 2012 Special 301 Report reviewing the intellectual property protection policies of foreign nations.  Saudi Arabia is not named on the “Watch List” again this year and has not been since a successful Out-of-Cycle Review in 2009 to resolve IP issues in cooperation with the […]

     
  • Island in the Gulf – A Film of Juraid Island
     

    One of the great joys of living in Saudi Arabia has always been the natural environment itself – the dunes, the jebals and especially the Gulf with its beaches, reefs and islands. For those lucky enough to visit Juraid Island, fifteen miles offshore from Jubail, the experience has always been unforgettable. A pristine island shaped […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company Just Beat Revenue By 6.6%

    The second-quarter results for Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company (TADAWUL:1111) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. It was a workmanlike result, with revenues of ر.س353m coming in 6.6% ahead of expectations, and statutory earnings per share of ر.س3.25, in line with analyst appraisals. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

  • 100 days to go until Saudi Arabia hosts historic WTA Finals in Riyadh

    The event is the season-ending crown jewel event on the Hologic WTA Tour featuring the Top 8 singles players and doubles teams, contesting a record prize pool.  The event will take place between November 2-9 at King Saud University in the capital. The event is part of the Saudi Tennis Federation’s ambition to inspire 1 million into tennis by 2030.

  • Saudi Factories Surpass 2023 Targets, Boosting Product Competitiveness

    Saudi factories are increasingly adopting automation to improve product quality and competitiveness while cutting costs. A total of 479 factories have completed the Smart Industry Readiness Index “SIRI” assessment, exceeding the Kingdom’s 2023 targets. The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources started evaluating the second group of factories under the Future Factories Program in July 2023. This phase covers 260 factories, each with licensed capital over SAR 200 million ($53.3 million).

  • Saudi athletes gear up for Paris 2024 Summer Olympics with rigorous training

    Saudi teams continue preparations for the 33rd Summer Olympic Games, which will officially open in Paris on Friday. Saudi Arabia will participate with 10 athletes in four events: show jumping, taekwondo, athletics, and swimming. The Saudi show jumping team in both individual and team events will be represented by riders Ramzi Al-Duhami, Abdullah Al-Sharbatly, Khaled Al-Mobty, and Abdulrahman Al-Rajhi. The taekwondo team will feature Dunia Abu Talib in the 49 kg category.

  • Saudi’s flynas strikes deal for 75 Airbus A320neos, 15 A330s

     Low-cost Saudi airline flynas has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab for 75 of its narrow-body A320neo family aircraft and 15 of its wide-body A330-900 jets, the companies said at the Farnborough Airshow on Thursday.  The A320neo deal is worth about $4 billion and the A330 deal about $1.7 billion, according to estimated delivery prices from Cirium Ascend. Reuters reported that flynas was negotiating an A330 deal ahead of the air show.

  • Aramco and PIF invest in Saudi-Chinese steel venture

    Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund have doubled their investment in a steel plate joint venture with a Chinese company to $500 million. The two Saudi companies each own 25 percent shares in the new venture in Ras Al Khair industrial city, Bloomberg reported, quoting a statement published on the Chinese stock exchange. Chinese state-backed Baoshan Iron & Steel has doubled its investment in the venture to $1 billion. The Shanghai-listed producer holds the remaining 50 percent stake.

  • A guide to Saudi Arabia’s athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics

    Saudi athletes will be competing across four sports — athletics, equestrian, swimming and taekwondo — with seven men and three women included in the Paris-bound delegation. A total of four medals were scooped by Saudi athletes in 12 previous appearances at the Olympics, most recently a silver clinched by Tareq Hamedi in karate in Tokyo 2020.

  • How Israeli attack helped Houthis push Saudis to tame Yemeni rivals

    In Yemen, the Ansarullah movement and the internationally-recognized government have struck an “economic de-escalation accord” reportedly mediated by Saudi Arabia. The agreement is a major breakthrough for Ansarullah, better known as the Houthis. The group had threatened the Kingdom with “war” unless escalating economic warfare by its Yemeni rivals was halted. The Saudi mediation notably follows warnings by senior Houthi officials of a severe response if Riyadh is found to have enabled the recent Israeli airstrikes in Yemen.

  • UAE, Saudi Arabia lead strong GCC consumer shift towards flexitarianism, healthy eating

    The GCC region, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is seeing a strong consumer shift towards eating healthy, with an increasingly high share of non-vegetarians opting for more plant-based diets, industry experts said. This shift is poised to trigger a projected eight-fold surge in the size of the plant-based meat market to $500 million by 2030 from a mere $60 million in 2023, recent market research suggests. In contrast, the region’s meat market, estimated at $17 billion last year, is projected to reach only $26 billion during this period – a mere 53 percent rise.

  • Staggering 68 pct of Saudi firms plan to use GenAI for enhanced security: Study

    Some 68 percent of organizations in Saudi Arabia plan to use generative AI (GenAI) within the next 12 months to enhance security measures, a new study by exposure management company Tenable found. The data for the study was commissioned in October 2023 by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable.