Recent stories from sustg

  • SEC unveils SR452b projects
     

    The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has allocated SR452 billion to implement energy projects until the year 2021 according to SEC Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Saleh Bin Hussein Al-Awaji. These projects will provide services consistent with international standards, including building up an adequate power at a peak time about 10 percent of combined capacity. The […]

     
  • Journey of a lifetime
     

    To say that I was excited to be in the presence of such history would be an understatement. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and was absolutely beside myself. My purpose was to travel with my mother to Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah, a mini version of the annual Hajj […]

     
  • Positive Steps: Interview with Saudi Minister of Finance Al Assaf
     

    The industrial sector is the real excitement for us, which is growing at a rate of 15 per­cent, which is not a joke. The other one is service sector, like the financial services or the restaurant and hotels or other services in the economy. A particular sector that we are excited about is the mineral […]

     
  • Home boom aids Saudi Telecom profit surge
     

    Soaring demand for broadband helped Saudi Telecom Co (STC) post a 60 percent increase in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, with the former monopoly reporting rising revenues in its mobile, fixed line, corporate and wholesale units. The former monopoly, which will pay a quarterly dividend of 0.5 riyals per share, made a profit of 2.52 billion […]

     
  • US and Saudi team up for renewable energy projects
     

    The United States and Saudi Arabia are prepared to sign a number of deals related to the establishment of investment and service projects depending on renewable energy resources, Arab News reported. US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services, Nicole Lamb, said the US would support the Kingdom on its drive to develop clean […]

     
  • Major Banks Expanding in Saudi Arabia
     

    “We’d be crazy to limit ourselves to a handful of bankers when we can see oil prices are going to sustain the Saudi economy for the foreseeable future,” Rory Gilbert, the head of Middle East and North Africa at London-based Barclays’s wealth management unit, said in an interview this week in Dubai. “In four or […]

     
  • Saudi ‘tops in mobile users’
     

    Saudi Arabia has the highest proportion of mobile phone users in the world with 188 per cent, followed by Vietnam and Oman in the second and third places respectively, according to a recent study. The study which was conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicated that this percentage is by far […]

     
  • Saudi Defense Minister Prince Salman Visits Pentagon, White House
     

    Saudi Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz held talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday that focused on the crisis in Syria, hours before a ceasefire deadline was due to expire. The Saudi defense chief later held talks with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

     
  • Saudi Arabia & the GCC – post ‘Arab Spring’: Obaid
     

    This week Mr. Nawaf Obaid, former strategic adviser to Prince Turki Al-Faisal, presented a briefing titled, “Saudi Arabia & the GCC in a Post ‘Arab Spring’ Environment” at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as part of a program examining responses among GCC states to the “Arab Spring” turmoil that started early last year. Obaid […]

     
  • Al-Rabiah moves to push foreign trade and investment
     

    Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah yesterday opened a major workshop for the development of Saudi commercial attaches as part of the ministry’s efforts to promote trade and investment relations with foreign countries. The workshop attended by top officials from related departments and agencies discussed ways to improve the performance of Saudi commercial attaches abroad […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Temporary ban on Brazilian poultry imports will not impact Saudi market, says committee

    The National Committee of Poultry Producers at the Federation of Saudi Chambers has downplayed the impact of the temporary ban on importing poultry products from Brazil due to the outbreak of Newcastle disease on the Saudi market. The committee's chairman, Mohammed Al-Shaya, stated that the temporary ban from Brazil would not significantly affect the quantities available in the Saudi market or the prices. This is because the Kingdom relies on local production to meet its market needs for both fresh and frozen poultry.

  • Communication gaps hinder Saudi gigaprojects

    In hindsight, the lack of detail was due to the fact that their masterplans had either not been completed or approved, which meant that specific project elements could not be publicised. For example, the Red Sea project was first announced in mid-2017, but it was not until early 2019 that its masterplan was approved and more details could be revealed.

  • Saudi Coffee: A New Chapter in the History of Arab Coffee

    The country consumes over 80,000 tons of coffee annually, ranking among the top 10 countries worldwide in terms of consumption per capita. The market imports 70,000-90,000 tons of coffee annually, and Saudis spend over 1 billion Rials on coffee annually. By the end of 2021, the kingdom had 400,000 coffee trees in 600 farms, with plans to plant 1.2 million by 2025.

  • Saudi provides food aid to Sudan, Yemen

    The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has continued to provide food to vulnerable families in Sudan and Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. In the River Nile state of Sudan, 1,200 boxes of food were given to 6,900 individuals affected by the ongoing conflict in the country. In the Al-Mansoura district of Yemen’s Aden governorate, KSrelief handed out 413 boxes of food for 2,891 individuals, as a part of its continuing aid project in the war-torn country.

  • Undiscovered Saudi: The ultimate guide to Yanbu

    Yanbu, also known as Yambu or Yenbo, derives its name from the springs that originate in the city. Located in the Madinah Province, it is in close proximity to the Red Sea and is often overlooked for the nearby Jeddah. Yanbu is one of the two main Red Sea hubs for underwater adventures and boasts a history dating back more than 2,000 years – Lawrence of Arabia’s former home, anyone?

  • Under the Abaya: Uncovering Saudi Women’s Individualities

    Under the Abaya focuses on enabling Saudi women to access high-quality education through an innovative business model. The initiative publishes books that provide a rich insight into the life of women in Saudi Arabia, put together by the women of Saudi Arabia. The profits of these books then go on to fund scholarships, as well as female-led charitable causes, for eager Saudi female learners.

  • Saudi Arabia welcomes deal between Yemeni government, Houthis

    Saudi Arabia on Wednesday welcomed a deal between Yemen’s government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia to halt tit-for-tat banking sanctions. The deal was announced on Tuesday by Hans Grundberg, the United Nations’ envoy to Yemen, in a bid to end the warring parties’ battle for control over the country’s financial institutions.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo tops list of highest paid players in Saudi Arabia [See top 10]

    Portugal forward and captain of Al Nassr Cristiano Ronaldo currently tops the list of the highest paid players in the Saudi Pro League. Following his move to Al Nassr in January 2023 after parting ways with Manchester United, Ronaldo has continued to make headlines not just for his on-field performances but also for his staggering earnings.

  • Leonardo expands proximity support services for helicopters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    One of the largest operators of Leonardo helicopters in the Middle East; Mukamalah Aviation Company has been operating AW139s since 2008 and AW109 light twins since 2006, mainly to perform offshore transport missions in Saudi Arabia to support the oil and gas industry. Today’s Mukamalah Leonardo helicopter fleet consists of 27 units.

  • Turkey returns $5bn Saudi deposit in show of economic confidence

    Turkey’s central bank has handed back to Saudi Arabia a $5bn deposit, underscoring Ankara’s progress in replenishing its foreign currency stores as part of its economic turnaround effort. The deposit agreement Turkey forged with the Saudi Fund for Development in March 2023 was terminated by mutual agreement, the Turkish central bank said on Wednesday. Turkey’s move to unwind the agreement is the latest sign of how President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s pivot to more conventional policies following his re-election in May 2023 is steadying the country’s $1tn economy.