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  • Saudi per capita water consumption 91% higher than global average
     

    Per capita water consumption in Saudi Arabia is 91 percent higher than the international average, according to a new report by the country’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, accounting for at least 17 percent of the total world output. The Kingdom has invested nearly $25 […]

     
  • Jadwa September 2012 Saudi Chartbook – Real Economy
     

    Jadwa Investment’s recently released Saudi Charbook for the month of September 2012 found that the Saudi economic activity in July experienced a “modest slowdown of economic activity…with indicators of consumer spending and PMI slowing on the back of a seasonal trend.” However, Jadwa notes that the “healthy underlying economic momentum remains in place.” Below is a snapshot of […]

     
  • Shoura Council to appoint 30 women
     

    Saudi Arabia is expected to appoint 30 women on the Shoura Council before the consultative body begins its next annual session. “The expectations are that up to 30 women will be appointed to the Shoura,” sources close to the council told Al-Sharq Arabic daily. The newspaper said that talks have already begun with several institutions […]

     
  • The Island of the Arabs
     

    So in 1954 when Aramco’s New York office decided to produce a feature film about Saudi Arabia and the company’s role in the kingdom, they chose Dick Lyford to direct it. The film called Island of the Arabs begins with the early geologists landing in Jubail and then exploring in the desert. While sitting around […]

     
  • Saudis gear up for new academic year
     

    Saudi students, parents and educators are preparing for the new academic year, which begins September 1st. Shaher al-Jeddawi, programme director at a public school in Jeddah, said introducing English language courses in fourth grade is a major step “towards raising the level of education in general”. “The project this year applies to 4,200 schools out […]

     
  • Saudi banks most profitable in Middle East
     

    Out of the top 50 banks in the Middle East ranked by assets for the period H1 2011, Saudi banks lead the pack “having a good track record of maintaining strong asset quality and adapting adequate lending practices and underwriting standards,” Sheetal Kothari, research analyst, business and financial services practice, Frost & Sullivan, said. The […]

     
  • Beware the Siren Call of Jihad
     

    There’s a full-court press, likely at the instigation of Saudi Arabia’s government, to discourage would-be jihadis from traveling up to Syria. Saudi Gazette/Okaz report that a wide array of authority figures are warning enthusiastic youths of the potential dangers and about how their brothers and cousins fell into traps in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Iraq. Usefully, […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia breaks onto contemporary art scene
     

    Saudi Arabia is making its mark on the global contemporary art scene: works by Middle Eastern artists such as Talal Al Zeid and Mohammed Farea are available at Lam Art Gallery in Riyadh, the Empty Quarter photography gallery in Dubai was founded by the Saudi photographer Princess Reem Al-Faisal, while Message/Messenger, a 2010 installation incorporating […]

     
  • 42 Amazing Photos of Ramadan 2012
     

    Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, will come to a close this weekend with the observation of a festival called Eid al-Fitr. Throughout this ninth month on the Islamic calendar, devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink, and sex from dawn until sunset. The fast, one of the five pillars of Islam, is seen as […]

     
  • For GCC, a Challenge Within Reach: The Gulf Rail Network
     

    Railways have never been the preferred mode of transportation in the Gulf, neither for passengers nor for goods, for geographic reasons and, mostly, due to the affordable prices of fuel for road transportation. But in the next few years, and in order to boost trade, Gulf countries are expected to spend more than $100 billion on rail […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Houthi presence in region in focus after ‘martyrdom’ of senior commander in Iraq

    A senior commander of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, better known as the Houthis, is claimed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Iraq. The apparent incident has fueled speculation about the Houthis expanding their role in the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ and pursuing horizontal integration with other members of the regional alliance network . As the region braces for an escalation in the confrontation between the ‘Axis of Resistance’ and Israel, the role of the Houthis in the equation is gaining increasing attention.

  • Lucid Receives $1.5 Billion Lifeline from Saudi Investment Fund

    An affiliate of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has thrown struggling electric car maker Lucid Group a $1.5 billion lifeline (second one of the year). This comes as Lucid prepares to launch its first sport utility vehicle amid a downturn in the EV automotive space. Lucid revealed it entered into agreements with its majority stockholder, Ayar Third Investment Company, an affiliate of the Saudi PIF, to purchase $750 million of convertible preferred stock through a private placement and provide a $750 million unsecured loan.

  • Tense Israel in waiting as attack threat looms

    Israel's ambulance service has stocked blood supplies in a fortified underground centre, factories have moved out hazardous materials and municipal authorities are checking bomb shelters and water supplies as the country waits for a threatened attack from Iran and its proxies. Israel has been fortifying its home front for months and many preparations have been in place since the start of the war in Gaza last October, when thousands of Hamas-led gunmen carried out a devastating cross-border attack on Israeli communities.

  • Saudi Aramco Seeks More China Deals in Oil-to-Chemicals Push

    The world’s largest crude exporting company is targeting additional facilities that can turn oil into chemicals, Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said. Aramco sees demand for goods such as plastics outlasting the growth in consumption for gasoline and diesel amid the energy transition. “We are looking currently at a number of investments in China that will be announced in due course this year and next year,” Nasser said on an earning call Tuesday. He also mentioned South Korea and India as potential investment destinations.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Dammam port sets record with 20,645 containers handled on single ship

    The King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam has achieved a remarkable milestone, setting a new record for container throughput on a single vessel. The port handled a 20,645 TEUs on the COSCO SHIPPING AQUARIUS 036E, underscoring its pivotal role in supporting trade and the logistics sector.

  • Improved labor laws benefit Saudi workers

    Saudi Arabia has enacted amendments to its labour laws to establish more clarity on hiring and firing and improve employee rights. The regulations, which cabinet approved on August 6, will “enhance job stability, protect the rights of all parties involved in employment contracts and increase job opportunities for Saudi citizens”, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said. Among the new regulations, maternity leave has been set at 12 weeks, trial periods for new employees are fixed at 180 days, and notice periods for employees are locked in at 30 days and for employers at 60 days.

  • Non-institutional foreign ownership ex-Aramco down to 9.31% last week

    Non-institutional foreign investors’ ownership in Tadawul-listed equities, excluding Saudi Aramco, declined in the week ended Aug. 1 to 9.31% of the total market value, or SAR 319.9 billion, from 9.33% in the previous week, market data showed.

  • US Leaders Call for Calm in the Middle East, Even as More American Forces Head to the Region

    Calling for calm in the Middle East, top U.S. national security leaders said that they and allies are directly pressing Israel, Iran and others to avoid escalating the conflict, even as the U.S. moved more troops to the region and threatened retaliation if American forces are attacked. “It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the close of a meeting with Australian leaders.

  • Mapping the Growing U.S. Military Presence in the Middle East

    The United States maintains a considerable military presence in the Middle East, with forces in more than a dozen countries and on ships throughout the region’s waters. That presence has expanded in 2024 as the United States focuses on deterring and defeating threats from Iran and its network of armed affiliates in the region, including Hamas (Gaza Strip), Hezbollah (Lebanon), the Houthis (Yemen), and several Iraq- and Syria-based militant groups.

  • Oracle’s second cloud region in Saudi Arabia to help kingdom harness AI’s full potential

    Oracle has opened its second cloud region in Saudi Arabia, giving a boost to Riyadh's digital transformation strategy, as it aims to help the kingdom's economy harness the full potential of artificial intelligence. The move, part of a $1.5 billion investment commitment announced by the US technology company in the Arab world's biggest economy, will help public and private organisations migrate to the cloud, Texas-based Oracle told The National on Tuesday.