MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia rolls out red carpet for foreign filmmakers

  The government is also offering financial incentives. The state-run Saudi Film Commission gives rebates of up to 40 per cent on production spending, compared with the 30 per cent offered by regional rivals such as Egypt and Morocco. Filmmakers can also apply for a share of a $234mn Saudi Cultural Development Fund pot. Film commission officials say their incentive package gives Saudi Arabia a competitive advantage. “In other countries you just get the cash rebate, then you are on your own when it comes to dealing with different government departments,” said one. “We handle the whole thing.”

• Non-Oil Activities Drive Saudi Economic Diversification Efforts

  Experts speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat anticipate non-oil sector participation to rise to approximately 65% by 2030, driven significantly by private sector contributions. They noted significant economic evolution towards income sources beyond oil, such as investments in coastal infrastructure projects.

• Launch of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Airlines on hold – report

  Other developments facing cutbacks, the sources claimed, include the Qiddiya Coast, a tourism and entertainment project in Jeddah on the Red Sea once projected to have a potential budget of USD50 billion. Downsizing of other projects can be expected as the government committee finalises its review.

• Ahmed Mater: The Saudi artist documenting a kingdom in flux

  Born in Tabuk in 1979, Mater grew up in Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia, close to the militarized Yemeni border, at a time of immense social change in the region. The first presentation of his art outside the Kingdom came in 2005 at an exhibition hosted by the British Museum in London. Just over a decade later, he became the first artist to host a solo exhibition in the US, with “Symbolic Cities: The Work of Ahmed Mater” in 2016.

• Tel Aviv hit by drone attack claimed by Iranian-backed Houthis
  A long-range Iranian-made drone hit the centre of Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday in an attack claimed by the Yemen-based Houthi militia that killed one man and wounded four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said. The explosion, which footage shared on social media suggested came from the sea and did not trigger air raid alarms, occurred hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

• Global cyber outage grounds flights, hits banks, telecoms, media
  A software update wreaked havoc on computer systems globally on Friday, grounding flights, forcing some broadcasters off air and hitting services from banking to healthcare. An update to a product offered by global cyberscurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD.O), opens new tab appeared to be the trigger, affecting customers using Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab Windows Operating System. Microsoft said later on Friday the issue had been fixed.

• China’s solar industry finds oasis in the Middle East

  China's solar energy giants such as JinkoSolar, LONGi Green Energy Technology, TrinaSolar, and JA Solar Technology, have struggled since 2023. LONGi and JA Solar recorded losses in the first quarter of 2024, while JinkoSolar and TrinaSolar saw their net profits plunge by 29.09% and 70.83%, respectively, to CNY 11.76 billion (US$1.62 billion) and CNY 5.16 billion. Solar silicon wafer providers Tongwei and TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology also swung from profit to loss.

• Saudi Arabia signs deals for 30GW domestic solar PV manufacturing
  Both agreements, made through joint ventures (JV), will bring 30GW of solar PV manufacturing, from ingots to modules, to Saudi Arabia. The agreements have been made by the Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC), a fully-owned PIF company, along with the participation of Saudi renewables investor Vision Industries (VI) and the Chinese manufacturers.

• Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh may be crypto’s sleeping giant

  Though the word “cryptocurrency” was largely avoided at the event, Siu’s message seemed clear: Saudi Arabia may not have made definitive moves in the realm of blockchain and crypto, but it is a sleeping giant in terms of wealth, population and influence, and can set the tone of the industry for the entire region.

• Slowing Chinese economy no threat to Saudi oil exports – yet

  Slower economic growth in China in the second quarter of this year has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s ability to maintain funding lines from its main trading partner. The Chinese economy grew at a year-on-year rate of 4.7 percent, down from 5.3 percent in the previous quarter. In the retail sector, the pace of growth slowed to an 18-month low as deflationary pressures forced businesses in the world’s second-largest economy to cut prices on everything from cars to food and clothes.

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