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  • Aramco Share Sale Nets $12 Billion
     

    This is Aramco’s second share sale after it first entered public markets in 2019 offering 1.5% of the company and raising a record $29.4 billion, history’s largest IPO to date. Aramco is the world’s largest oil company in terms of both daily crude production and market cap.

     
  • Saudi Internet Penetration Reaches 99%
     

    According to the “Internet Saudi Arabia” report for 2023, published by the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission, both men and women demonstrated high levels of internet usage, with rates of 99.3 percent and 98.5 percent respectively. The report also says that 52.3% of users spend more than seven hours online each day.  

     
  • Saudi Car Market: Tops GCC, women purchase 30% of cars sold in 2023
     

    In 2023, Saudi Arabia sold 729,466 cars, a 17% increase from the previous year. The Toyota Yaris was the best-selling car, accounting for 37% of the sales. Car sales are expected to surge to 870,000 this year.

     
  • Nusuk pilgrim card launched
     

    With the 2024 Hajj expected to begin June 14, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah released the Nusuk card by presenting its copy to Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 30, during his official visit to Indonesia.

     
  • EU announces five-year Schengen visas for Saudi, Omani and Bahraini citizens
     

    The EU will now allow citizens from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain to apply for five-year Schengen visas. This marks a significant step forward in strengthening people-to-people relations between the EU and the GCC.

     
  • Global Defense Spending Spikes in 2023
     

    According to a study by Forecast International in 2023 global defense spending grew at its fastest pace in the last decade as governments respond to security crises unfolding around the world.

     
  • Saudi Stock Market Lists 400th Security
     

    Formally established in 2007 after the devastating market crash of 2006 and incorporated as a holding company in 2021, the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) recently hit a milestone of 400 listed securities.

     
  • Saudi Aramco to Expand Huge Gas Plant as Global Demand Surges and Market Dynamics Shift
     

    Saudi Aramco is moving ahead with plans to expand the Fadhili gas processing facility in the kingdom’s Eastern Province as part of its strategy to tap vast and under-developed gas resources within Saudi Arabia, according to a report in Bloomberg.

     
  • Biden’s Oil Boom
     

    Reuters reports that during the Biden administration not only has oil production hit record highs but energy company profits, dividends, drilling permits, jobs and energy exports are all up.

     
  • PIF Increases Investment in Lucid
     

    Ayar Third Investment Company, a PIF affiliate, will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock and will be able to convert the preferred stock into about 280 million shares, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. securities regulator.

     

MUST-READS

  • How Saudi Arabia and the UK are shaping each other

    Forging alliances that transcend borders, Saudi Arabia and the UK have emerged as powerhouses of collaboration, driving innovation and reshaping global landscapes in the fields of energy, technology, and sustainable infrastructure. In 2018, the two kingdoms established the annual UK-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council as a central platform to discuss and enhance all aspects of their bilateral relationship, including UK support for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 in various sectors. According to Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi, bilateral trade between the two countries has surged by more than a third since 2018, exceeding $99.12 billion in value.

  • UK-Saudi deal to make ‘miracle material’ at scale

    A deal has been struck for the world's first commercial production of carbon fibre enriched with graphene in a new project led by a UK company in Saudi Arabia. Manchester firm Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM) has agreed to construct a factory in the Gulf state to manufacture the advanced "wonder" material for use in the kingdom's huge plans to build futurist eco-cities in the desert. About £250m could be invested in building a research and innovation hub in Greater Manchester as part of the deal and more than 1,000 jobs could be created. Dr Vivek Koncherry, GIM chief executive, said producing the material at scale had the potential "to change every aspect of our lives".

  • UK’s Starmer to Push for Stronger Ties With UAE, Saudi Arabia in First Gulf Visit

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will begin a multi-day visit to the Gulf on Sunday, his first trip to the region since taking office, seeking stronger economic and defence ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. He will aim to boost investment and deepen defence and security partnerships, the government said in a statement on Saturday, describing the two Middle Eastern countries as "some of the UK's most vital modern-day partners." Starmer, elected to lead the world's sixth-largest economy in July, will arrive in the UAE on Sunday, where he is due to hold talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday. He will fly to Saudi Arabia later on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

  • GCC sukuk’s best-kept secret: Dublin

    For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. The Irish capital covered 38 percent of the global total of this kind of Islamic bond at the end of this year’s third quarter – outstripping its two main rivals, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq Dubai. “A large chunk of this comes from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, too,” Bashar Al-Natoor, managing director and global head of Fitch Rating’s Islamic Finance Group, tells AGBI. “The GCC is the biggest domicile for issuers.”

  • UK suggests it would comply with ICC warrant and arrest Netanyahu

    The British government has said it will comply with its obligations under domestic and international law after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister. On Thursday, the government refused to confirm whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot on British soil. On Friday afternoon, however, PA Media reported Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson as saying: "The UK will always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law."

  • NDMC closes the November 2024 Issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program

    The National Debt Management Center announces the closure of November 2024 issuance under the Saudi Arabian Government SAR-denominated Sukuk Program. The Total Amount Allocated was set at SAR 3.415Bn (three billion and four hundred and fifteen million Saudi Riyals)

  • Ukraine, Middle East conflicts eating into US air defense stocks, US admiral says

    Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into U.S. stockpiles of air defenses, the top U.S. admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday. The admission by Admiral Sam Paparo could draw the attention of members of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, who are more skeptical of the war in Ukraine and who argue that President Joe Biden has failed to prepare for a potential conflict with China.

  • UK Nears Free Trade Agreement With Gulf Countries Including Saudi Arabia

    The UK is in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement with a group of oil-rich Middle Eastern nations including Saudi Arabia, according to several people familiar with the matter. A deal with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council is a priority for the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer as it looks to boost economic growth and attract foreign investment, and may be signed as early as this year, said UK and Gulf officials, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The UK’s trade with the bloc, which also comprises the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, is worth $73 billion (£57 billion) annually, according to the UK government. It sees an FTA boosting trade by around 16% and the UK economy by $2.1 billion in the long term.

  • British Ambassador hails growing Saudi-UK ties since launch of Vision 2030

    “In the modern era, since Vision 2030, our relationship has gone from a quite traditional defense, security, contracting relationship, to take-off,” he was quoted as saying. Further, the ambassador cited the growth of people-to-people relations between the two countries, pointing to British rowers and cricket players such as Kevin Pietersen who have visited the Kingdom, besides the many Saudis traveling to London for holidays.

  • ‘It’s created an internal shitstorm’: turmoil at UK law firm accused of ‘whitewashing’ Saudi World Cup report

    In the methodology notes for the report, AS&H Clifford Chance says the scope was “determined by Saff in agreement with Fifa”. The notes also reveal the review was completed after only six weeks of desk work and relied solely on interviews with government ministries. Human rights groups and those affected by alleged abuses, such as migrant workers, were not consulted.