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  • New Syrian FM on first official visit to Saudi Arabia aims for regional reset

    On his first official visit to Saudi Arabia since Bashar al-Assad's ouster, Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani said he hoped to open a "new, bright page" in bilateral relations. Syria's new leaders are focused on rebuilding their war-shattered country amid Saudi concerns over the trafficking of captagon, a narcotic produced under the Assad regime in large quantities.

  • Syria delegation in Saudi Arabia for first official visit

    A high-ranking Syrian delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on the first foreign visit by the country's new Islamist rulers since they ousted President Bashar al-Assad last month, state media said. "An official Syrian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani, Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence Service chief Anas Khattab arrives in the Saudi capital Riyadh," the official SANA news agency reported, quoting a foreign ministry source. The statement described it as "the first official foreign visit, at the invitation of the Saudi foreign minister". Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the government told AFP at the time.

  • Saudi Venture Capital invests in $150 million Global Ventures fund

    Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) announced its investment in Global Ventures III, an early-stage venture capital fund managed by Global Ventures with a fund size exceeding $150 million. The fund will focus on investments in technology and tech-enabled sectors across Saudi Arabia, the MENA region, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Key areas of interest include supply chain technology, agritech, enterprise SaaS, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and deep tech, according to an SVC press release.

  • Commerce ministry recalls 28,806 Ford Explorer vehicles

    The Ministry of Commerce announced the recall of 28,806 Ford Explorer vehicles, 2011 – 2019 models. This was attributed to a defect in the installation of the external side covers of the windshield supports, which may lead to their separation from the vehicle, posing a danger to road users and increasing the risk of an accident. The ministry called on users of the vehicles included in the recall to contact the local agents, Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Company, on the toll-free number (8007492222), and Mohammed Yousuf Naghi Company, on the toll-free number (8001240218), to carry out the necessary repairs free of charge.

  • PIF fully subscribes to Saudi Re’s capital hike shares

    Saudi Reinsurance Co. (Saudi Re) announced, on Dec. 29, the completion of the subscription process for the new shares issued as part of its capital increase, with pre-emptive rights suspended. In a statement to Tadawul, Saudi Re said that the Public Investment Fund (PIF), as the sole investor subscribing to all the shares issued in the capital increase, is required to retain these shares for two years from the listing date, in line with the exemption granted by the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

  • Saudi PIF’s Influence on Global Sports Is Growing After a Big 2024

    But 2024 marked the PIF’s most significant year yet for sports investments. According to Danish NGO Play the Game’s latest report, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and its subsidiaries have secured at least 346 sponsorships across global sports in 2024. This massive number highlights the PIF’s growing influence. The PIF kicked off 2024 with a bullish approach to tennis. First came the partnership with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in March, when the PIF became the official naming partner of the ATP Rankings and a sponsor of premier events, including Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, the ATP Finals, and the Next Gen ATP Finals. The fund further expanded into tennis in May, with a multiyear partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and secured Riyadh as the host city for the WTA’s season-ending championship. The WTA Finals in November marked the first time a professional women’s tennis tournament was held in the kingdom.

  • Women’s football rankings – Africa’s stars step up in Europe and Saudi Arabia

    Africa's women's football stars continue to impress around the world in December, despite the crowd-pleasing NWSL season coming to an end in November. Nigeria has always had tremendous depth in the goalscoring department and this was demonstrated in December as Ifeoma Onumonu, Jennifer Echegini, Gift Monday and Rinsola Babajide all scored for their respective clubs. Given that our rankings are form-based, many of the best African players miss out this month on account of having had little to no playing time, but when the 2025 NWSL season kicks off, the likes of Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga and Racheal Kundananji are likely to return.

  • Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala overtakes Saudi Arabia’s PIF as world’s top wealth fund spender

    Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company accounted for about 20% of the almost $136.1 billion spent by sovereign wealth funds worldwide last year, overtaking Saudi Arabia's wealth fund amid a surge in spending from Gulf countries. Mubadala and its subsidiaries deployed $29.2 billion in 2024, up from $17.5 billion invested in 2023, based on a preliminary annual report from industry specialist Global SWF, which tracks the world's sovereign investment funds. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund lost its ranking as the world's most active sovereign wealth fund after it cut its investment spend by 37% to $19.9 billion in 2024 from $31.6 billion the previous year, according to the report.

  • Oman imposes 15% tax on multinationals

    Oman will impose a minimum top-up tax (DMTT) of 15 percent on multinational companies from January 1, according to a royal decree published by the Oman News Agency. The tax will apply to multinationals with consolidated annual revenue of OR300 million ($779.2 million), a tax official told the Reuters news agency. Last month the UAE’s finance ministry said it would increase corporate tax on large multi-national enterprises to 15 percent from January 1, from the current 9 percent of their profits in the Emirates.

  • Saudi-US partnerships set to power Vision 2030 Goals

    On the heels of the first Saudi-US Higher Education Partnerships Forum, co-organised by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education, the US Embassy, and IIE, and held in Riyadh,The PIE sat down with Michael Ratney, US ambassador to Saudi Arabia to explore the evolving landscape of educational collaboration between the two nations. “There’s a decades long educational affinity between Saudi and the US,” said Ratney. “Saudi Arabia has been sending students to the US for decades… We think there’s probably over 700,000 Saudis that have studied in the US over the years.” Historically, much of this outbound mobility has been, and continues to be, driven by the Saudi’s government scholarship program – the King Abdullah Scholarship program. In recent years, Vision 2030 – Saudi’s national economic and social transformation program – has meant the sending of students has been more focused.