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  • King Salman Launches Month-Long Investment Tour in Asia
     

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman leaves Sunday for a month-long tour of key nations in Asia as the region grows in influence as an oil importer and potential investor in the Saudi economy. The King is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China. It is his first trip outside the Middle East and North Africa since […]

     
  • Yemen’s President Hadi Says Saudis Gave $10 Billion to Rebuild War-Torn Nation
     

    Yemen’s President Hadi said that Saudi Arabia has given his nation $10 billion to rebuild following nearly two years of civil war, according to reports. The funds will go to restoring electricity and water supply, healthcare, education and communications, according to RT. Hadi defined these as the “urgent priorities” for his government. Saudi officials have yet to […]

     
  • Aramco Taps Three Banks to Underwrite ‘Largest Ever’ IPO
     

    Saudi Aramco has asked JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley to assist with its upcoming initial public offering and could call on another bank, HSBC, with access to Chinese investors, according to separate reports in Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources. The major U.S. banks join Moelis & Co., a […]

     
  • Milestones in Saudi Arabia as Women are Appointed to Head the Kingdom’s Stock Exchange, Major Newspaper for the First Time
     

    For the first time in Saudi Arabia, a woman will head up the Kingdom’s stock exchange and one of the country’s daily newspapers as incremental progress toward equality for women continues. The appointment of Sarah Al-Suhaimi to chair the Saudi stock exchange, or Tadawul, is in line with an ambitious economic and social reform program […]

     
  • “Ken of Arabia” Lands Moelis and Co. as Lead Advisor for Saudi Aramco IPO
     

    Saudi Aramco has chosen New York-based boutique investment bank Moelis & Co as an adviser on its plans for what is expected to be the world’s biggest initial public share offer, Reuters reports. Moelis & Co secured the role of lead independent adviser. The selection is set to move the small newcomer, and its CEO, […]

     
  • December Data a Mixed Picture for Saudi Economy
     

    Saudi Arabia’s total government accounts with SAMA fell $80 billion last year, representing a significant slowdown from 2015 which saw a $116 billion net decline, according to a recently released chartbook by Jadwa Investment. The net monthly change to government accounts with SAMA remained negative in December, falling for the seventh consecutive month, part of […]

     
  • U.S.-Saudi Arabia Continue Strong Defense Ties in Trump Administration’s Early Days
     

    Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone with Secretary of Defense James Mattis today to discuss mutual cooperation on security issues, according to the SPA and the Saudi Gazette. The Deputy Crown Prince also serves as minister of defense and chair of the powerful Council on Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA). The U.S.-Saudi relationship is […]

     
  • Economy Rebounds in Saudi Arabia as Money Supply Grows
     

    Saudi Arabian money supply growth has picked up in latest data for the month of December “in a sign that the economy is regaining strength after a slump last year caused by low oil prices and government austerity measures,” Reuters reports, citing central bank data. Key notes among the Central Bank data reported by Reuters: -Annual […]

     
  • Tunnel for Longest Riyadh Metro Line 3 Complete as City Eyes Long-Term Solution to Traffic, Pollution
     

    Tunnel excavation for Line 3 of the under-construction Riyadh Metro – the longest line of the six total being created as part of the project – has been completed, according to a report. Line 3 is also known as the Orange Line and is more than 25 miles long, of which almost 7 miles will be underground, […]

     
  • Saudi-backed Softbank Technology Investment Fund Hits $100b Mark Ahead of Schedule
     

    Oracle founder Larry Ellison will join Apple, Qualcomm and Foxconn in backing SoftBank’s record-setting technology fund, allowing the Japanese telecoms group to hit its $100 billion goal weeks ahead of schedule, the Financial Times reports. According to the report, the Saudi-backed fund may be oversubscribed by the time it closes. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia Working With New York-based investment bank Lazard to Fund NEOM

    Saudi Arabia is working with Lazard Ltd. as it considers how it will pay for Neom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious $500 billion plan for a high-tech desert city, people familiar with the matter said. The New York-based investment bank is helping the kingdom evaluate financing options, including debt sales and a potential initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange, according to the people. Deliberations are in the early stages and no firm decisions about the size or structure of any financing have been taken, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. A spokesperson for Lazard declined to comment, while a representative for Neom didn’t respond to request for comment.

  • Banks need to adopt stronger climate goals at COP27

    At last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, one number grabbed a lot of headlines: $130 trillion, the sum total of assets managed by global financial institutions that had committed to reach net zero emissions across some or all of their portfolio by 2050. The group that organized those commitments, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), was led by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney. It looked like one of the big success stories of the COP. But just a year on, as COP27 gets underway in Egypt, the project is already faltering.

  • Philippines lifts ban on sending workers to Saudi Arabia

    Susan Ople, who heads the country’s newly established Department of Migrant Workers, said months of negotiations with Saudi Arabian officials have led to an agreement on additional safeguards, including the adoption of a standard employment contract that provides insurance coverage for workers for non-payment of salaries and allows workers to change employers in the case of abuse.

  • COP27 Countries band together to keep forest promise

    More than 25 countries at the COP27 climate talks on Monday launched a group they said would ensure they hold each other accountable for a pledge to end deforestation by 2030 and announced billions of dollars to finance their efforts. The first meeting of the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership, chaired by Ghana and the United States, takes place a year after more than 140 leaders promised at COP26 in Britain to end deforestation by the end of the decade.

  • Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon hosts forum on Taif Agreement

    Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari organised a forum at the Unesco Palace in Beirut on the 33rd anniversary of the conclusion of the Taif Agreement, which ended 15 years of civil war in Lebanon, under Arab and international sponsorship. Saudi Arabia is one of the major contributors to maintaining the agreement. Waleed Bukhari confirmed that there is no intention to amend the Taif Agreement and that it reflects the keenness of Saudi Arabia's leadership to preserve Lebanon’s security, unity, and national reconciliation.

  • Saudi Arabia unveils open banking framework

    Saudi Arabia's central bank has published an open banking framework, setting out legislation, regulatory guidelines and technical standards. The framework is part of the Kingdom's open banking programme which the central bank says is designed to not only let customers share their data with third parties but also strengthen partnerships between banks and fintechs, and improve financial infrastructure.

  • Central Banks in Emerging Markets Are Biggest Gold Buyers

    The instruction manual for surviving a zombie apocalypse is pretty straightforward. Once you’ve kitted out your bunker with canned goods and firearms, get a supply of bullion. You’ll need it to buy bullets and bribe your way out of a death fight in Thunderdome. That’s a line of thinking you might associate with cranky gold bugs, but it’s not a million miles away from the rationale behind fund flows in the precious metals market right now — and nations are in the driving seat. Central banks bought 400 metric tons of gold in the September quarter, the World Gold Council reported this week. That’s a record inflow on a par with what they’d purchase over a whole year in normal times.

  • SAMA issues open banking framework

    The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the issuance of the open banking framework as one of the key outputs of the Open Banking Program, which includes a comprehensive set of legislation, regulatory guidelines and technical standards based on international best practices to enable banks and Fintechs to provide open banking services in the Kingdom. The first version of the open banking services focused on the Account Information Service (AIS), and the second version will focus on the Payment Initiation Service (PIS). SAMA is also tracking the development of banks and Fintechs to ensure their readiness to launch open banking services within the first quarter of next year 2023.

  • What Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Bank Wants With Credit Suisse

    He expects to start engaging by early next year to get Credit Suisse more involved in Saudi Arabia and broader regional markets, which have been the world’s one bright spot for IPOs in a listings market that elsewhere is paralyzed by the Ukraine war and concerns about global economic growth. After a period of scandals, hefty losses, executive turnover and waning market confidence, Credit Suisse is trying to recover from a near-existential crisis. But the 166-year-old bank still has value to offer Saudi Arabia, which is using the financial sector to drive an overhaul of its oil-dependent economy as the world transitions to renewables.

  • What Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Bank Wants With Credit Suisse

    SNB, which is owned mainly by Saudi sovereign-wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund and another government fund, said it may also invest in CS First Boston, a capital-markets and advisory spinoff that will be run by veteran banker Michael Klein, who worked on the 2019 initial public offering of state-owned oil giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Credit Suisse said the unit will operate independently from the rest of the bank and could eventually be listed on a stock exchange or sold.