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  • Saudi Arabia club Al-Hilal says contract with Neymar has been terminated by mutual consent

    Saudi Arabia club Al-Hilal said Monday it reached an agreement with striker Neymar to terminate his contract by mutual consent. Neither side confirmed details of the termination after the 32-year-old Brazilian, once hailed as one of the world’s best players, played only seven matches for the club, with only one goal and two assists. Despite being sidelined since October 2023 due to an ACL injury, former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar was part of the squad that won last season’s Saudi league. Their deal was due to expire after Al-Hilal’s participation in this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which will be played between June 15 and July 13 in the United States.

  • Saudi Arabia opens up holy cities to foreign property investors

    Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that foreigners will be allowed to invest in companies that own real estate in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The CMA said the decision would “stimulate investment” and “enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market”. It added that the reform would help the economy by “attracting foreign capital and providing the necessary liquidity for current and future projects” in Mecca and Medina. The change in the law makes it easier for non-Saudis to invest in the real estate market of the two holy cities. At present they are forbidden by law from buying property in the holy cities, although it is possible to lease property for a maximum of 99 years.

  • Saudi Arabia raises local workforce quotas across key sectors

    Saudi professionals in dentistry, pharmacy, accounting, and technical engineering will soon see expanded job opportunities as the Kingdom rolls out new Saudization targets under its Vision 2030 plan. The HRSD, in collaboration with health, commerce, and housing authorities, is now focused on localizing 269 professions. The initiative builds on earlier measures, such as increasing Saudization rates in radiology to 65 percent, medical laboratories to 70 percent, and physiotherapy and therapeutic nutrition to 80 percent last October. Effective July 27, community pharmacies and medical complexes will be required to achieve a 35 percent Saudization rate, hospitals 65 percent, and other pharmacy-related businesses 55 percent, according to a Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announcement. These rules will apply to companies employing five or more pharmacy professionals.

  • Saudi Arabia invests over $500bln in developing environmentally friendly tourist destinations: minister

    Al-Khateeb highlighted the remarkable achievements of Saudi Arabia's tourism sector and its dedication to environmental sustainability under the framework of Vision 2030. He cited projects such as AlUla and The Red Sea, showcasing how sustainability is integrated at every stage, from design to implementation. He also referred to the Saudi Green Initiative and Green Riyadh launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, reaffirming the Kingdom's commitment to planting millions of trees by 2030

  • Marvels of Saudi Orchestra Concludes Sixth Tour in Riyadh

    The three-night event featured 95 performers from the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir, alongside seven performing arts groups. The concert was attended by the commission's CEO Paul Pacifico, as well as dignitaries, businessmen, artists, media representatives, and a large audience. In his opening remarks, Pacifico praised the first presentation of the Marvels of Saudi Orchestra in the Kingdom, following a series of successful international tours that showcased Saudi musical heritage and strengthened global cultural ties. He acknowledged the support of the minister of culture in achieving these successes.

  • Saudi Arabia must punch its weight on global stage: minister

    "We are a key player in the world, the world economy, and we need to punch at our weight", Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. "We need to make sure that emerging economies and low income countries' voice is heard," al-Jadaan said. "This is why we are really protecting, in every possible way, their interests in these multilateral institutions," he said, stressing that emerging economies were "becoming actually larger than advanced economies in total population and size of economy." "Collectively, they need to be represented in the table."

  • Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Buys Its First U.S. WTI Midland Crude Cargo

    The world’s biggest crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, bought this week its first cargo of U.S. WTI Midland, the crude grade which is now part of the dated Brent benchmark, S&P Global Commodity Insights told Reuters. The Saudi oil giant, which is also the world’s biggest oil company, bought the cargo in the Platts window from commodity trader Gunvor. This was Saudi Aramco’s first purchase of WTI crude in the window, Joel Hanley, global director of crude and fuel oil markets at S&P Global Commodity Insights, told Reuters. Aramco, which looks to expand its crude trading business, has already sold WTI. This occurred in February last year.

  • Saudi Arabia to Host Regular World Economic Forum Global Meeting

    Building on the success of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting held in Riyadh in April 2024, this new development solidifies Saudi Arabia’s position as a central player in shaping the global agenda. The Kingdom’s bold leadership and determination to foster global dialogues between developed and developing economies and drive inclusive global growth make it an ideal host to address complex global challenges with the WEF community. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host a regular high-level World Economic Forum (WEF) global meeting in Riyadh, with the first slated for the Spring of 2026, it was announced today. The announcement was made today by His Excellency Faisal F. Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, and Børge Brende, World Economic Forum President, on the final day of the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

  • The impacts of the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia’s economy

    The World Cup is expected to act as a catalyst for economic growth across multiple sectors. Based on estimates from previous World Cups, host nations experience a GDP boost ranging from $3 billion to $14 billion. In Saudi Arabia’s case, the financial impact could be even more significant, given the Kingdom’s ambitious plans to position itself as a global hub for sports and entertainment. The World Cup will put Saudi Arabia on the map as a premier tourist destination. Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup attracted 1.4 million visitors and generated over $17 billion in tourism revenue. Saudi Arabia, with its rich cultural heritage and mega-projects like NEOM, Diriyah, and the Red Sea Project, aims to exceed these benchmarks. The World Cup is expected to create thousands of jobs in construction, hospitality, event management, and retail. Saudi nationals will benefit directly, contributing to Saudization goals under Vision 2030. Training initiatives focused on sustainability, human rights, and event management will ensure that the workforce meets global standards.

  • AWS announces new edge location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) announces expansion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by launching a new Amazon CloudFront edge location in Jeddah. The new AWS edge location brings the full suite of benefits provided by Amazon CloudFront, a secure, highly distributed, and scalable content delivery network (CDN) that delivers static and dynamic content, APIs, and live and on-demand video with low latency and high performance. All Amazon CloudFront edge locations are protected against infrastructure-level DDoS threats with AWS Shield Standard that uses always-on network flow monitoring and in-line mitigation to minimize application latency and downtime. You also have the ability to add additional layers of security for applications to protect them against common web exploits and bot attacks by enabling AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF).