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  • Turkey’s central bank expected to start cutting rates next week: Reuters poll

    Turkey's central bank is expected to start a cycle of interest rate cuts next week after eight months of steady policy, according to a Reuters poll on Thursday. Fourteen of 17 poll respondents forecast that the bank would cut its policy rate next Thursday, according to the poll. Three respondents expect the central bank to keep rates on hold until the first quarter. While most expected that the easing cycle will be launched this month, economists differed over the size of the first cut.

  • Women Driving in Saudi Arabia: Female Perceptions Five Years after Lifting of the Ban

    Survey findings suggest most women agree that there has been vast improvement, but they insist that the battle for equality is far from over. Indeed, there has been some resistance to the reforms among those who see the changes as pandering to the West. Overall, though, the survey findings suggest that the majority of women in Saudi Arabia want more rights, more women in leadership roles, more safety that they do not feel they have under the male guardianship system, and to be viewed as equal to their male counterparts.

  • Gulf Cooperation Council: Pursuing Visions Amid Geopolitical Turbulence: Economic Prospects and Policy Challenges for the GCC Countries

    The Gulf Cooperation Council countries have successfully weathered recent turbulence in the Middle East, and their economic prospects remain favorable. Nonhydrocarbon activity has been strong amid reform implementation, although overall growth has decelerated due to cuts in oil production. The growth outlook is positive, as the envisaged easing of oil production cuts and natural gas expansion spur the recovery in the hydrocarbon sector, while the nonhydrocarbon economy continues to expand. External buffers remain comfortable despite current account balances having narrowed. Risks around the outlook are broadly balanced in the near term. More challenging medium-term risks, especially in the context of geoeconomic fragmentation and climate change, call for action on policy priorities to continue to strengthen the private sector and to diversify the economy.

  • Carbon dioxide utilization in the desalination sector in Saudi Arabia: An opportunity for achieving negative emissions

    Recent work has characterized the Kingdom’s geological carbon dioxide (CO2) potential as around 445 gigatons (Gt), but to date, there has been no detailed analysis of the CO2 utilization potential in the Kingdom. Current research at KAPSARC aims to review existing and emerging CO2 utilization routes relevant to Saudi Arabia. This paper focuses on evaluating the untapped potential for CO2 utilization in the Kingdom’s desalination sector and explores the potential of this sector to become a carbon sink, thus contributing to carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

  • Saudi rights progress ‘irreversible’ due to youth popularity, says EU official

    Much of Saudi Arabia’s progress is “irreversible” due to its popularity among young people, an EU human rights emissary has told Arab News. Olof Skoog, EU special representative for human rights, sat down with Arab News to discuss the progress made by the Kingdom, ahead of the 4th EU-KSA Human Rights Dialogue that took place in Riyadh on Tuesday. Regarding the changes in recent years, Skoog said: “I see them very much as genuine reforms. Saudi Arabia (has) a very youthful population. The country is quickly modernizing, in a way, more attuned to what happens around the world, and the young people are very much onto that.”

  • Saudi Arabia’s localization plan is reshaping consultancy sector – and more beyond

    As Saudi Arabia embarks on a journey aimed at boosting job opportunities for citizens, the localization plan for consultancy professions and businesses plays a crucial role. In October 2022, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issued a decision mandating that from the end of March 2024, 40 percent of workers in firms in this sector must be Saudi nationals.  The decision targeted all professions in the sector, most notably financial advisory specialists, business advisers, and cybersecurity advisory specialists, as well as project management managers, engineers, and specialists. This targeted localization, or Saudization, is part of the cooperation between the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and supervising bodies, represented by the Ministry of Finance, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, the Expenditure and Project Efficiency Authority, and the Human Resources Development Fund.

  • 8 Global Trends to Follow in 2025

    If you thought 2024 was a tough year, buckle up for 2025. The “say no to the status quo” year of elections is over. Voters in more than 60 countries, including 10 of the world’s most populous nations, went to the polls. The results were often disastrous for incumbent parties; if they didn’t lose outright, like in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, they won with less support than expected. The challenge for the winners, now, will be to govern. Far from over are the conflicts that raged throughout 2024. Although the fall of the Assad regime in December brought an abrupt end to Syria’s long civil war, there are still more active conflicts now than at any point since World War II. The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire is holding for now -- and Israel and Hamas may be inching toward one -- but peace prospects for Ukraine and Russia are dim.

  • Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as ceasefire talks intensify

    U.S. and Arab mediators are working round-the-clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 26 Palestinians on Thursday. The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, seek to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

  • SAL Saudi Logistics Services Prepares for $678 Million IPO Amid Saudi Arabia’s Market Revival

    Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector is at the forefront of a transformative era as SAL Saudi Logistics Services Co., the Kingdom’s leading cargo handling company, gears up for a highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO). The move is expected to raise up to 2.54 billion riyals (approximately $678 million), underscoring the resurgence of Saudi Arabia’s public listings market after a period of slowed activity. The IPO involves 24 million shares, representing a 30% stake in SAL, priced between 98 and 106 riyals per share, which values the company at up to 8.48 billion riyals ($2.26 billion). Saudi Arabian Airlines Corp. (Saudia), the company’s parent, and Tarabot Air Cargo Services Ltd. currently own 70% and 30% stakes, respectively. Institutional investors have until October 1 to participate in the bookbuilding process, with retail investors following from October 11 to October 13. This IPO is not just a significant financial event—it signals a broader shift in Saudi Arabia's economic ambitions and its commitment to redefining its role on the global logistics stage.

  • Saudi crown prince receives Iraqi PM in AlUla

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recieved Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani at his winter camp in AlUla on Wednesday. The two leaders reviewed aspects of relations between their countries and ways to enhance them. Prince Mohammed and Al-Sudani also discussed regional developments and efforts made toward them to achieve security and stability