SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Recent stories from sustg

  • Saudi, Kuwait, UAE Agree to Give Bahrain $10b
     

    Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to give Bahrain $10 billion to “support the country’s funding requirements,” Reuters reports, as Bahrain embarks on a fiscal program aimed at eliminating its budget deficit by 2022. The move by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE “makes sense economically” because “any collapse of Bahrain’s currency […]

     
  • Russia, Saudi Arabia Planned Rise in Production Before OPEC Meeting
     

    Russia and Saudi Arabia have struck a deal to raise oil output from September through December to cool rising prices, according to Reuters. The deal, struck in private in September, was then shared with the United States before a meeting in Algiers with other producers, according to four sources familiar with the plan cited by Reuters. The […]

     
  • Saudi Private Sector Growth Slows to Four Month Low
     

    Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector slowed to a four-month low in September, a monthly survey of companies showed on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 53.4 last month from 55.1 in August. A level above 50 indicates expansion, Reuters reports. Despite struggles in the private sector, Saudi […]

     
  • The Impact of Reforms on The Saudi Retail Experience – Report
     

    A report today in Reuters highlights the impact that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic and social reforms are having on Saudi Arabia’s malls and bazaars – which are changing as retailers embrace a shift in shopping habits. “Designer clothes stores and high-end chocolate and flower shops are shutting and fast-fashion, fast-food, budget stores and cinemas […]

     
  • Oil Reaches Four Year High after OPEC+ Downplays Calls for Increased Production
     

    Oil rose to its highest price in four years on Tuesday, to above $81 on Brent, after Saudi Arabia and Russia appeared to downplay calls from the US to increase production. Saudi Arabia said it will boost its crude oil production “in the coming months” as it expects stronger demand, according to recent comments made by […]

     
  • Uptick in Saudi-Pakistan Relations Following Visit of New PM Khan to Riyadh
     

    New Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Saudi Arabia this week for meetings with high-level Saudi officials to discuss trade and diplomatic issues. Khan met directly with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit. As a result of the Prime Minister’s meetings, Pakistan has reportedly invited Saudi Arabia to become the third […]

     
  • The Cohen Group will Launch a Saudi Arabia Office, Company Says
     

    Global business advisory firm The Cohen Group announced today that it will launch an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the company focuses more on the region’s largest economy. The new office will “serve as the hub for the firm’s operations in the region,” the company said in a press release today. “Our decision to open a […]

     
  • PIF Selects Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Michael Klein Selected to Advise on SABIC sale
     

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has chosen Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Michael Klein as advisers on its planned sale of a stake in petrochemicals firm SABIC to Saudi Aramco, sources familiar with the process told Reuters. Citigroup Inc has reportedly won the mandate to advise Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC). Reuters previously […]

     
  • Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih in Washington Today to Meet with Secretary Perry
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih is in Washington D.C. on Monday to meet with Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, according to a Reuters report which cited a Trump administration official and the Department of Energy. Saudi Arabia has markedly increased oil exports to America in recent months, according to Bloomberg. This weekend, the energy minister […]

     
  • Aramco Officials Begin Early Talks with Banks for SABIC Stake Financing, Report Says
     

    Saudi Aramco officials began early talks with banks about a potential debt financing of up to $70 billion to back its acquisition of a majority stake in Saudi petrochemical firm Sabic, Reuters reports, citing banking sources. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were picked to advise on Saudi Aramco’s plan in July. Aramco is looking at the 70% strategic stake in Sabic which […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Facebook, telcos plan subsea cable to connect Africa, Middle East and Europe

    Facebook and a team of African and global telecom majors have struck a deal to build one of the world’s largest subsea cable networks, boosting internet availability across three continents, they said in a joint statement on Thursday.

  • The Saudi entrepreneur keeping camel milk flowing in America

    When it comes to drinking milk, most Americans only think of cows. But a company run by a young Saudi entrepreneur has been trying to change habits after introducing camel milk to the US market.

  • US-EU tensions set to escalate over Iran’s coronavirus crisis

    If the Europeans do stand up against Washington, Iran will have, at least, gained something positive from its predicament. By the same token, if the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX)—a French-registered trade mechanism launched in January 2019 to facilitate transactions by circumventing banks—fails to do much to give Iranians relief while coronavirus continues ravaging their country, that will further reinforce Tehran’s view of Europe as subservient to Washington’s global agendas. Consequently, this will push Iranian decision-makers to deepen ties with Russia and China.

  • Saudi Fund Offered $1.6 Billion for Ritz Hotel Amid Family Feud

    Saudi Arabia investment fund Sidra Capital offered 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) for the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London before it was eventually sold for nearly half of that sum to a private Qatari investor. The bid was revealed Wednesday during a court dispute between two sides of one of the U.K.’s wealthiest families, the Barclays. The hotel, which opened in London’s Mayfair in 1906, was sold for less than 800 million pounds in March.

  • EU to beef up scrutiny of money-laundering risks, adds Panama to list, but leaves off Saudi Arabia

    The European Commission aims to intensify its scrutiny of states posing money-laundering risks, and is looking into creating a new body to help police financial crime and monitor banks more strictly, draft documents seen by Reuters show.

  • ‘Force Majeure’ Paves Way for Salary Cuts in Saudi Arabia

    The document, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, allows employers to reduce working hours and cut 40 percent of total salaries for a period of six months and provides for the termination of contracts with employees after this period.

  • Europe Launches Massive Campaign to Fund Coronavirus Vaccine

    In total, the initiators want to raise at least $40 billion so that a vaccine can ultimately be distributed to people everywhere. "The aim is to raise 7.5 billion euros to ramp up work,” von der Leyen recently said. "This is a first step only, but more will be needed in the future, because beating coronavirus will require sustained actions on many fronts."

  • Reuters Factbox: The foreign policy issues that divide Trump and Biden

    President Donald Trump won election in 2016 promising to put “America First,” overturn what he said were unfair trade deals and force U.S. allies to pay more toward joint defense measures. In a Nov. 3 election, he will face off against former Vice President Joe Biden, who pledges to restore U.S. global leadership and reverse many of Trump’s foreign policy actions.

  • MENA managers say Saudi Arabia and UAE most vulnerable: Reuters poll

    Middle Eastern fund managers plan to increase investments in Egypt in the current quarter, according to a Reuters poll, and say Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are most vulnerable to tumbling oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. The region, which is mostly under lockdown as it deals with the outbreak, is home to many oil producers, who have seen the price of their main resource tumble as they spend to help support their economies.

  • Saudi Wealth Fund Buys Stakes in European Energy Companies

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has built up stakes in European oil firms, including about $200 million in Equinor ASA, as the kingdom navigates the coronavirus pandemic and plummeting crude prices. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that PIF also built up stakes in Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Eni SpA, worth about $1 billion combined across all four oil majors, citing people familiar.