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  • Saudi Founding Day 2025: Everything you need to know

    Saudi Founding Day is a few weeks away – and we’re already excited for the first Saudi public holiday of 2025. On Saturday February 22, the nation will come together to celebrate the founding of the First Saudi State in Diriyah in 1727. Introduced in 2022, Saudi Founding Day has become the first Saudi public holiday of each year, with both public and private sector workers getting a day off. As this year’s public holiday falls on a weekend, stay tuned for official announcements as to whether Sunday February 23 could be a day off, too with all full guide to key dates in 2025.

  • Saudi boxing powerbroker lowering PPV prices amid efforts to combat piracy, grow sport

    Saudi Arabian power broker Turki Alalshikh is working to lower PPV prices around boxing to bring in more buyers and combat piracy, and promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s a supporter of the move. There’s long been a debate within boxing about whether the price of PPVs has gotten too exorbitant, with fights in the U.S. often being being priced around $80 in recent years. But as Alalshikh has become the de facto most powerful person in boxing over the last year, he’s looked into making PPV units more affordable. He appears to be following through on his plan, as multiple fights in recent months have had a PPV price between $20-60 in the U.S. Alalshikh is aligned with DAZN, which is reportedly in advanced talks to receive a major investment from Saudi Arabia’s SURJ Sports Investment Co.

  • IMF lowers 2025 Mena growth forecast on slowing Saudi economy

    The International Monetary Fund on Friday lowered its growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa this year, largely reflecting a slowdown in Saudi Arabia's economy due to Opec+ production cuts. The broader Mena economy is projected to grow by 3.5 per cent this year, according to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook, half a percentage point down from its October update. Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and Opec’s top oil producer, is forecast to grow by 3.3 per cent in 2025, a downwards revision of 1.3 percentage points. Its economy is projected to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2026, which is down by 0.3 percentage points from the fund's October forecast.

  • Saudi Minister of Finance Participates in 2025 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

    His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Finance, Mr. Mohammed Aljadaan, will participate as a member of the Saudi delegation at the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, scheduled to be held January 20-24, 2025 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland under the theme "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age". During the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting, Minister Aljadaan will participate in several sessions to discuss various topics including new approaches to measuring growth, ways to drive action through international forums, challenges facing emerging economies, MENA region's economic growth, economic diversification's impact on sustainability, GCC's role in global economic growth, as well as Saudi Arabia's economic transformation.

  • A Saudi Arabian Driver Won the Dakar Rally For the First Time on Home Soil

    For the first time since 1994, the overall Dakar winner won on home soil as Yazeed Al Rajhi became the first Saudi Arabian to win the desert rally. The only other competitor to win at home was Pierre Lartigue in his first of three consecutive victories and the only one to finish back in Paris. Al Rajhi won as a privateer Toyota entry in a Dakar that Toyotas dominated after Carlos Sainz Sr.'s Audi, which captured victory for Audi for the first time in last year's Dakar, was forced to exit the rally during stage three following a crash in stage two.

  • Saudi Arabia unveils digital services for Hajj pilgrims

    The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) have signed a memorandum of cooperation to harness smart products for pilgrims and build a knowledge base to exchange best practices in modern technologies. Under this agreement, both parties are committed to spreading awareness in the field of data and artificial intelligence through camps, workshops, seminars, and conferences. Training programs will be held for employees of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in data and artificial intelligence.

  • Joy Awards 2025 captivates Saudi capital with star-studded ceremony

    Regional and global stars got together at a mesmerizing awards ceremony in Saudi Arabia to honor Arab and international talents at the 2025 edition of the annual Joy Awards on Saturday. The Kingdom’s capital, Riyadh, embraced numerous A-listers, who graced the lavender carpet before the event kicked off with a breathtaking performance by American singer Christina Aguilera.

  • Saudi Arabia issues nearly 522K commercial records in 2024

    Saudi Arabia experienced a 60 percent increase in commercial records in 2024, with a total of 521,969 issued, compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The number of commercial records granted in 2023 was 368,038, the ministry said in a statement outlining its achievements for 2024. Last year, there were 368,038 registrations from establishments and 153,931 from companies, bringing the total number of active commercial records in the Kingdom to 1,606,169.

  • New traffic law: Driving with expired registration in Saudi Arabia now a major offence

    Saudi Arabia has amended its traffic law to include a new violation for driving with an expired vehicle registration, as reported by the government gazette Umm Al Qura. The amendments, approved by the Saudi Cabinet, aim to enhance road safety and modernise the regulatory framework. A royal decree (No. M/140) outlined the changes, including the repeal of Article 71 of the Traffic Law and the modification of the second schedule of violations to include "driving a vehicle with an expired licence" as an offence. The decree also requires the Ministry of Interior to update the executive regulations of the Traffic Law to reflect these amendments.

  • Riyadh’s property boom puts home ownership beyond reach of many Saudis

    Saudi Arabia’s housing minister has acknowledged that soaring property prices in Riyadh have become a “concern” for the government, highlighting the difficulties facing officials desperate to turn home ownership into a reality for the vast majority of its citizens in the capital. Property prices in Riyadh have surged since the pandemic, with the cost of a house now almost 81 per cent higher than in 2020, according to real estate researchers Knight Frank. Apartment prices in the city, meanwhile, have increased 56 per cent over the same period. The surge in prices is complicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attempts to hit a 70 per cent goal for owner-occupancy by 2030. At the moment, 63 per cent of Saudis own their own home, up from 47 per cent in 2016, when the Crown Prince’s ambitious reforms of the Saudi economy were first unveiled. But the figure in Riyadh, where 4.4mn of 18.8mn Saudis live, is far lower at 53.2 per cent, according to the latest census data, taken from 2022.