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  • The new ‘rivers’ of Saudi Arabia

    The giant pipelines that criss-cross the country to distribute the desalinated water have been recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest water distribution system – with a total length of more than 14,000km. Indeed, so vast is the network that if all these giant pipelines were laid one after the other, they would roughly stretch from Saudi capital Riyadh, which lies in the centre of the country, to Guadalajara, in western Mexico. The total distribution network is more than 130,000km long, while the collection network stretches to over 50,000km in length, said Mr Al Abdulkarim.

  • Cynthia Erivo, Will Smith, Michelle Yeoh, Emily Blunt Help Open Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival

    The Red Sea International Film Festival has officially kicked off its fourth edition as A-listers and international auteurs converged in Jeddah’s old town of Al-Balad in Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city for a decidedly glamorous opening ceremony. Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Eva Longoria, Michelle Yeo, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a flowing blue sky gown and cape, Squid Game breakout Hoyeon, Michelle Rodriguez, Bollywood star Aamir Khan, competition jury president Spike Lee, action stars Will Smith and Vin Diesel, Kareena Kapoor, Saudi actor Khaled Yeslam and Daniel Dae Kim were among the global stars in lavish outfits at the opening gala on Thursday night. The glamorous event saw the stars converge on the main building of the city’s new Culture Square that mixes traditional architecture and modern technology. The site is being touted as “the new home of film” in Jeddah and Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom of Oil. However, is It Now the Kingdom of Metals?

    Media reports indicate that mining now plays a central role in Riyadh’s strategy to reduce oil dependency, with a focus on utilizing its significant reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite. The reports claim that Saudi Arabia holds considerable amounts of minerals necessary for the energy transition, such as aluminum, copper and rare earth elements. According to Arab News, the World Risk Report 2023 published by UK-based consultancy MineHutte last year pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s mining sector had been one of the world’s fastest-growing regulatory and investment-friendly environments for five years. The report added that after the passing of a new Mining Investment Law in 2021, there was a 138% increase in the number of exploitation licenses issued. Saudi Arabia recently revised its estimate of untapped mineral resources, raising the value from the US $1.3 trillion forecasted eight years ago to $2.5 trillion. According to a report from Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s mining minister, Bandar Al-Khorayef, stated that the Kingdom’s reserve potential had grown by nearly 90%.

  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Bpifrance sign $10bn finance deal

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Bpifrance Assurance Export, represented by the French Treasury office in Riyadh, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the bilateral partnership and cooperation. The deal will see Bpifrance Assurance Export provide financing support of up to $10bn to PIF and PIF portfolio companies. Bpifrance Assurance Export General Director Denis Le Fers said: “This agreement will mutually benefit both countries by strengthening Franco-Saudi commercial relationships, increasing trade flows, and developing opportunities for French companies to forge new partnerships, as well as contributing to the development of Saudi Vision 2030.”

  • How Saudi Arabia is leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle land degradation

    The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines land degradation as the reduction or loss of land’s biological or economic productivity caused by human-induced activities, including deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable agricultural practices. Saudi Arabia’s Climate Envoy and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir believes land degradation is driving the displacement of millions and destabilizing entire regions across the globe. “When people cannot grow food, they migrate,” he told delegates at the COP16 summit in Riyadh on Tuesday.

  • Red Sea International Film Festival kicks off in Saudi Arabia

    Hollywood stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Emily Blunt and Cynthia Erivo joined Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh on the red carpet while there was also a strong showing from Bollywood with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor posing for photographs at the opening ceremony. Vin Diesel, Will Smith and Riyadh-based model Georgina Rodriguez also made surprise appearances. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee — known for films such as “Malcom X” and “BlacKkKlansman” — is presiding over the features competition jury this year, while Oscar-winning actress and producer Viola Davis and Egyptian star Mona Zaki are this year’s honorees at the festival, which will run until Dec. 14 under the theme “The New Home of Film.”

  • Pharmaceutical industry in Saudi Arabia – statistics & facts

    Multinational companies like Sanofi, Novartis, and GSK hold a dominant share of Saudi Arabia’s pharmaceutical market. Sanofi leads with the largest market share, while local firms are also gaining ground. Notably, Jamjoom Pharma is the fastest-growing local player, driven by top brands like Azi-Once, which have seen impressive growth. Jamjoom Pharma’s revenue exceeded one billion Saudi riyals in 2023.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Almoosa plans to raise up to $450 million through Riyadh IPO

    Saudi healthcare provider Almoosa Health plans to raise as much as 1.688 billion riyals ($449.3 million) from selling a 30% stake in the company via an initial public offering on the Riyadh bourse, it said on Wednesday. In a statement the company said the price range for the offering had been set at 123-127 riyals per share, implying a market capitalization of between 5.45 billion riyals and 5.62 billion riyals.

  • Imax Opens First Location With Saudi Arabia’s Muvi, Sets Inaugural Arabic-Language Feature

    Imax and Saudi Arabia’s Muvi Cinemas on Wednesday hosted a grand opening event for the new Imax location at Muvi Mall of Arabia in Jeddah. This is the first Imax location from Saudi’s largest exhibitor. During the event, which was held just ahead of the kickoff of the Red Sea Film Festival, Imax revealed plans to release the first-ever Arabic-language feature in the format, Black Light Films’ action comedy Ambulance. Directed by Colin Teague and starring Ibrahim Hajjaj and Muhammed Al-Qahtani, it will release on April 17, 2025. The film, set against the backdrop of modern-day Riyadh, centers on two paramedics who stumble upon a briefcase containing 2 million riyals. What should be a life-changing moment quickly spirals into their worst nightmare as the duo becomes entangled in a web of kidnapping, blackmail and murder.

  • Saudi Arabia courts growing number of foreign investors

    French President Emmanuel Macron was in Saudi Arabia Wednesday for his first visit in six years, sealing deals and deepening ties. Specifically on the agenda was energy, with Saudi officials signing 25-year agreements with French companies TotalEnergies and EDF Renewables to build three solar parks, as well as defense: Macron confirmed progress on selling Rafale fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, calling it a “major change in the bilateral relationship.”