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Recent stories from sustg

  • A Tadawul Opening Road Map
     

    Jadwa Investments is a well respected Shariah-compliant investment bank based in Saudi Arabia.  Jadwa’s market studies and regular updates can be counted on to be highly informed and concise analyses of the topic at hand. Their monthly ‘Chartbooks,’ quarterly GDP updates, annual budget report and specific sector analysis are regular features on the Saudi-US Trade […]

     
  • Sfakianakis: Now is the Time for Energy Subsidy Reform in Saudi Arabia
     

    Annual energy subsidies in Saudi Arabia amount to $120 billion; roughly a quarter of all global energy subsidies combined. As with subsidies worldwide, those in Saudi Arabia are in place primarily for political and social reasons. Unfortunately, energy subsidies result in numerous and profound economic distortions that ultimately do not benefit the poor in particular […]

     
  • The Good Stuff
     

    So, Walid, this Saudi student at the University of Southern California was in Pennsylvania talking with some Amish farmers about their camels… A lot has been made of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) established in 2005 to encourage Saudi students to study abroad. It is a truly ambitious enterprise that has propelled 150,000+ Saudi […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s Timely Push for Solar to Reduce Oil Consumption
     

    It’s no secret that Saudi Arabia’s energy consumption is soaring, and that to meet increasing demand, the Kingdom is siphoning off more and more of its crude to power the booming Saudi economy. Although Saudi Arabia has plenty of oil, what is consumed to meet domestic power demand cannot be sold on the market. Writing […]

     
  • Sfakianakis: ‘The great giant of the emerging markets has finally awakened’
     

    Saudi Arabia’s stability in contrast to many of its neighbors in the Middle East region is a cause for optimism for the Kingdom’s economy and future, writes John Sfakianakis in the Financial Times’ Beyond Brics blog. Noting that those who argue that the Kingdom is the next destination for turmoil have “been thinking that for […]

     
  • The Saudi Stock Exchange is Opening Up to Foreign Investment
     

    The Saudi Stock Market, also known as the Tadawul All-Share Index or TASI, will open up to foreign investment to money managers outside the GCC for the first time, Bloomberg reports citing the official Saudi Press Agency. “The oil-rich kingdom’s cabinet authorized the Capital Market Authority to allow overseas financial institutions to buy and sell […]

     
  • HRDF’s New Priority: Business Education Scholarships For Saudi’s Young Private Sector Leaders
     

    Since its inception in 2000, the primary mission of the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) has been to provide job training and locate entry-level employment for young Saudis. But thanks to a new partnership with The Madinah Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (MILE), HRDF now has another ambitious goal: to educate and support Saudi’s […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s Upcoming 10th Economic Development Plan is of Critical Importance
     

    Saudi Arabia’s two most important national economic goals are diversification and the creation of jobs. Simply, if the economy fails to diversify and doesn’t create enough jobs for Saudis, prospects for Saudi Arabia’s post-oil future will be severely diminished.  An economic development plan is only as good as its implementation.

     
  • SMEs in Saudi Arabia: How the Supreme Economic Council Can Support SME Growth in the Kingdom
     

    SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are key to an economy’s growth and account for 60% to 70% of jobs in most Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with a particularly large share in Italy and Japan, and a relatively smaller share in the US. The percentage contribution of SMEs to GDP/total value added […]

     
  • VIDEO: FocusKSA Discussion on ‘Saudi Labor in Transition’
     

    Last week, SUSTG President Richard Wilson and SUSRIS Editor-in-Chief Patrick Ryan hosted three panelists to discuss issues related to labor in Saudi Arabia.

     

MUST-READS

  • Commercial Regulations
    Standing at 30% of GDP: Saudi Shoura takes on fight against ‘shadow’ economy

    The Shoura Council is currently debating a new law to fight tasattur or illegal business activities conducted by expatriates in the name of Saudis. The law is significant as the country’s shadow economy is estimated at nearly SR250 billion (66 billion USD) annually.

  • Oil Price and the Saudi Economy
    Oil price fall will hit fiscal income but KSA economy to stay strong: Al-Assaf

    Saudi Arabia will continue to show strong economic growth this year despite the fall in oil prices, said Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf on Sunday. He attributed his prediction to the huge government expenditures on major infrastructure projects across the country.

  • Saudi Policy
    Focus: The tough questions facing Saudi Arabia’s economy

    Effectively, then, national development transpired via oil income (and state owned enterprises), bypassing industrialization. As part and parcel of the statist economic models of the surrounding region, national development then must move towards private, alternative economic development. However, in the absence of a suitable private sector climate a middle ground must be engaged, namely entrepreneurship.

  • Saudi Economy
    Saudi Economy: Quarterly GDP Update 2014Q2 – Jadwa

    At annual growth rate of 4.7 percent, the non-oil private sector remained the main contributor to overall economic growth. The growth rate was marginally higher than the 4.6 percent recorded in Q1 2014, but lower than the 6.1 percent recorded in the same period last year. We calculate that the sector contributed to 73 percent of overall growth in the second quarter of this year. We expect the private sector to maintain a robust level of growth supported by strong domestic demand, rising bank lending and public sector investment.

  • Egyptian Economy
    Egyptians’ Views on Life, Economy Starting to Rebound

    After a tumultuous year of political turmoil, violence, and at times international isolation, Egyptians seem to be turning a corner. The percentage of Egyptians who rate their lives poorly enough to be considered "suffering" has been cut in half, dropping to 16% this June, one year after hitting a record high of 34%. At the same time, the percentage who rate their lives highly enough to be considered "thriving" has nearly doubled over the same time period, rising from 9% to 17%.

  • Saudi Economy
    Saudi economy ‘dynamic and growing: Prince Turki Al Faisal

    HRH Turki al Faisal, chairman at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, discusses the benefits of opening up the Saudi Arabia stock exchange and the opportunities in the country.

  • Information Technology
    Government IT spending fuels Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s innovation economy

    Overall IT spending in the Kingdom - the Middle East's largest IT market - is set grow by 23 percent from US$ 11.5 billion in 2014 to US$ 14.2 billion in 2017 according to IDC's report 'Saudi Arabia Vertical Markets 2013-2017 IT Spending Forecast'. Government will be the fastest-growing vertical in this period, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.9 percent, according to IDC. Guiding investment is the Kingdom's Ninth Development Plan, which projects a 27 percent increase in government spending from SAR 150 billion in 2009 to SAR 191 billion in 2014.

  • Labor
    KSA ministries pursue Saudization of economy

    The Ministries of Interior and Labor are working on identifying the commercial sectors and activities that will be fully Saudi-ized. They are studying the sectors that fit with the available human capacity in order to put an end to the foreign labor’s monopoly on some important business sectors in Saudi Arabia, such as wholesale and retail trade.

  • Saudi GDP
    How Big Is the Saudi Economy? Does the World Bank Know?

    The Bank (2012) now estimates the total size of the Saudi economy at $1,462 billion, yet as recently as 2010—if the data table posted to the left is accurate—it had assessed it instead at a mere $593 billion. As of 2013, both the IMF and the CIA provide figures that are closer to the World Bank’s earlier estimation than to its current figure ($937 billion US and $928 billion respectively).

  • Saudi Economy
    Analysis | Saudi Economy – Jadwa Chartbook – September 2014

    Economic data for July was strong with the non-oil PMI expanding at the fastest rate since September 2012. Consumer spending also remained robust. Cement production and sales declined on the back of seasonal trends, but also due to changes in labor market.