SUSTG.com / Research

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

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Arabia to Cut Oil Supply to China Amid Weak Demand

    Weak demand in China will lead to lower supply from the world’s top crude exporter, Saudi Arabia, to the world’s largest crude importer in December, trading sources told Reuters on Monday. The drop in Saudi supply would come despite the fact that the Kingdom has reduced its official selling prices (OSPs) for crude loading in December for Asia. December will see a second consecutive month of lower Saudi deliveries to China, estimated at a total of 36.5 million barrels. This would be down from 37.5 million barrels expected this month, and 46 million barrels in October, according to trade data compiled by Reuters.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman says Israel committing genocide in Gaza

    At a joint summit by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference held in Riyadh, the prince and other Arab leaders doubled down on their criticism of Israel's assaults on Gaza and Lebanon, calling for an immediate ceasefire. "This summit is held as an extension to the previous summit in light of the continued heinous Israeli aggressions against our brotherly Palestinian people and the extension of aggressions on the brotherly Republic of Lebanon," he said in his keynote speech. "The kingdom reiterates its denounciation of the genocide perpetrated by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people, which resulted in more than 150,000 martyrs, wounded and missing, the majority of whom are women and children."

  • What Trump’s return means for US ties with Saudi Arabia

    But the Middle East has changed dramatically since Trump left office in 2021, and a lot depends on how he navigates these shifts. The GCC is more unified internally and on better terms with neighbours like Iran compared to Trump's first term. The Gulf states’ financial ties with Beijing, meanwhile, go much deeper than four years ago. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are also heavily involved with the BRICS group of developing nations and Saudi Arabia has been granted dialogue partner status in the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). At some point, Beijing’s deep trade and technology ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE may irk Trump, and it will be interesting to watch how he deals with these new realities.

  • COP29: Saudi Arabia launches carbon credit exchange to bolster decarbonization efforts

    The exchange platform, managed by Saudi Arabia's Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (RVCMC), is part of Saudi Arabia's strategy to scale up its voluntary carbon market. As part of the opening, 22 Saudi and international companies will participate in an auction on Nov. 12 on the platform. The auction will offer 2.5 million high-integrity carbon credits from 17 projects certified by Verra, Gold Standard and Puro.earth, with a vintage of 2020 onwards. Most of the credits auctioned will be from projects in the Global South, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam. This will be RVCMC's third carbon credit auction after it held auctions in Nairobi and Riyadh previously. Last year, RVCMC sold 2.2 million mt of carbon credits on June 14 at its second auction in Kenya as the kingdom looks to expand its presence in the carbon sector.

  • India, Saudi Arabia top buyers of Russian VGO and fuel oil in October, LSEG data shows

    India and Saudi Arabia were the top destinations for Russian seaborne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports in October, traders said and LSEG data showed. Total fuel oil and VGO exports from Russian ports last month declined by 3% from September to about 4.15 million metric tons, according to Reuters calculations based on LSEG data. Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products went into effect in February 2023, Asian countries became the main destination for Russia's fuel oil and VGO supplies.

  • Saudi Arabia Needs to Build 115,000 Homes A Year to Hit Demand

    Saudi Arabia will need to build 115,000 homes each year for the next six years to fulfill demand from a young population and hit ownership targets set by the oil-rich nation’s government, according to Knight Frank LLP. The kingdom’s government wants homeownership to reach 70% by 2030 from 63.7% at the end of 2023. The Saudi government’s target along with new household formation are helping drive much of the demand in a country where 45% of citizens are below 20 years old, according to the report. The kingdom’s Sakani program, which includes social housing, has 883,562 applications from people looking to buy homes with financing help through guarantees on mortgages below 520,000 riyals ($138,448). The kingdom’s population grew in Saudi at 1.8% annually compared with a global rate of 1.1% between 2010 and 2002, according to the World Bank.

  • Arab, Muslim leaders meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on Gaza, Lebanon wars

    The summit builds on the earlier Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on Nov. 11, 2023, following the directives of King Salman and complementing the efforts of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to address the dangerous and unprecedented developments in Gaza and the rest of Palestine. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, along with the secretaries-general of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, aim to initiate immediate international action to halt the war on Gaza and achieve a lasting, comprehensive peace.

  • ‘Change the Game’: Saudi Arabia Takes a Stride Into Women’s Tennis

    Moving into tennis, Saudi Arabia recently hosted the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition showcasing the top men’s players. And it struck a three-year deal with the financially struggling WTA to bring its finals to Riyadh in part with the promise of awarding some $15 million in prize money this year. Those are the highest winnings in the history of women’s tennis, satisfying players’ demands for prize parity with men. “The Western world can keep reporting that our country is sportswashing, or whatever, but what matters is that my sisters and I can watch our favorite sports stars right here at home,” said Maryam al-Shammeri, who was in the crowd for the WTA final on Saturday night with her brother and two sisters.

  • Preserving the Past, Building the Future: Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage and business synergy

    In the Quality of Life Program 2023 annual report, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the Kingdom is striving to cultivate a deep sense of pride in the nation and actively contribute to global development and progress, across economic, environmental, cultural, and intellectual dimensions. The report further revealed that in 2023, the Ministry of Culture targeted 108,010 employees in the Saudi cultural sector, but recorded 216,878 workers during the year, reflecting an achievement rate of 201 percent.

  • Iran’s president hails Saudi Arabia’s summit initiative in call with crown prince

    Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman received on Sunday a phone call from Iran’s President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian. During the call, the Iranian leader praised Saudi Arabia’s initiative to convene a joint Arab-Islamic follow-up summit to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Palestinian and Lebanese territories. He wished the summit a great success. The two leaders also reviewed the improvement of relations between the two countries and ways to further enhance them, the Saudi Press Agency reported.