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  • Everything Saudi Arabia is Doing to Combat the Spread of COVID-19 in One Video
     

    Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar recently shared on twitter a 60-second video showing all the steps that Saudi Arabia has taken to combat the spread of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, within the Kingdom.

     
  • Saudi Arabia Gears Up to Host G20 Summit; Saudi FM Travels to Japan for Ceremony
     

    Saudi Arabia is making major preparations to host the annual gathering of the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations next year in Riyadh, the 15th meeting of the group that is set to thrust the city into the global spotlight. The meeting will be held on November 21–22, 2020, and will be chaired […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF Reportedly Invests $400m in Disruptive Food Startup Founded by Travis Kalanick
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has invested $400 million into Uber founder Travis Kalanick’s new company CloudKitchens, according to the Wall Street Journal. CloudKitchens is a food and real estate startup that buys cheap properties across the U.S. and in India, China, the U.K. and elsewhere. “The hope is that their proximity to densely populated areas will make them […]

     
  • Almarai Company Solar Project Set to be Kingdom’s Largest, For Now
     

    Saudi Arabia food and beverage conglomerate Almarai has completed a solar project which is being billed as Saudi Arabia’s largest to date, according to a report. The 15MW Al Kharj Solar project, built at a cost of SAR44.4 million (around $12 million), will generate 28GWh of solar power every year, according to the company. Almarai said Al […]

     
  • Economy Update: Prices cool down after a year of reforms
     

    The latest official government figures on inflation for Saudi Arabia show a decline in prices after a year of reforms, according a recently released report by Jadwa Investment. Over the last year, Saudi Arabia has introduced a number of reform measures, including the introduction of a VAT, utility price reform, and other changes. The latest General […]

     
  • Fragile Ceasefire in Key Yemen Port Broken with Fresh Fighting after Cross-Border Drone Attack on Saudi Oil Pipelines
     

    Fresh fighting broke out in a key port in Yemen yesterday, breaking a fragile cease-fire and threatening to complicate a troop withdrawal agreement intended to pave the way for wider peace talks, according to reports. Hodeidah port on the Western coast of Yemen “is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis threatened by starvation because of the war […]

     
  • Once Taboo, Valentines Day is Celebrated in Saudi Arabia
     

    Before 2018 in Saudi Arabia, Valentines Day was “an old tradition kept in the dark” and not openly celebrated by Saudis, instead being secretly observed by citizens in the privacy of their homes. Then, last year, Sheikh Ahmed Qasim Al-Ghamdi, former president of the Saudi “religious police” or Ha’ia, endorsed Valentine’s Day celebrations for the first time in […]

     
  • 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 […]

     
  • Ramadan Begins Today in Saudi Arabia
     

    Ramadan officially begins in Saudi Arabia Thursday, as millions of Muslims in the Kingdom and around the world prepare for a month of fasting, which is intended to bring Muslims closer to Allah and remind them of those less fortunate. The Islamic calendar is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, so each year, the […]

     
  • VAT, Fuel Price Reforms Cause Bump in Saudi Inflation
     

    Inflation rose in Saudi Arabia in January 2018 by 3 percent year-on-year, and 3.9 percent month-on-month “largely as a result of the implementation of VAT and utility and fuel price reform during the month,” Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment confirmed in a research note. The data is based on official Saudi figures released by the government. The figures suggested […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi IPO: Carlyle Seeks $325 Million From Alamar Foods Share Listing

    The Saudi initial public offering of the Middle East Domino’s Pizza franchise has received orders for all shares on offer within hours of opening its books, according to people familiar with the matter. Alamar Foods’ order book is fully covered, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Private equity firm Carlyle Group is seeking to raise as much as $325 million from the listing of the fast-food company on the Saudi stock exchange.

  • Saudi dairy giant Almarai plans to enter seafood category with $67m investment 

    Saudi-based dairy giant Almarai is looking to inject SR252 million ($67 million) as an initial investment to fund its entry into the seafood category. The investment will be used to fund Almarai’s seafood processing facility, according to a bourse filing.

  • Food crisis will have ‘huge impact’ on Middle East, says agritech entrepreneur David Meszaros

    “The problem is that we have increasingly relied on an outdated, very, very old, obsolete food system. This food system positions itself on field farming, and, because of that, there is a non-renewable aspect to it,” Meszaros said. “There is a continuous new need for fertilizers — whether that’s phosphorus, or nitrogen, or potassium-based fertilizers. There is still a need for (such fertilizers) and you cannot just expect the food system to switch in a matter of weeks or months.

  • Morocco counters Russia’s weaponization of the food-energy nexus

    Commodity shortages resulting from the war’s disruption of supply chains have sent consumer prices soaring worldwide. The most immediate impact has been felt in food production chains, especially in Africa’s food-insecure states on Europe’s southern borders. Already overstretched supporting a beleaguered Ukraine, the European Union’s immediate concern is that hunger-driven migration from Africa could be more than the EU can handle.

  • Turkey struggles to push Russia, Ukraine into grain deal to avert food crisis

    Turkish efforts to ease a global food crisis by negotiating safe passage for grain stuck in Black Sea ports met resistance as Ukraine said Russia was imposing unreasonable conditions and the Kremlin said free shipment depended on an end to sanctions. The war between Russia and Ukraine, the world's third and fourth largest grain exporters respectively, has added to food price inflation and put global food supplies at risk.

  • Global food prices are starting to fall—with a few key exceptions

    Food prices around the world fell for the second consecutive month in May, eased by a drop in vegetable oil prices, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO’s global food price index dipped 0.6% in May from the month before. In April, the drop was 0.8%. The index measures the monthly change in average prices of meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oils, and sugar.

  • Tension simmers on Iraqi street as food prices rise

    Already faced with chronic issues such as persistently high unemployment and a lack of access to basic services, Iraqis are now hit by skyrocketing prices for food staples. Observers blame the jump in prices on both the Russia-Ukraine war and endemic corruption. The rising consumer price inflation has sparked street protests in different parts of the country.

  • Saudi official warns of growing global food crisis from Ukraine war

    Before the war, more than 95% of Ukraine’s total grain, wheat and corn exports were shipped out via the Black Sea, and half of those exports went to MENA countries. That vital conduit is now shut, choking off Ukraine’s maritime trade after its ports came under attack from Russia’s military.

  • Saudi Arabia Food Delivery Company Jahez Seeks to Acquire Rival Chefz

    Jahez International Co. for Information Systems Technology, as the firm is formally known, plans a full takeover of The Chefz, according to a statement. The consideration for the proposed transaction will be based on a due diligence and will include cash and shares in Jahez.

  • Soaring food, fuel ramp up social unrest risk for emerging markets -report

    Rising fuel and food prices look set to stoke an "inevitable" rise in civil unrest, with developing middle-income countries such as Brazil or Egypt particularly at risk, a report by a risk consultancy said. Three quarters of nations expected to be at high-risk or extreme risk of civil unrest by the fourth quarter of 2022 were middle-income countries, as defined by the World Bank, Verisk Maplecroft said in an update to its political risk monitor.