Recent stories from sustg

  • IMF suggests Saudi Arabia double its VAT to 10%
     

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested that Saudi Arabia would see positive economic benefits by raising its Value Added Tax (VAT) to 10% after successfully implementing a 5% VAT last year. “The introduction of the VAT in January 2018 was a landmark achievement, with revenue collections exceeding expectations,” the Washington-based lender said in a report […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Names New Energy Minister, Appointing Royal with Deep OPEC Experience
     

    Saudi Arabia has named a new energy minister in Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a son of King Salman and older half brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to replace Khalid Al-Falih. Abdulaziz bin Salman is the first member of the royal family to serve as oil minister in Saudi Arabia, a break from longstanding […]

     
  • Saudi energy ministry appoints new head of REPDO, the Kingdom’s renewables body
     

    Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry has appointed a new head of its renewable energy project development office (REPDO) as the Kingdom pushes ahead with ambitious plans to integrate more renewable energy as part of its Vision 2030 economic and social reform plan. Faisal Al-Yemni, who was previously chief executive at GCC Assets Investment and Development Company and has […]

     
  • World’s Largest Fund Manager BlackRock Opens Office in Saudi Arabia
     

    BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has opened an office in Saudi Arabia, according to reports, as the company continues forward with plans to capitalize on the government’s economic reforms. A company spokeswoman told Reuters the BlackRock Riyadh office had “opened recently and is headed by Yazeed Almubarak,” the news service reports. Almubarak previously worked at Morgan Stanley […]

     
  • New Saudi Visa Program, Tourism Event Set for Launch on September 27th, Report Says
     

    A new visa scheme is coming to Saudi Arabia on September 27th that will benefit over 50 nations and will be a “game changer” initiative for attracting international tourists, a report in the English-language Saudi daily Arab News. “Although not officially confirmed by the government, industry sources told Arab News an event to showcase Saudi tourist attractions […]

     
  • Royal Decrees Shake Up Saudi Aramco, Energy and Industry Sectors
     

    A series of Royal Decrees issued by King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Friday included major shake ups to Saudi Aramco as well as government ministries and top leadership. King Salman issued a royal decree to set up a new Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, separating it from the Ministry of Energy. The Kingdom named Bandar Alkhorayef […]

     
  • Report: Saudi Aramco Considering Tokyo For International Listing
     

    Saudi Aramco is considering Tokyo as the international destination to list its shares, according to an exclusive report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Saudi Aramco is “considering a plan to split the world’s largest IPO into two stages, offering a portion of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange later this year and following up […]

     
  • Secretary Pompeo, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Meet in Washington
     

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met in Washington D.C. yesterday to discuss the ongoing war in Yemen and other U.S.-Saudi defense related topics. “On Yemen, the Secretary reiterated U.S. support for a negotiated resolution between the Republic of Yemen government and the Southern Transitional Council, and thanked […]

     
  • Video: Saudi Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema on how lack of financial self-sufficiency for women is #Solvable
     

    A new video interview released by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of a series on solvable problems around the world features Saudi Arabia’s new Ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar, discussing the issue of a lack financial literacy for women across the world. “Today more and more women are entering the workplace, […]

     
  • Women in Saudi Arabia begin exercising new travel rights as reforms progress
     

    Saudi women are beginning to exercise their new rights to travel without guardian approval as the Kingdom continues to enact progressive reforms as part of its Vision 2030 social and economic blueprint. This week’s announcement by the Departments of Passport and Civil Status that the organization has begun enforcing the amended Travel Documents Law and regulations […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Iraq’s Minister of foreign affairs meets his Saudi counterpart

    Iraq's minister of foreign affairs, Fuad Hussein, met today, Thursday, with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, in Marrakesh. A statement by the Ministry said that the two sides discussed bilateral relations between Baghdad and Riyadh, and the importance of regional and international cooperation to achieve security and stability.

  • Gates-Funded Startup Wants Make Carbon Removal Cheaper

    Mission Zero is entering a crowded market. A $100-million prize for carbon-removal ideas sponsored by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, received more than 1,100 entries. Mission Zero was a part of one of the 15 teams that were shortlisted in the first phase of the prize and awarded a $1 million grant to further their technology. Last month, Swiss startup Climeworks AG, which builds machines to capture CO₂ from air, raised $650 million — the largest round globally for a carbon-removal startup so far.

  • Jordanian craftsman makes swords out of car parts: Video

    21-year-old Motaz al Mazari keeps his family’s craft of sword manufacturing alive, adding his own twist of using metal scrap from used car parts.

  • Samsung, Chevron, Saudi Aramco pour $150m into carbon capture startup

    The round comes amid surging interest in CCS — last year, the global capacity of planned CCS projects grew 50% over nine months, and the industry was further boosted by the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which stressed the need for the technology. Other forms of carbon removal are also attracting interest. Climeworks, a Swiss startup working on direct air capture (where carbon is removed from the air itself, rather than captured at source) raised a $650m round last month.

  • Petronas-Aramco refinery in Malaysia restarts after 2-yr closure – source

    A 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery-petrochemical complex in Malaysia run as a joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco has restarted after a more than two-year closure, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The complex in Pengerang, Johor, is resuming operations at a time when refining margins in Asia are at record levels, buoyed by a fuel demand recovery as more economies across Asia, except for China, ease COVID-19 restrictions.

  • KAUST and Monsha’at Sign Partnership to Advance Saudi Economy by Creating Opportunities for Small & Medium Sized Enterprises

    A new program, KAUST SME Maharat helps small and medium organizations develop technical skills in vital areas such as AI, IoT, intellectual property and design thinking. The program has seen over 1,300 small business professionals enroll in the last two years. Additionally, a new Knowledge Partnership Program also seeks to transfer knowledge from KAUST’s research and innovation base to SMEs through consultancy.

  • Samsung, Chevron, Saudi Aramco pour $150m into carbon capture startup

    If we want to keep global warming below 1.5C, we can only emit another 500 gigatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, according to the UN’s climate council — that’s around eight years’ worth at the current rate. In the race to cut emissions, a lot of hope is pinned on carbon capture and storage tech (CCS) —  which captures the carbon produced in industrial processes before it reaches the atmosphere, be it in cement and steelmaking processes, oil refineries or natural gas production.

  • World’s first digital arts center is about to inaugurate in Saudi Arabia

    The DGDA has established in partnership with the MoC the first global platform that is concerned with arts and innovation in the fields of digital art, artificial intelligence and modern technologies. The center, with its diverse programs and training tracks in arts and modern technologies, is the first center specialized in digital arts in the world. The center was designed by the Italian architect Amedeo Schiattarella, who planned it in a lively creative environment, as it includes sites equipped with all the technical capabilities necessary for research, development and innovation in future arts.

  • Saudi Arabia Aims to Restart Privatization Plan for 29 Airports

    Ownership of the 29 airports has already been moved to a new entity, Matarat, in order to prepare them for the process, Abdulaziz Al Duailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, said in an interview Monday. An international investor roadshow could start in the next 12 to 18 months.

  • This Former Girls’ School In Saudi Is Now A Hub For Artists

    In 1964, this building was Saudi’s first girls’ school. Today, Madrasat Addeerah is an arts and traditional crafts hub. Taken over by the Royal Commission for Alula in 2019, the school is now a thriving art space, with over 70 students perfecting their skills in spaces including ceramic, jewellery, pottery, wicker making and more.