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  • Move Over Dubai, Saudi Arabia Is Taking Center World Stage

    Behind the headlines, an extraordinary real estate-led development boom has been going on within the country, driven by what the Saudis call ‘giga-projects.’ And for once the scale of these initiatives lives up to the self-dubbed hype because they are enormous in scope, ambition, and size and are threatening to shift the tourism and retail axis away from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Simply stated, Saudi Arabia is taking center world stage.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Zaabal Castle area nears completion in major urban revitalization effort

    Jouf municipality has announced that a project to develop the area surrounding Zaabal Castle is 95 percent complete, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. The development is part of an initiative to combat urban blight in Saudi cities, according to the SPA report. The mayor of Jouf region, Atef bin Mohammed Al-Shara’an, said the project will not only contribute to the growth of its tourism sector, but also the preservation of archaeological landmarks while integrating the urban and heritage identity of the region.

  • Aramco inks MoU with GCT for 5G across Saudi Arabia

    Aramco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with chip company GCT Semiconductor to help create a 4G and 5G ecosystem across Saudi Arabia to provision mission-critical and public safety networks. State-owned Aramco and GCT Semiconductor explained they plan “to design and co-develop chipsets and modules tailored for LTE, 5G and the NTN spectrum in order to support the localisation of wireless end-user devices and IoT manufacturing”.

  • Saudi Arabia’s real estate deals hit 1.03M in Q1 2023

    The number of real estate transactions stood at 1.03 million in the first quarter of 2023, the Saudi Justice Ministry's data showed. According to the ministry's data, the real estate transactions included registrations, compensations, amendments to old deeds, and updating manual deeds, in addition to merging properties, deeds, grants, and mortgages. Riyadh topped the list with around 934,700 transactions, followed by Makkah with around 34,800 transactions

  • Canoo Teams Up with Red Sea Global for EV Pilot Program in Saudi Arabia

    The U.S. electric vehicle startup Canoo signed on Monday a partnership with Red Sea Global (RSG) to pilot its electric vehicles at the renowned regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and AMAALA. AMAALA is an ultra-luxury tourism destination being developed along the Red Sea coast in northwestern Saudi Arabia with more than 4,000 sq. km — yes, km. The first phase of the luxurious complex is expected to be finished by 2025.

  • Electronic payments rise by 70 pc in Saudi Arabia

    As reported by the Saudi Press Agency, 10.8 billion transactions were processed in 2023 compared to 8.7 billion transactions in 2022. The e-commerce sector is expected to exceed $13.2 billion by 2025, after a 60 per cent surge in online shopping in 2019-20. Reports suggest close to 91 per cent of Saudi consumers now shop through e-commerce, and close to 14 per cent of money is spent online at least once a day. In 2023, Amazon Saudi also doubled its storage capacity in the year 2023. It had launched a 2.7 million cubic foot fulfilment centre in Riyadh that can house more than 9 million products.

  • WWE King & Queen of The Ring Set to Return in Saudi Arabia

    WWE’s decade-long deal with Saudi Arabia is still going strong as there are still quite a few events left as part of their ongoing deal. Their next event will be taking place in May and now it appears it will feature the King & Queen of The Ring this time around.

  • Eid Al Fitr 2024: Shawwal moon not sighted in Saudi Arabia

    The moon sighting committee in Saudi Arabia declared that the Shawwal crescent could not be sighted in the Kingdom today. As a result, the holy month of Ramadan will continue until April 9, lasting 30 days. Eid Al Fitr will, therefore, be observed on April 10. The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia had called on all Muslims across the Kingdom to sight the Shawwal crescent on the evening of Monday, Ramadan 29. The sighting of the Shawwal moon marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid Al Fitr.

  • Etihad Expands To 76 Destinations With Airbus A320s To Saudi Arabia’s Al Qassim

    In most parts of the world, Etihad Airways is known for its ultra-luxurious long-haul flights across continents, but it also has a thriving short-haul network served mainly by Airbus A320 Family aircraft. Last Friday, the full-service carrier announced adding a new route from Abu Dhabi to Al Qassim in Saudi Arabia, which will commence in June.

  • ‘Reef Saudi’ Invests USD16.2 Million to Elevate Saudi Arabia’s Coffee Production

    The ‘Reef Saudi’ initiative, focused on Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development, is revolutionizing the Kingdom’s coffee industry. Since 2020, an initial investment of SR61 million has empowered 3,718 individuals engaged in coffee cultivation and production. This commitment signals a transformative surge in Saudi Arabia’s coffee output, soaring from 800 tons in 2020 to 1,485 tons in 2023, marking a remarkable 37% increase.