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  • Saudi Arabia Releases Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Three Other Prominent Detainees
     

    Just hours after a Reuters interview with reporter Katie Paul, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was released from his cushy confines in the Ritz Carlton, Riyadh, where he and other prominent businessmen and royals have been detained in a crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia that started in November. Prince Alwaleed gave a tour of his large […]

     
  • Saudi Aramco CEO Says Company Eying U.S. Expansion
     

    Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser said the company was eying expansion in the United States “where President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and support for the oil industry are making business increasingly attractive,” Reuters reports. Nasser also lauded the Trump administration as being friendly toward the oil industry. “The Trump administration has been positive towards the energy […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Announces 9 New Desalination Plants in 18 Months
     

    Saudi Arabia said it would build 9 new desalination plants in the next 18 months on the Red Sea coast, according to an announcement by the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman al-Fadhli. The new plants will cost SAR 2 billion ($533 million). The minister said the plants would be built “using modern techniques” […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Orders $2b ‘Deposit’ to Yemen to Shore Up Currency
     

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a $2 billion transfer to the Yemeni central bank, according to reports, as the Kingdom looks to shore up the economy of its war-torn southern neighbor. The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information (MoCI) said in a statement that the money is meant “to address the deteriorating economic situation” in Yemen. “All […]

     
  • Ride-Sharing Apps in Saudi Arabia Begin Recruiting Women as Drivers
     

    Ride sharing apps Uber and Careem have reportedly begun recruiting female drivers following the landmark royal decree permitting women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, CNN reports. Careem has launched a series of 90-minute-long training sessions in Saudi, targeting Saudi women who have already obtained valid driving licenses from abroad. Those sessions are “taught by […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Lowers Barriers to Stock Market Investment Again as Reforms Progress
     

    Saudi Arabia announced that it will lower the required minimum assets under management for qualified foreign institutions starting this month, according to Bloomberg and a statement by the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA). The announcement said the CMA will also allow foreigners to own up to 49 percent of listed securities on Saudi Arabia’s stock market. […]

     
  • ‘145,000 Documents Processed’ for Saudi Citizens Account Providing State Financial Support – Report
     

    The Saudi government says that its Saudi Citizen Account Program (SCAP) has handled “nearly 145,000 documents proving applicants eligibility for payments since its launch in February 2017,” according to the Saudi Press Agency and Arab News. SCAP is a welfare program that helps low- and middle-income families cope with the changes happening as a result of Vision […]

     
  • Gas Prices Set to Rise 80% in Saudi Arabia as New Relief for Low Income Saudis Planned
     

    Saudi Arabia will soon raise gasoline and jet fuel prices by 80% on consumers as part of broader economic reform plans meant to curb domestic consumption of oil that could be used for exports. The rise in prices is a result of the gradual elimination of energy subsidies that have long kept prices at world-leading […]

     
  • Saudi Cinema to Return in March 2018, Minister Al-Awwad Says
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information has confirmed that commercial cinemas will be allowed to operate in the Kingdom as of March 2018, according to a statement by Minister Awwad Al-Awwad. When the first cinema opens, it will be the first public cinema that has been permitted to operate in Saudi Arabia in 35 years. The return of […]

     
  • Jadwa Investment Latest Chartbook Highlights ‘Improving Performance’ Indicators in the Saudi Economy
     

    The latest edition of the monthly Chartbook from Jadwa Investment finds economic indicators showed improving performance during the month of October this year, citing a “notable improvement” in cash withdrawals from ATMs and POS transactions. The Riyadh-based bank also noted an $8.2 billion increase (in month-to-month terms) in SAMA FX reserves for the Kingdom, to $493 billion in […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudis Leave Asia Oil Pricing Unchanged, While Raising for U.S.

    Aramco raised all pricing to the U.S. by 10 cents a barrel. Prices to Europe increased by $1.30 or $1.40 a barrel. Its key Arab light grade for Asia will remain at a $1 premium to the benchmark it uses.

  • NCB plans to change its name to ‘Saudi National Bank’

    National Commercial Bank (NCB) plans to change its name to ‘Saudi National Bank’, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, after the conclusion of its intended merger with Samba Financial Group (Samba). The merger is expected to create a new Saudi banking champion with more than SAR 837 billion ($223 billion) in assets, uniquely positioned to accelerate the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s banking landscape and deliver progress towards Vision 2030.

  • Big changes ahead for the Saudi office market in 2021 post-COVID

    The slowdown in the Kingdom’s real estate sector as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will see a backlog of supply coming on to the market this year, while landlords will also see demand for co-working spaces as employees continue to adopt a hybrid working arrangement.

  • Another IPO Record Beckons for Saudi Stock Exchange This Year

    The Saudi stock exchange expects to host more initial public offerings than ever in 2021, seizing on strong demand from local investors that supported several deals last year. After 22 issuances across different platforms in 2020, “I think we will break that record this year,” Khalid Abdullah Al-Hussan, the chief executive officer of the Tadawul exchange, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

  • BlackRock calls for climate change disclosure, expects sustainable investing to continue

    BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Tuesday in his annual letter to CEOs that the “tectonic shift” toward sustainability-focused companies is accelerating in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Opinion: With New Gulf Agreement, Will Qatar Change?

    At the end of the 1980s, Qatar had been independent for less than two decades, during which the state actively avoided notoriety. Distinguishing itself as a regional outlier was one way to contribute to the formation of an emergent national identity or national brand that would cut through to multiple audiences and help Qatari leaders enhance their legitimacy.

  • In Saudi Arabia, Quiet Changes May Ease Tensions With Biden

    Long one of the world’s most prodigious executioners, Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that executions declined by 85 percent in 2020 because of legal reforms. Groups that have chronicled incitement against non-Muslims in Saudi textbooks say that the most offensive examples have been excised. And the sentences for two high-profile Saudis widely seen as prosecuted for their politics appear to have been calibrated to limit their time in prison as Mr. Biden takes charge of the kingdom’s most important ally.

  • Dramatic Drop in Saudi Executions After Laws Changed in 2020

    Saudi Arabia, for years one of the world's most prolific executioners, dramatically reduced the number of people put to death last year, following changes halting executions for non-violent drug-related crimes, according to the government’s tally and independent observers.

  • Saudi Arabia considers major changes to Labour Law: Reports

    The proposed amendments in the Labor Law also include 14-week maternity leave with full pay for working women instead of the existing 10-week leave, and meeting the expense of the exit and reentry visa fee by the worker instead of the employer.

  • WhatsApp privacy changes could turn off Saudi users: Cybersecurity experts

    Under the terms of the new policy, Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, will be able to collect users’ data from the app such as their phone number, email address, contacts, location, device ID, user ID, advertising data, purchase history, product interaction, payment info, crash, performance, and other diagnostic data, customer support, and metadata.