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  • Saudi Economy Fundamentals Stable, Continued Growth Expected: Jadwa Investment
     

    A recently released macroeconomic update by Jadwa Investment finds the fundamentals of the Saudi economy remain unaltered and the bank “expects solid growth in the next few years” by 2.2 percent in 2018 (compared to -0.9 percent in 2017), with an improvement in the oil sector lifting oil GDP to 3.2 percent in 2018. Looking out into […]

     
  • Global Advisory Board for NEOM Includes Diverse Experts
     

    The Saudi government has appointed a global advisory board for Neom, the kingdom’s $500 billion city of the future planned for Saudi Arabia’s northwest coast near Egypt on the Red Sea. The board is composed of experts in a variety of sectors – including urban planning, architecture, design, technology, sustainability, energy and manufacturing – to provide […]

     
  • Bloomberg Lands Another Wide-Ranging Sit-Down Interview with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
     

    Bloomberg‘s reporting team in Saudi Arabia landed another wide-ranging sit down interview with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, revealing the powerful leader’s thinking on many issues from Vision 2030 to the Saudi Aramco IPO and others. Bloomberg’s Senior Executive Editor for Economics, Stephanie Flanders, and five other Bloomberg journalists sat down with the […]

     
  • PIF Says WSJ Report that Kingdom Has Shelved Solar Projects is ‘Completely Inaccurate’
     

    A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said via the Kingdom’s state-run news agency, the Saudi Press Agency, that media articles claiming that work has been shelved with respect to SoftBank and Solar Projects are “completely inaccurate.” The unnamed spokesperson said that the PIF “continues to work with the SoftBank Vision Fund, and other parties, on a number of large-scale, […]

     
  • Kingdom’s Finances Trending Positively as Higher Oil Enables Government to Increase Spending by 7% in 2019
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance told reporters in Riyadh on Sunday the Kingdom would accelerate state spending next year in what he hopes will be a clear message to the private sector that the government is determined to support economic growth, according to reports. Saudi Arabia may spend SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) more than originally planned in 2019 […]

     
  • 75% of Riyadh Metro Project Work Completed, Riyadh Emir Says
     

    Saudi Arabia’s ambitious and sprawling Riyadh metro project is 75% completed, Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal Bin Bandar said after chairing the Arriyadh Development Authority meeting on Monday. Prince Faisal, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of Arriyadh Development Authority and chairman of the supreme committee for supervision of the King Abdul […]

     
  • The Cohen Group will Launch a Saudi Arabia Office, Company Says
     

    Global business advisory firm The Cohen Group announced today that it will launch an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the company focuses more on the region’s largest economy. The new office will “serve as the hub for the firm’s operations in the region,” the company said in a press release today. “Our decision to open a […]

     
  • PIF Selects Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Michael Klein Selected to Advise on SABIC sale
     

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has chosen Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Michael Klein as advisers on its planned sale of a stake in petrochemicals firm SABIC to Saudi Aramco, sources familiar with the process told Reuters. Citigroup Inc has reportedly won the mandate to advise Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC). Reuters previously […]

     
  • The Star-Studded Line-Up of Speakers for October’s Future Investment Initiative (FII)
     

    The Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) annual Future Investment Initiative conference has listed an impressive roster of confirmed speakers for the event, taking place on October 23-25 in Riyadh. The second-annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) will be held on October 23-25 in Saudi Arabiaand “serve as a platform to drive expert-led debate, discussion, and partnerships among the […]

     
  • Aramco Officials Begin Early Talks with Banks for SABIC Stake Financing, Report Says
     

    Saudi Aramco officials began early talks with banks about a potential debt financing of up to $70 billion to back its acquisition of a majority stake in Saudi petrochemical firm Sabic, Reuters reports, citing banking sources. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were picked to advise on Saudi Aramco’s plan in July. Aramco is looking at the 70% strategic stake in Sabic which […]

     

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    The Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE) jointly held a signing ceremony with G42 Cloud and R3 to mark the implementation of the CBUAE Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Strategy, one of the nine initiatives of the CBUAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme. The CBUAE has engaged with G42 Cloud and R3 as the infrastructure and technology providers respectively for its CBDC implementation.

  • Paris failed. Washington must lead in breaking the mafia-militia’s chokehold on Lebanon

    Lebanon is entering a new phase of its nearly four-year-long crisis — the country is not only on the brink of collapse, but risks backsliding into autocracy and illiberalism. In recent months, Lebanon has been hit by a debilitating new wave of hyperinflation, the implosion of its judiciary over the local investigation into the Port of Beirut Blast, and a European investigation into the Central Bank. For the first time in its history, Lebanon is navigating these emergencies without a president or government. This is not business as usual, even for the crisis-ridden country.

  • Credit Suisse Losses Turn Middle East Investors Cautious on Bank Deals

    “There have been some legacy issues in the Gulf around investments from the 2008 financial crisis and the Saudi National Bank experience with Credit Suisse will make them more nervous around the risks during this sensitive time,” said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at political risk consultant Eurasia Group. “The Credit Suisse situation might also present some questions for Gulf sovereigns around ability to drive restructuring plans in some institutions.”

  • U.S. issues rare rebuke of Israel over West Bank settlements

    Israel’s ambassador to Washington was asked to come to the State Department on Tuesday, where the U.S. protested changes to Israeli law that would allow new settlement building in the northern West Bank.

  • Saudi Central Bank mirrors Fed to raise rates by 25 bps

    The Saudi Central Bank said on Wednesday it hiked its key interest rates by 25 basis points, mirroring the U.S. Federal Reserve's move as the Saudi riyal is pegged to the dollar. The Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, raised its repo and reverse repo rates by 25 bps each to 5.5% and 5%, respectively, it said in a statement.

  • Saudi Ambassador, IMF Delegation Discuss Conditions for Lebanon’s Recovery

    Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Beirut Walid Al-Bukhari discussed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation the necessary conditions for Lebanon's economic recovery. Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, on Wednesday at his residence in Yarzeh, east of Beirut. Talks during the meeting touched on the overall developments in Lebanon and the region, the conditions for recovery that the country needs to overcome its political and economic crisis, as well as other issues of common concern.

  • Israeli government lifts ban on return to West Bank settlements

    The Israeli parliament on Tuesday paved the way for Jewish settlers' return to four settlements in the occupied West Bank by amending a 2005 law that ordered their evacuation, a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the European Union. The repeal of certain clauses in a previous disengagement law would allow Jewish residents to return to four West Bank settlements they were ordered to vacate in 2005 on condition of approval by the Israeli military.

  • Saudi deposit lifts Turkey’s net FX reserves to $25 bln -bankers

    The Turkish central bank's net international reserves rose by $6 billion last week to $25 billion, three bankers' calculations showed on Tuesday, after a $5 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia entered its accounts. The central bank's gross reserves rose $6.5 billion to $126.5 billion in the same period, they showed.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Biban 2023 Forum Shows The Kingdom’s Commitment To Become A Leading SME Hub

    Held under the slogan of "Fostering Tangible Opportunities," Biban 2023 saw 25 agreements launched alongside a range of investment initiatives on its first day alone. Among these, a whopping US$2.93 billion was pledged by eight attending banking institutions and financing entities for the sole purpose of funding the Kingdom's SME ecosystem. In line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, these agreements are expected to contribute to the diversification of the national economy, and transform the country into a go-to investment and entrepreneurship destination.

  • Saudi National Bank says panic over Credit Suisse is ‘unwarranted’

    Credit Suisse ’s largest shareholder Saudi National Bank said the market turmoil in shares of the Swiss lender was “unwarranted.” “If you look at how the entire banking sector has dropped, unfortunately, a lot of people were just looking for excuses,” Saudi National Bank chairman Ammar Al Khudairy told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Thursday.