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  • Oil Revenues Above Saudi Budget Breakeven Price Will Go to PIF Coffers, Al Tuwaijri Says
     

    Steadily climbing oil prices over the past year may help increase cash in Saudi Arabia’s massive Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to comments by Mohammed Al Tuwaijri, the kingdom’s minister of economy and planning. “Whenever oil is above our break-even point, this will all go to the PIF,” he said, as reported in the Financial Times, without […]

     
  • New Body in Saudi Labor Ministry Created to Fight Rising Unemployment in Saudi Arabia
     

    Saudi Arabia’s cabinet announced the creation of a new body within the labor ministry to combat an increase in joblessness in Saudi Arabia and a seeming reluctance by Saudis to take available jobs, according to a report. Unemployment in Saudi Arabia has risen slightly since the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Transformation Program, […]

     
  • Major Leap for Saudi Economy as Kingdom Set to Introduce Bankruptcy Laws
     

    Saudi Arabia’s cabinet has approved a bankruptcy law that is likely to be a boost to the Kingdom’s efforts to attract investment and provide protection for entrepreneurs, according to reports. King Salman has reportedly endorsed the new law. As Reuters reports, modern bankruptcy legislation does not currently exist in Saudi Arabia, which creates difficulties for struggling companies seeking to restructure […]

     
  • Saudi Films on Display in Los Angeles for Second Annual Young Saudi Film Festival
     

    Six films from Saudi Arabia will headline the second annual Young Saudi Film Festival in Los Angeles this week, as the Kingdom looks to expand its entertainment offerings back home. The festival, run by the New York Film Academy (NYFA), will also showcase two films from Egypt. The eight short films range from five to 20 […]

     
  • Saudi Central Bank will Test Ripple Payments Technology
     

    Ripple has struck a deal with Saudi Arabia’s central bank on a pilot program that will see banks in the country test the company’s technology, according to reports. “This ground-breaking pilot program is the first of its kind to be launched by a central bank. Participating banks from the KSA will use xCurrent to instantly settle […]

     
  • Russian, Chinese Interests ‘Eager’ to Invest in Saudi Aramco IPO as Cooperation Heats Up
     

    The head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in Riyadh today there is “significant interest” to invest in the forthcoming Aramco IPO from Russia and from China, according to reports. Several banks and other groups in Russia are interested in investing in shares of Aramco, according to Bloomberg, which reported comments from Kirill Dmitriev, chief […]

     
  • New Benefits to Offset Reform Costs for Average Saudi Household, Merrill Lynch Says
     

    The average Saudi household will be sheltered from tough economic reforms by new royal grants and household allowance disbursements, a report on the Saudi economy by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) said. “The combination of royal grants and Household Allowance disbursements more than fully shelter Saudi households from the costs of fiscal reform costs, which […]

     
  • King Salman Opens Annual Janadriyah Festival as Kingdom Puts Saudi Culture On Display
     

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the Kingdom’s 32nd National Festival for Heritage and Culture, held in Janadriyah village on the northern outskirts of Riyadh.  The annual festival, known as the Janadriyah Festival, is a vibrant display of Saudi cultural traditions and heritage, and lasts 18 days. The festival’s first day saw King […]

     
  • Saudi Embassy Spokeswoman: ‘The Kingdom is not Easternizing or Westernizing, it’s Modernizing’
     

    The first spokeswoman for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Fatimah Baeshen, said in an interview that the Kingdom is not sacrificing culture or values with its Vision 2030 economic and social reform program and that the program has “something for everyone” in Saudi Arabia. The well-spoken Baeshen, who was appointed by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the […]

     
  • 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 […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Central Bank Licenses Two FinTech Companies Specialized in Debt-Based Crowdfunding

    The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of two finance companies specialized in debt-based crowdfunding, namely: Forus and Tameed. The licenses were granted to the companies after successful testing of their solutions in SAMA's Regulatory Sandbox; an experimental environment dedicated to innovative financial products and services in Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Central Bank Progresses CBDC Plans

    Despite putting a number of plans and tests in place, the central bank emphasised that it has not made any final decisions to officially introduce a CBDC to Saudi Arabia. Before this becomes possible, SAMA looks to further explore both the benefits and potential risks of a CBDC.

  • Investment Bank Lazard Boosts Riyadh Hub for MENA With New CEO Hire

    Lazard Ltd. hired Wassim Al-Khatib as chief executive officer for the firm’s advisory business in the Middle East and North Africa, and the boutique investment bank plans to make Riyadh its regional banking hub. Al-Khatib, the former head of Citigroup Inc. in Saudi Arabia, will also be CEO of Lazard Saudi Arabia, according to a statement, confirming a Bloomberg News report. Prior to that Al-Khatib was the head of investment banking at NCB Capital, where he was one of the key bankers involved in Saudi Aramco’s mammoth initial public offering.

  • The New Bankers to the World Aren’t on Wall Street

    As many debt markets slammed shut last year, cash became king — and the region’s sovereign wealth funds have plenty. Surging energy prices left funds from Saudi Arabia to Qatar and Abu Dhabi managing more than $3.5 trillion, an amount that exceeds the UK’s GDP. They’re now bankrolling some of the world’s biggest rescue packages, investments and acquisitions — and show no signs of pulling back in 2023.

  • The New Bankers to the World Aren’t on Wall Street

    As many debt markets slammed shut last year, cash became king — and the region’s sovereign wealth funds have plenty. Surging energy prices left funds from Saudi Arabia to Qatar and Abu Dhabi managing more than $3.5 trillion, an amount that exceeds the UK’s GDP. They’re now bankrolling some of the world’s biggest rescue packages, investments and acquisitions — and show no signs of pulling back in 2023.

  • Fitch Affirms The Saudi National Bank at ‘A-‘; Stable Outlook

    SNB's National Rating is the highest among Saudi banks as the bank is the largest in the country and its financial metrics are at the higher end of the sector.

  • Industrial, manufacturing sector development can turn Saudi Arabia into global hub, Bandar Alkhorayef tells WEF

    Plans under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to make the Kingdom a hub for global manufacturing, which will transform its industrial base, are well underway, the Saudi industry and minerals minister said on Tuesday. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bandar Alkhorayef said: “We will see more complexity, more advanced products.” He added: “We will be able to utilize the natural resources that we have, be it oil and gas or minerals, for more advanced productivity, which will add value to the country.”

  • Lebanon’s energy minister proposes electricity workaround amid state paralysis

    Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Energy and Water Dr Walid Fayad proposed on Monday a “legal, constitutional and agreeable” workaround solution to stabilise the country's electricity sector. “Today's initiative proposes a comprehensive and lawful solution to the electricity crisis,” Dr Fayad said at the press conference held at the Ministry of Water and Energy. “There is a vacuum and if it continues like this it will threaten and prevent national co-operation for the common good from taking place.”

  • Europe boosts Russian diesel buying ahead of ban set to rock market

    European traders are rushing to fill tanks with Russian diesel as the clock runs down on a Feb. 5 European ban expected to tighten supplies, re-draw global shipping routes and increase price volatility. The ban is likely to create a diesel supply shortfall which Europe hopes to fill with Chinese fuel, some of which will be produced from Russian crude. China has raised its first batch of 2023 export quotas for refined oil products by nearly half versus a year ago.

  • Opinion: Lebanon’s Politicians Are Incapable of Productive Dialogue

    Lebanon has now entered the fourth year of its devastating economic crisis and collapse, with no end in sight and no hint regarding the possible launch of a recovery plan that would reignite its economy, restructure its banking system, and bring some hope to its struggling population, which has been forced to accommodate, in one form or another, to the state’s inability to provide basic services.