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  • Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal: ‘Stop the Debate…It’s Time for Women to Drive’ in Saudi Arabia
     

    In a 4-page essay entitled, “It’s High Time Women Started Driving Their Cars,” billionaire Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal urged an end to the debate about women’s driving in Saudi Arabia.  The essay is as much a short treatise on modern Saudi feminism and the progress of women’s rights in the Kingdom as it […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Needs $53b in Water Investment as Sector Looks Toward Privatization
     

    Saudi Arabia will need $53 billion in water sector investment supported by private funds as the Ministry in charge of the sector said it was looking to privatize in order to meet demand, government leaders said.   The comments were made by officials from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and Saudi Arabia’s […]

     
  • Jadwa Investment: ‘Prudent Policies’ Should Decrease Saudi Deficit in 2017
     

    Jadwa Investment’s recently released macroeconomic update for the Kingdom’s economy finds that “prudent policies” have been taken to reform the fiscal budget. The Riyadh-based bank said that “fiscal consolidation, coupled with improved non-oil revenues, will mean a smaller-than-anticipated fiscal deficit in both 2016 and 2017. This consolidation will, nevertheless, negatively impact private sector activity, thereby […]

     
  • Three New Ventures by MiSK to Boost Innovation, Training and Investment
     

    Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s MiSK Foundation launched three new strategic ventures in Riyadh aimed “at comprehensively building the skills, knowledge and capability for economic growth within the Saudi Arabian tech sector,” Reuters and the Saudi Gazette reports. MiSK Academy, MiSK Technovation and MiSK Booster mark a significant new development in the foundation’s work to empower, […]

     
  • Updated LinkedIn Profiles Indicate Key Hires by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
     

    Recently updated LinkedIn profiles indicate a hiring spree by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as the Kingdom looks to use the sovereign wealth fund to jump-start its reform plans. Reuters reports that several executives have updated their LinkedIn profiles to indicate a new affiliation with the PIF, but the PIF did not comment directly on […]

     
  • ‘Downward Trend’ in Economic Activity Seen in Latest Jadwa Investment Chartbook
     

    Jadwa Investment’s recently released economic chartbook for the month of November found a downward trend in economic activity and the fourth consecutive negative change in government accounts with SAMA. “Economic data for September showed a downward trend in economic activity,” Jadwa said it the report, pointing to negative growth in cash withdrawals from ATMs and […]

     
  • Saudi Arabia Replaces Finance Minister in Continued Shift Toward Younger Technocrats
     

    Saudi Arabia has replaced its Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, with the head of the Kingdom’s capital markets regulator Mohammed Al-Jadaan in the latest move toward a younger generation of technocratic leaders in high positions. Al-Assaf was Saudi Arabia’s longest-serving active minister, having held the position of Minister of Finance since 1996. Another Royal […]

     
  • Saudi CMA Approves Rules for Exchange-Listed Real Estate Funds
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has approved rules for exchange-listed real estate funds as Kingdom seeks to entice investment to develop housing in Saudi Arabia. “It is important to mention that these instructions aim to regulate offering of Real Estate Investment Traded Funds that has a primary investment objective to invest in construction developed […]

     
  • Will Saudi Spending Cutbacks Slow the Kingdom’s Push for Middle Class Home Ownership?
     

    The local director of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said Saudi Arabia’s state spending cuts will pressure people’s ability to buy their own homes and could push housing prices in some segments down by nearly a third, according to a report in Reuters. A reduction in subsidies available to government employees and […]

     
  • Vision 2030 and Natural Gas
     

    A recently released Jadwa Investment report looks at the role that natural gas will play in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to reform its economy and society. “Saudi Arabia holds the world’s sixth largest proven gas reserves and was the seventh largest producer of gas in 2015. Continued investment in gas has resulted in steadily […]

     

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Stock Market
    Foreigners Boost Investments in Saudi Stock Market

    Foreign investors have boosted the size of their investments in the Saudi stock market. They pumped about SAR740.5 million ($197.4 million) to buy shares of Saudi firms listed in the local market, amid a marked increase in the ownership rates of foreign investors in the local financial market.

  • Power
    Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power plans $10 billion of investments in 2020: CEO

    Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power is planning to invest about $10 billion in 2020 as it eyes new projects in some 10 countries, the company’s chief executive said on Saturday. The company, which builds power and desalinated water plants and has 50% of its portfolio in Saudi Arabia, plans to expand into new markets, Paddy Padmanthan told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy event in Abu Dhabi.

  • SSBs
    Saudi Arabia’s tax on sugary drinks won’t impact businesses, investments long-term

    Overall taxes on goods and services totals $37.85bn, 0.8 per cent higher than 2019 estimates, underpinned by forecasted economic recovery and the implementation of the SSB tax, as per the projections by the Saudi Arabia 2020 budget.

  • Investment
    Saudi Arabia’s global investments exceed $1.1trln

    Saudi investment assets abroad grew by 8.86% or SAR 346.94 billion ($92.5 billion) to reach SAR 4.26 trillion ($1.14 trillion) by the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2019, as shown by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) most recent data. Saudi assets abroad consist of various investments, such as foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investments, as well as reserve assets.

  • Investment
    Saudi banks increase investments in government bonds

    Banks operating in Saudi Arabia increased its investments in government-issued bonds during November by 25.2% on an annual basis, equivalent to SAR 76.56 billion. The banking sector investments in bonds reached SAR 379.95 billion by the end of last November, compared with SAR 303.39 billion in the same period in 2018, as shown by the monthly bulletin of the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).

  • Housing and Real Estate
    The Saudi Housing Ministry and Vision 2030: Delivering on Home Ownership and Foreign Investment Opportunities Too

    Given the likely backlog of 1.5m housing units by 2030, Saudi Arabia would appear to be a worthy investment destination. Key reforms this past year have resulted in the country being recognised as one of the top 10 global business climate improvers by the World Bank Group.

  • Iran
    Mena gas investments drop by $70bn on project completion and Iranian economic woes

    Investment in the gas industry in the broader Middle East declined by $70 billion year-on-year following completion of large scale projects in the region and diminishing prospects for growth of the sector in Iran as the country struggles under the weight of US sanctions, according to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation.

  • Cafe Society
    Saudi Arabia’s growing cafe society offers tasty investment opportunities

    Speakers at the event confirmed that the Kingdom is experiencing a boom in specialty cafes, the number of which now exceeds 20,000.

  • Caucasus
    The Caucasus is Quietly Becoming a Hub for Middle East Trade, Tourism and Investment

    And as the Caucasus becomes an increasingly central region for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, investors from the Middle East see great potential in this geo-strategically vital region. Yet increasing connections between the Caucasus and Middle Eastern states, which have been especially pronounced in recent years rarely catch the attention of political analysts.

  • Logistics
    Saudi Logistics Hub Promotes Investment Opportunities and Trading Ties With Singapore

    Saudi Arabia currently commands a 55 percent share of the logistics market in the GCC region. Over the last decade, the country has invested more than US$100 billion in its transport and logistics infrastructure, resulting in a comprehensive nationwide network.