“Hydrogen is morphing from a niche power source — used in zeppelins, rockets and nuclear weapons — into big business, with the European Union alone committing $500 billion to scale up its infrastructure.”
–Verity Ratcliffe, writing for Bloomberg Green, examines growing global interest in hydrogen production as well as Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plans to develop it’s own home-grown hydrogen industry. [Bloomberg]
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world.”
–David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, sees Saudi Arabia’s theater market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024. By then, Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world. [Variety]
“They had expected sort of a bigger push back from the (Biden) administration but if this is it then the signal is fairly weak…So I don’t see this as being a major impediment to most companies seeking opportunities in the kingdom.”
–Neil Quilliam, managing director at Azure Strategy, a Middle East-focused consultancy, on the recently-released Khashoggi report and U.S.-Saudi business relations. Analysts say the report is unlikely to change investor sentiment towards Saudi Arabia in the absence of U.S. action against the prince. [Reuters]
“I don’t see it as a setback at the moment. Look at what the administration has said publicly, they have said Saudi Arabia is a trusted ally, they are focused on defending and protecting Saudi Arabia….I don’t see the Americans turning away from us, or us turning away from America.”
-Prince Khalid bin Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to London, in comments to the Financial Times on the release of the Khashoggi report and U.S.-Saudi relations going forward. [FT.com]
“We would want to see the companies having a major headquarters office with executive staff; their C-suite being here; operations in other countries reporting to it; and support functions, whether it’s training, product development, consolidation of regional operations, all taking place within their regional headquarters. A superficial nameplate saying ‘this is the regional headquarters’ will not fly.”
-Khaled Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, regarding Saudi Arabia’s recent announcement that by 2024 all international companies would be barred from doing business with “agencies, institutions, and funds owned by the government” unless their regional headquarters were located in the Kingdom. [Consultancy ME]
“That is what diplomacy looks like. That is what a complicated global engagement looks like and we’ve made no secret and have been clear that we are going to hold them accountable on the global stage.”
–Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, regarding U.S. Department of Treasury and Department of State sanctions on 76 Saudis. Psaki added that, “We believe there are more effective ways to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and also to leave room to work with the Saudis on areas where there is mutual agreement.” [CNBC]
“The naval assets are expected to be exhibited on seaports to demonstrate integration with land and air assets, [and viewed] through technology on-site in the World Defense Show’s command-and-control center. We are halfway through building a site north of Riyadh. This exhibition and conference center is approximately, 58,000 square meters of internal exhibition space, [with an additional] 50,000 square meters on outdoor display and demonstration area.”
–Shaun Ormrod, CEO of the World Defense Show. With about one year to go before the March 6-9, 2022, show, the executive said event planners have conducted sales meetings with more than 100 companies in the defense and security sectors, already securing commitments that cover more than half of the show’s exhibition space. [defensenews.com]
“We will not end the pandemic anywhere unless we end it everywhere. Today is a major first step towards realizing our shared vision of vaccine equity, but it’s just the beginning.”
–Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General, after Ghana became the first country to receive Covid-19 vaccines through the WHO’s on Wednesday. 600,000 doses that were produced in India were the first in a planned distribution of 1 billion doses to 92 countries. [CNN]
“The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the Middle East is projected to increase 24.6 per cent in the next five years, according to a new report by global property consultancy Knight Frank. The region will remain the fourth-largest wealth hub in the world.”
-Deepthi Nair reports for The National on Knight Frank’s recent report. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) have a net wealth of $30 million or more. During the pandemic the number of Saudi UHNWIs increased by 9.6%. The kingdom’s UHNWI population has grown by 227 per cent over the past five years, according to Knight Frank. [The National]
“Saudi Arabia has a large expatriate community from major cricket-playing nations like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. People from these countries carry cricket in their bags wherever they go.”
-Dr. Gayas Ahmed Sattar, President, GK International Indian Sports Club (GKIISC) in Riyadh discussing the spread of cricket in Saudi Arabia. [Arab News]
