“The surge in Saudi box office grosses is concurrent with the mushrooming of multiplexes. The number of multi-screen movie theaters in Saudi Arabia grew from 33 locations at the start of 2021 to 53 venues by December 2021, an increase of 20 new locations.”
[Variety]
“I am being 100 percent honest about Saudi Arabia in terms of its natural beauty. I don’t think I have seen anything like it. I am not used to the desert at all, and seeing Saudi Arabia has been really shocking and stunning for me.”
–Zara Rutherford, 20-year-old British-Belgian pilot, on a mission to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world as her journey took her across Saudi Arabia. [About Her]
“Golf Saudi has created multiple conversations within golf around the world which have made… the PGA Tour try to be a better version of themselves.”
–Graeme McDowell, 2020 Saudi International champion. [Sports Illustrated]
“Saudi Arabia’s growing partnership with Germany for hydrogen could mark the start of (very much) augmented geopolitical ties between the two countries, and the EU for that matter.”
How Saudi Arabia’s energy transition means more China and less US. [Investment Monitor]
“As the kingdom inaugurated Sakaka, its first-ever utility-scale renewable energy project under the National Renewable Energy Program in April 2021, seven independent power producer schemes for approximately 3 GW (2,970 MW) of PV projects were announced to have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs).”
–Lama Kiyasseh examines Saudi Arabia’s renewable projects. [MEI]
“This triplet of recent sales may well be a watershed moment for Saudi Arabia’s privatization program, which has been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, as they are among the first of more than 160 privatization initiatives in the next 12 months.”
–Piotr Schulkes analyzes recent PIF sales of its holding in Tadawul, ACWA and STC and how this fits into Saudi Arabia’s accelerating privatization drive. [Amwaj]
“In 2019, solar targets for both 2023 and 2030 were revised substantially upwards, with a targeted share of 20 Gigawatts (GW) and 40 GW, respectively for solar photovoltaics (PV).”
“In this early period, our grandfathers were literally moving from their stone and wood houses to concrete buildings. This was a generation that encountered modernity first-hand and had to deal with reconciling traditional values with modern development and progress.”
-Turki Gazzaz. He and his brother, Abdulrahman founded Bricklab which has initiated the Saudi Modern project which looks at the period between 1938 – when oil was first discovered in Saudi Arabia – and 1964, the year after the first Jeddah master plan. [The National]
“U.S. shale is coming back, but public companies are still being cautious and moderate in increasing activity… The step-up in activity will not be the way it was a few years ago, where ‘growth’ was the only objective.”
-Daniel Yergin, energy expert, adding that the industry has consolidated and brought down costs. [Nikkei Asia]
“We’ve had Delta and Omicron and all manner of lockdowns and travel restrictions, but demand for oil has remained relatively firm.”
-Australian brokerage firm CommSec’s Chief Economist Craig James. [Reuters]
