“We’re very excited. Saudi Arabia remains a hypergrowth market when you look at the online trends. We did see 35 percent of customers say that they like to make purchases now with a debit or credit card when making large purchases in Saudi Arabia.”
-Omar Soudodi, managing director of Amazon Payment Services, discussing the launch of Amazon Payment Services (previously Payfort) in Saudi Arabia. [Arab News]
“Call it whatever you want to call it, but this (vision 2030) is a strategy that has been launched, that is ongoing, that is changing social life within the Kingdom. [Sports] contribution to the GDP of Saudi Arabia in 2016 was SAR2.4 billion ($640 billion), today it is SAR6.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in 2019. All of our programs today that we do in the ministry of sports and the Federation is all about diversity and inclusion. Things are changing and things are changing to the positive and we have to make sure that it changes in the right way.”
-HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, answering a question on what the Kingdom can do more to prove the repeated western media accusations of “sports washing” wrong. [Arab News interview]
“To overturn decades of systemic social, cultural, and economic inequity, it’s not enough just for governments to implement new rules, regulations, and laws (which alone don’t change behavior) – private sector attitudes and society’s perceptions must change as well. We need a new mindset; one where building more equitable and tolerant societies is a collective ambition, a shared responsibility, and a common obligation of citizenship. And we need to do it for the right reasons, not as an ambition to “Westernize” but as an ambition to evolve and advance, while maintaining the traditions and beliefs of our beautiful and rich culture.”
-HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi ambassador to the United States. [Vogue Arabia]
“The impact on jobs of the declines in non-oil gross domestic product has been smaller than anticipated. Travel restrictions and the use of furlough or unpaid leave have weakened the link between expats losing their jobs and returning to their home country.”
–Scott Livermore, chief economist for the Gulf region for Oxford Economics, writing in a report Wednesday that the expat exodus from the region might not be as significant as previously thought. [Bloomberg]
“The gaps between Qatar and Saudi Arabia have always been easier than those which existed between Qatar and UAE. With the added pressure of poor economic performance and concerted U.S. pressure this has brought the sides closer. But the gaps are still larger and the trust is low. This will take some time.”
-Michael Stephens, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, in comments discussing the ongoing talks between Saudi Arabia and Qatar to end their diplomatic rift amid reports that the two sides are seeing progress. [CNBC]
“Dealing with the birds, it is not easy … they are sensitive and need special treatment…Falconry has been a well-known heritage since ancient times. We take pride in it…With my participation … I proved I am here, that women can join this field, that it’s not only restricted to men.”
-Athari Alkhaldi, the first Saudi woman to qualify and participate in the Middle East’s top falconry show in Saudi Arabia, in comments about her historic participation, alongside her falcon, Ma’aned. [Reuters]
“To help supplement capacity for the rapid growth in customer demand, Amazon launched three new delivery stations through its subsidiaries and partners across Saudi Arabia, from Arar to Jazan and Makkah to Dammam. This expansion created more than 3,000 permanent and seasonal jobs, with more than 60 percent Saudization of Amazon’s permanent workforce.”
-Arab News, reporting that, since launching Amazon.sa six months ago, the company has invested primarily in job creation, delivery infrastructure and technology. [Arab News]
“As the world still reels from and continues to face the challenge of the pandemic we are initially very focused on domestic tourism. We passionately believe Diriyah is for everyone – local and international – and we want our residents to become our most loyal and vocal ambassadors, to reintroduce Saudi to the Saudis. Post-Covid we believe that the appeal for Saudi Arabia is vast. Again the access from Riyadh is key for Diriyah, meaning that both the leisure and business traveller transiting through and arriving into Riyadh is within easy distance to us and can visit as part of a wider multi-centre stay in the kingdom, a twin-centre with Riyadh or en route to other global destinations.”
-Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of Diriyah Gate Development Authority in Saudi Arabia, about how the kingdom intends to attract millions of tourists from around the world by 2030. [Globetrender]
“A third successive rise in the Saudi Arabia PMI pointed to an economy getting back on its feet in November…Employment started to rise, while business confidence strengthened in the wake of encouraging vaccine news and sharper demand growth. As a result, there was evidence of firms raising investment in anticipation of an uplift in 2021 should the pandemic come to an end.”
-David Owen, economist at IHS Markit, in comments on the pickup in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy as the impact of the Coronavirus eases. [Reuters]
“Innovation in the private sector is what is going to clean up things and this is what is going on in Saudi Arabia…One man’s hazardous trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s the way that AMG looks at these catalysts.”
–Steve Hanke, chairman of AMG NV’s supervisory board and professor of applied economics at The Johns Hopkins University. Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell & AMG Recycling BV, to conduct a study of the feasibility of developing a world-class vanadium recycling facility in Saudi Arabia. [Forbes]
