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QUOTED
“As the country works to reduce its dependence on oil and diversify its economy, foreign relations are not merely supplementary but a prerequisite for securing the investments, trade agreements, and stability needed for sustained economic growth. As Saudi Arabia seeks to establish itself as an attractive investment destination, diplomatic efforts help maintain an investment-friendly environment, assuring foreign investors of the country’s security and stability.” Layla Ali, Unpacking the Drivers of Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy [Gulf Research Center]
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TOP STORY
“There is more chance of Elvis speaking next than the current plan working,” stated Saudi Aramco President and CEO Eng. Amin H. Nasser in his keynote speech at CERAWeek 2025 in Houston, Texas. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Tom Gerken in bbc.com: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will pay $3.5bn (£2.7bn) to buy the gaming division of developer Niantic, whose titles include the hit mobile game Pokémon Go. The game involves players walking around in the real world to hunt the collectable creatures, which appear on their phone screens using augmented reality. Despite launching almost a decade ago, Pokémon Go is still amongst the highest-grossing mobile games in the world, with 30 million monthly players. The deal marks the latest step by Saudi Arabia to develop its gaming industry, which it has spent billions of pounds on in recent years. Niantics other games, such as Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, are also included in the acquisition, along with the people employed to make them. They will become part of Scopely Inc – which itself was bought by PIF subsidiary Savvy Games Group for $4.9bn in 2023. Scopely is one of the biggest names in mobile gaming, with its most successful title, Monopoly Go, being downloaded more than 50 million times and generating more than $3bn in revenue.
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in fitchratings.com: Aramco announced on 4 March that the performance-related dividend in 1Q25 would be reduced to USD200 million, from USD10.8 billion in 1Q24, while the base dividend rose by 4.2% to USD21.1 billion. It anticipates a total dividend payment of USD85.4 billion over 2025, equivalent to around 7.7% of Fitch-forecast GDP. Around 82% of this should flow directly to the government budget, in line with its equity stake, with a further 16% going to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). We believe this is generally aligned with Fitch’s existing view that total dividend payments will average around USD82 billion a year over 2025-2028. Aramco’s announcement is broadly consistent with our projection in January that the budget deficit would widen to 3.8% of GDP in 2025 and 3.9% in 2026. This forecast assumed oil prices of USD70/barrel (bbl) in 2025 and USD65/bbl in 2026, and that Aramco’s performance dividend would be substantially reduced, reflecting more limited excess cash flow available for distribution from 2024. Fitch also expects the government to cut capex and associated current spending in 2025.
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Via James Drummond in agbi.com: The optimism is welcome – but it may be misplaced. This week the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index in Saudi Arabia hit its highest level in more than 10 years – a significant vote of confidence in the Arab world’s largest economy. There was positive news too on jobs in the kingdom. Employment rose “solidly” last year, the survey found. Elsewhere, the local advisory house Jadwa Investment reported that consumer spending in Saudi Arabia rose by 7.5 percent last year – implying that ordinary people are happy to spend rather than save for the unforeseen. Government revenue and spending were also higher than budgeted, Jadwa said, using finance ministry figures. So far, so good.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Although Riyadh’s audition for the global spotlight began years ago, it has kicked into overdrive this year, with the kingdom hosting multiple bilateral and multilateral...[By Elizabeth Dent via washingtoninstitute.org]
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At its core, Saudi Arabia's foreign policy orientation is grounded in the Kingdom’s economic program Vision 2030. For Vision 2030 to succeed, there is a...[By Layla Ali via grc.net]
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On March 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a press conference summarizing recent discussions between Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting focused on de-escalation efforts,...[By Ivan Khomenko via united24media.com]
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The 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) began yesterday, chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by...[via gov.sa]
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Niantic Labs has announced that it’s selling its video game division to Saudi Arabia-owned mobile developer Scopely for...[By Jess Weatherbed via theverge.com]
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The Egyptian parliament yesterday approved an agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investments signed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia last October, Gulf...[via middleeastmonitor.com]
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The venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest listed oil major, has invested in two climate tech...[By Pramod Kumar via agbi.com]
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Saudi banks are set for a stronger start to 2025, with their asset-quality metrics expected to “remain strong” throughout the year, Fitch Ratings said in...[via argaam.com]
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Managers at Deloitte and Ernst & Young have instructed staffers to prepare for more work in the kingdom, according to people familiar with their...[By Matthew Martin and Dinesh Nair via msn.com]
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For reference to KSA laws and regulations, the National Center for Archives and Records (NCAR) regularly publishes these in both Arabic and English....[By Hamza Akhai and Abdulrahman Alangari via pinsentmasons.com]
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This year’s month of fasting began on March 1. The official Eid holiday in Saudi Arabia will start on Sunday March 30, meaning that employees will...[via alarabiya.net]
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Indeed, it's easy get lost in the deluge of information and rumors, but even the scaled-back version of Neom is insanely ambitious: the ...[By Adam Williams via newatlas.com]
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Siemens Energy announces that it has been awarded a USD 1.6 billion project, with Harbin Electric International as the EPC contractor, to provide key technologies for the...[via saudigulfprojects.com]
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SIG, a European provider of sustainable building products, and UAE-based solar company Yellow Door Energy have launched a 2 MW solar project in Riyadh. Once complete,...[By Catie Owen via solarstoragextra.com]
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The White House's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Qatar to join indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on extending the fragile ceasefire in...[By Yolande Knell via bbc.com]
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Foreign ministers of leading Western democracies meet in Canada on Thursday after seven weeks of rising tensions...[By John Irish and Daphne Psaledakis via reuters.com]
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When protests over the Israel-Hamas war took root on Columbia University’s campus last spring, Mahmoud Khalil became a familiar, outspoken figure in a student movement...[By Jake Offenhertz and Jennifer Peltz via apnews.com]
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When the CEO of Russian state gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, opened a lavish Italian palazzo-styled building...[via reuters.com]
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