Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation
Company Insights

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco News

Amin H Nasser, Aramco president and CEO at the Iktva forum

Aramco announces $9bn of localisation investment

Saudi Aramco has identified 210 localisation opportunities within 12 sectors with an estimated market size of $28 billion. Wail Al Jaafari, Aramco vice president of technical services, revealed the plans on the opening day of the Iktva Forum in Dhahran on Monday. Iktva, which stands for “in-kingdom technical value add”, “is a top priority in […]

The opening of the sixth line of the Riyadh metro should be celebrated, but the country can do better with its economic growth

Balancing the Saudi books to improve growth

The sixth line of the Riyadh metro has now opened – a considerable achievement executed at unprecedented speed, according to architects and engineers interviewed by Valentina Pasquali. But the IMF is predicting growth in the Saudi economy of only 1.5 percent this year. Not so great. It is easy to be sceptical of macroeconomic forecasts, subject as they […]

Saudi Tabreed currently manages 779,000 tonnes of refrigeration via contracts with major companies in the kingdom

PIF-backed Tabreed explores Saudi listing this year

Tabreed District Cooling is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi stock market this year, according to a news report. Backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the refrigeration and cooling company has hired Citigroup and SNB Capital for a potential flotation, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. While no final decisions […]

There was a steep increase in patent applications in some GCC countries, even though the overall level is still low

Pace of patent filings shows a leap in GCC innovation

Patent applications filed by residents of Saudi Arabia have more than doubled in the past eight years, from 3,213 in 2016 – when Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman launched his Vision 2030 programme – to 6,510 in 2023. Saudi filers submitted 86.3 patent applications per million inhabitants last year, up from 39.4 in 2016. However, […]

Commentators say Middle East investors have remained active, despite the overall drop in venture capital funding

Saudi startup funding tumbles as era of cheap money ends

Funding for startups in Saudi Arabia dropped 44 percent to $750 million last year, the sharpest decline in the Middle East and North Africa, according to data analyst Magnitt. Across Mena, venture capital was down 29 percent to just under $2 billion, reflecting global trends of high interest rates and investor caution. Saudi Arabia was […]

Startup Zension says smartphones have at least a seven-year lifespan but on average are used for just three

Saudi Aramco leads $30m investment in tech startup

Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million venture capital fund owned by Saudi Aramco, and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo have invested in Zension Technologies, a consumer electronics startup. Wa’ed led the funding raise of $30 million, which also included Dubai-based Global Ventures.  Based in Riyadh, Zension provides consumers with access to the latest tech devices. Instead of purchasing devices […]

Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and terminal. A proposed refinery in Bangladesh would meet local demand and serve regional markets

Aramco explores building oil refinery in Bangladesh

Saudi Aramco is willing to build an oil refinery in Bangladesh to address local and regional demand, according to an official news report. The proposed refinery is expected to meet Dhaka’s growing demand for petroleum products while serving regional markets such as China and India, state-run BSS news agency reported citing Saudi envoy Essa Al […]

People celebrate after Saudi Arabia is awarded the 2034 World Cup. As well as new stadiums, the country is preparing 134 training centres

World Cup contractors may have to register in Saudi

Foreign companies hoping to capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s SAR100 billion ($26.6 billion) World Cup preparations must be registered in the kingdom, according to the chief executive of a leading Saudi-based investment company. “Don’t waste time offering services from abroad,” said Mohammed AlQahtani, CEO at Saudi Arabia Holding Company, a private equity firm in Riyadh, in […]