Construction ‘Few other nations have dared to attempt this’ Architects and engineers tell AGBI about the positives and pitfalls of Saudi Arabia's push to build it all, 'all at once'
Analysis Banking & Finance Gulf still struggling to attract private cash for public projects Lower oil prices are driving Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to involve private companies in financing critical infrastructure projects worth tens of billions of dollars. Despite some successes, the expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is being hampered by inconsistent project delivery and changing regulatory frameworks that are holding back investor confidence, experts […]
Analysis Giga-projects End of ‘blank cheque’ culture for Saudi consultancy Saudi Arabia remains a boom town for the global consultancy industry, but experts have warned it is no longer the land of milk and honey for international operators and there is now a tighter hold being placed on budgets. The Saudi consultancy market, the largest in the GCC, expanded by 18.2 percent in 2023 with […]
Analysis Sustainability Red Sea coral to get extra protection from tourists Saudi Arabia has vowed to implement a series of measures to protect its Red Sea coral reef over the next five years as it pushes ahead with major tourism projects in the area. But experts have warned that Saudi coral remains at risk, even with major spending policies. According to the National Red Sea Sustainability […]
Analysis Giga-projects Saudi giga-projects are going local with new focus A nationalist sensitivity towards the leadership and aims of Saudi Arabia’s massive giga-projects is slowly taking hold, as foreign CEOs are swapped out for locals and the government makes a stronger push on housing for Saudi citizens. Last month, the King Abdullah Financial District replaced its Indian CEO Guatam Sashiittal with Mohammed Alsudairy – head […]
Analysis Tourism Affordability is the key for Saudi hotel expansion Al Farhan Group, a family-owned company with 16 three- to four-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, plans to open at least one hotel every year for the next several years. Its ambitions reflect those of the Saudi government, which wants to encourage more domestic and inbound business and leisure travel and almost double the number of […] April 17, 2025
Construction Diriyah awards opera house contract to Saudi-Chinese JV Diriyah Company has awarded a more than SAR5 billion ($1.4 billion) construction contract to a Saudi-Chinese joint venture to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House and surrounding assets. The joint venture partners include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting and Midmac Construction, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The opera house will be Diriyah’s flagship performing […] April 17, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia and UAE to cut oil output in Opec’s latest plan Opec has received updated plans for seven countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas, the group said on Wednesday. Opec+, which includes Opec plus Russia and other allies, has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022. Its compensation plan is […] April 17, 2025
Agriculture Luxury food producer Bateel seeks to triple in size by 2029 Bateel International, the Dubai-headquartered luxury food group that owns 40 international boutiques and 30 cafés, plans to double the number of organic date palm trees it cultivates in Saudi Arabia and to build a new factory in the kingdom to meet growing global demand. The company, which was founded by the Saudi Al Sudairy family […] April 17, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Aramco backs Riyadh-based construction AI startup Saudi Aramco’s venture arm has led a $1 million seed funding round for TruBuild, a construction technology startup based in Riyadh that uses artificial intelligence to cut project delays and cost overruns. “With growing scrutiny on giga-project timelines and budgets, there’s a clear urgency to prevent costly delays and rework,” Bisrat Degefa, CEO of TruBuild, […] April 16, 2025
Markets Paper firm plans first Saudi IPO since global stock rout Saudi Arabia’s United Carton Industries Company (UCIC), the largest paper packaging company in the Middle East by sales, plans to sell shares to the public to fund expansion. This is the first Saudi announcement of a planned IPO on the Saudi Exchange’s main market since a rout in global markets following Donald Trump’s near tripling […] April 16, 2025
Real Estate Majid Al Futtaim unit to invest $5bn in Riyadh project Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Properties is set to develop a SAR17.5 billion ($4.7 billion) mixed-use project in Riyadh as part of its strategy to expand its regional real estate footprint. The project will cover 850,000 sq m, Arabic news portal Al Arabia reported, quoting CEO Ahmed El Shamy. He said engineering designs are in progress, […] April 16, 2025
Giga-projects Red Sea giga-project launches new island despite PIF budget cuts Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global has launched its first island development on the $23.6 billion Red Sea giga-project. The opening comes despite the $925 billion Public Investment Fund ordering deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, as AGBI reported last month. Some budgets have been cut by as much as 60 percent, sources said, […] April 16, 2025
Analysis Food & Drink Saudi Arabia’s expanding food sector faces high costs As the population grows and the economy swells, the food and beverage service industry in Saudi Arabia is expanding. Half Million, a coffee shop chain that started in the capital Riyadh in 2018, now operates 59 stores across the kingdom. Its 60th recently opened on London’s Oxford Street. Barn’s, a Jeddah-based coffee chain that already […] April 16, 2025
Transport 2026 launch on track for Lucid’s midsize electric SUVs EV maker Lucid is on track to launch its midsize electric SUV in 2026, as it looks to tap an increasingly competitive segment dominated by rival Tesla’s bestselling Model Y crossover. “There are a lot of crazy things going on in the world that can affect that [timeline]. But currently we are on track,” said Lucid […] April 16, 2025
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia explores options to own F1 team Owning a Formula 1 team could be the next step for Saudi Arabia after sponsoring the sport and hosting a grand prix, according to the chairman of the kingdom’s automobile and motorcycle federation. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal told reporters in a video call ahead of this weekend’s race in Jeddah that the interest […] April 16, 2025
Markets Saudi health training IPO values company at $19m Future Vision for Health Training sold 2 million shares to the public in an initial public offering last week that valued the Saudi healthcare education company at SAR 70 million ($19 million), according to AGBI calculations. The sale of 20 percent of the company at SAR 7 per share was more than six times oversubscribed, […] April 15, 2025
Economy Inflation in Saudi Arabia hits 20-month high Headline inflation in Saudi Arabia hit a 20-month high in March, the General Authority for Statistics has revealed, although at 2.3 percent, up from 2 percent in February, it remains low by international standards. While housing remains the biggest single inflation driver, other factors included a weakened dollar, to which the riyal is pegged, while […] April 15, 2025
Food & Drink Saudi coffee chain Barn’s plans IPO on Tadawul Barn’s, a homegrown Saudi coffee chain, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Tadawul stock exchange, with an aim to generate funds to finance Middle East expansion. It is working with Saudi regulator Capital Market Authority to meet the IPO criteria and appoint bankers for the potential offering, Bloomberg reported, citing CEO Mohammed […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Sources say Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria’s World Bank debts Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria’s debts to the World Bank, sources have told Reuters, paving the way for the approval of millions of dollars in grants for reconstruction and to support the country’s paralysed public sector. The plans were revealed by “three people familiar with the matter”, Reuters said. It would be the […] April 14, 2025
Energy US and Saudi Arabia agree ‘pathway’ to nuclear power deal The US and Saudi Arabia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – are on a “pathway” towards co-developing a civilian nuclear programme for the kingdom, visiting US energy secretary Chris Wright has told reporters. This is the firmest US public statement yet of support for a Saudi nuclear power generating initiative, a topic of long-running […] April 14, 2025
Real Estate Egypt and Saudi Arabia plan joint real estate fund Saudi Arabia and Egypt are planning to create a joint fund to carry out real estate projects in the two countries, an Egyptian official has revealed. Egypt, which is locked in an IMF-recommended programme to stimulate its economy, also wants Saudi investors for new projects in central Cairo, in line with a plan to be […] April 14, 2025
Analysis Transport Tesla trumpets Saudi launch but China is waiting Tesla’s well-publicised launch event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week attracted a large and boisterous crowd. But the competition is stiff, especially from the Chinese, now the world’s largest maker of EVs, and the charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles in the world’s second-largest oil producer is still lacking. Saudi Arabia wants 30 percent of […] April 14, 2025
Aviation Saudi Arabia invites bids for charter airline Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator is inviting bids to set up a national charter airline. The General Authority of Civil Aviation opened the bid process on April 13 and has set a submission deadline of May 21, it said in a statement. All the bids will be opened on May 22. In February the regulator announced […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Outbound containers drive bumper March for Saudi ports A significant increase in the number of exported containers from Saudi Arabia helped drive a spike in volumes for ports across the country, according to the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). Exported containers rose 32 percent in March compared with the previous year. 280,341 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a common industry measurement, were exported compared to […] April 14, 2025
