Giga-projects Consolidating giga-projects pushes PIF into profit Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) swung into profit in 2023, with revenues doubling to $88.3 billion. According to an audited financial statement the sovereign wealth fund has consolidated five schemes as it manages giga-project costs. PIF owns the development projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s economic reform plan but is now facing funding […]
Giga-projects Neom offers financial guarantees to lure private investors Neom is adopting stabilisation guarantees and varied financial arrangements to encourage private sector investments, according to a senior executive. The $1.5 trillion giga-project, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is a linchpin in Saudi Arabia’s move away from oil dependency. Dr Manar Al Moneef, chief investment officer at Neom, said it plans to offer […]
Tourism Saudi Red Sea resorts aim for 19m tourists by 2030 Saudi Arabia hopes to attract 19 million tourists a year to its Red Sea giga-projects and other resorts being built along the country’s west coast. Mohammed Al Nasser, CEO of the Saudi Red Sea Authority, said it intends to issue licences for up to 60 marinas over the next two years. It recently licensed six […]
Giga-projects Saudi review says 87% of Vision 2030 projects ‘on right track’ Saudi Arabia’s top economic body discussed the progress of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan this week, citing a recent government report that 87 percent of its projects are “on the right track”. The Council of Economic and Development Affairs, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, convened on May 28 in a meeting […]
Giga-projects Saudi Arabia races to find technologies for futuristic cities Saudi Arabia is urgently seeking new technologies for its construction and real estate sectors as it races to make good on its pledge to build futuristic multi-billion-dollar cities. Tonomus, a subsidiary of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $500 billion signature Neom development, has joined forces with the Public Investment Fund to launch a competition offering […]
Video length: 05:07 VIDEO Gaming Saudi Arabia plays the long game in a high-stakes market Saudi Arabia has so far channeled $38 billion into the esports sector through its Public Investment Fund subsidiary Savvy Games Group. This includes high-profile acquisitions such as the $4.9 billion purchase of the Monopoly Go developer Scopely and the $1.5 billion buyout of ESL FaceIt Group, one of the world’s largest esports companies. Critics have […] September 13, 2024
Tech Global cloud platforms offer Saudis data protection promises Saudi Arabia’s cloud computing market is heating up as global players find a footing in the country with promises to secure government information. Saudi Arabia has set aside $18 billion to become a regional leader in cloud computing, the Saudi Data and AI Authority said this week, allowing foreign companies to open data centres. Saudi […] September 13, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Aramco to buy AI chips from Abu Dhabi-backed Cerebras Saudi Aramco is to buy advanced semiconductor chips from Cerebras Systems, the Abu Dhabi-backed chipmaker aiming to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the AI arena, as it seeks to boost artificial intelligence in the kingdom. The state-owned energy giant will use Cerebras’ CS-3 chips to build and deploy large language models (LLMs) – computer models essential […] September 13, 2024
Oil & Gas Aramco and Rongsheng move on chem plant expansion Saudi Aramco is accelerating plans to expand the liquids-to-chemicals project in Jubail in collaboration with China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical Company. The companies have signed a development framework agreement to potentially expand Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company (Sasref) facilities and increase investments in the petrochemical sectors of both nations. This follows a cooperation framework signed in April, where Rongsheng proposed […] September 12, 2024
Video length: 02:30 VIDEO Tech ‘Common sense has returned’ to fintech investment market There was a 31 percent increase in unique investors in the fintech market in Mena during the first half of 2024. But there was a distinct lack of “mega-deals”. Gautam Jain, head of investments at SC Ventures, told AGBI that he believes this is a good thing for the future of the market. “People were […] September 12, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Top Arabic chatbot title claimed by Saudi Arabia’s updated Allam Saudi Arabia’s Arabic language artificial intelligence (AI) chat model, Allam, is now the largest Arabic-language chatbot in the world and will be available on prominent platforms by Microsoft and IBM, officials announced this week. Allam is a “large language model”, or LLM, that was first launched by a subsidiary of the Saudi Data and Artificial […] September 12, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia sets 12% target for AI’s contribution to GDP Saudi Arabia wants artificial intelligence to account for 12 percent of its GDP by 2030, the government has said. The Public Investment Fund will lead its efforts to build “a robust AI ecosystem”, the Saudi Data and AI Authority said in a report published this week. The State of AI paper said the country was […] September 11, 2024
Markets Arabian Mills’ investor IPO tranche attracts $36bn The institutional book-building process for the initial public offering (IPO) of Arabian Mills for Food Products Company (Arabian Mills) has attracted total orders of SAR134 billion ($35.7 billion). The offering was oversubscribed 132 times by local and global investors. The company set the final offer price at SAR66 per share, the top end of the […] September 11, 2024
Business of Sport Tiger Woods joins LIV Golf-PGA Tour merger talks Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reported to be due to meet Tiger Woods and officials from the PGA Tour this week in New York as negotiations continue to bring the fractured sport of golf together under one umbrella. The PIF-sponsored LIV Golf series, which this month completes its third season, turned the sport […] September 11, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising Cinemas are still a new frontier for Gulf advertisers People pay more attention to commercials and attendance is rising September 11, 2024
Analysis Markets Outlook for Gulf bourses is upbeat despite oil price jitters The Gulf’s stuttering stock markets are probably not indicating the start of a downturn, analysts have told AGBI, but are a good opportunity for investors to snap up cheaper shares. Dubai aside, the region’s bourses have been broadly lacklustre this year although heavyweight sectors such as banking and petrochemicals have reported a marked increase in […] September 11, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia pledges to ‘confront’ risks posed by AI Saudi Arabia is determined to be “at the forefront” of artificial intelligence funding and development, a senior official told an AI conference in Riyadh on Tuesday. However, Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, head of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, also said the kingdom was wary about the security implications of AI and would take […] September 10, 2024
Trade New shipping route links Jeddah to major Indian ports Saudi Arabia has launched a new shipping route between Jeddah Islamic Port and Mundra and Nhava Sheva, two of India’s largest ports. The 10-day service, operated by Folk Maritime Services, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, started this month. The new route aims to increase the movement of goods such as petrochemicals, aligning with […] September 10, 2024
Economy Analysts predict growth despite Saudi GDP fall Saudi Arabia’s year-on-year GDP fell again in the second quarter, according to adjusted government figures released this week, but analysts have said the quarterly increase shows the economy is nearing the end of its negative run. GDP was down 0.3 percent year on year in the second quarter, but has risen by 1.4 percent since […] September 10, 2024
Aviation Saudi fund loans $55m to expand Bahamas airport Saudi Arabia will provide $55 million financing for the development of an airport project in The Bahamas that will more than double its capacity. The project aims to expand North Eleuthera International Airport’s operational capacity from 300,000 to 700,000 visitors annually, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The expansion will generate more than 300 direct […] September 10, 2024
Tourism Saudi Arabia plans refund scheme to cater for tourists Saudi Arabia is planning to introduce a tourist tax refund scheme in an attempt to boost visitor numbers and compete with its Gulf neighbours. The Zakat, Customs and Tax Authority opened a public consultation at the end of August on proposed changes to tax regulations that aim to improve compliance with valued added tax legislation […] September 10, 2024
Opinion Oil & Gas Vision 2030 on track but oil remains the key Saudi Arabia's economy is strong but Opec's decision to delay its oil output hike could have reverberations September 9, 2024
Retail Online retail sales in Saudi Arabia to double, report says Ecommerce in Saudi Arabia’s retail sector is likely to double between 2020 and 2025, with annual compound growth of 15 percent a year, a government report has revealed. “As the second-highest venture capital-funded sector in Saudi Arabia, ecommerce is booming,” the report by the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority said. Venture capital funding in ecommerce […] September 9, 2024
Opinion Tourism The controversial painting primed to become Riyadh’s crown jewel Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi is poised to be a cultural anchor for the Saudi capital September 9, 2024
Markets Emaar EC’s new strategy to steer financial recovery Emaar the Economic City (Emaar EC), the master developer of King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia, has initiated a SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion) turnaround plan a month after its first-half 2024 losses showed an almost five-fold increase from 2023. A capital optimisation plan will allow the Saudi-listed company to restructure its SAR3.8 billion in bank facilities. […] September 9, 2024
