Agriculture $16m pumped into coffee farms as Riyadh chases lofty target Saudi Arabia has invested millions of dollars in the development of the local coffee sector over the past four years, but it is still 80 percent off its production target for 2026. The Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program (known as Reef Saudi) has allocated a total of SAR61 million ($16 million) to support over 3,700 […] April 10, 2024
Manufacturing Lucid price cuts result in record EV sales The Saudi-backed US electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid set a new quarterly sales record for its luxury models in the first quarter of 2024. Shares in Lucid, which has funding from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), rose by 3 percent on Tuesday after it announced the delivery of almost 2,000 Lucid Air models. The […] April 10, 2024
Construction Saudi cement prices under pressure as competition mounts Strong competition among Saudi Arabia’s cement companies is likely to continue and will exert pressure on prices in the short to medium term, according to a report from investment advisory company Ubhar Capital. There is ongoing optimism regarding the pipeline of mega and giga projects, as well as anticipated investments related to Expo 2030. However, […] April 10, 2024
Finance Saudi and UAE remittances to Pakistan hit $125m in Ramadan Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries with the highest remittance to Pakistan in March, local media reported. Remittances from the kingdom reached a high of just over $70 million during Ramadan, rising 30 percent from $54 million in February, Dawn, an English-language media outlet in Pakistan, reported, quoting the State Bank of Pakistan’s data. […] April 10, 2024
Industry Saudi industrial cities operator attracts $4bn investment Total investments in the 36 industrial cities overseen by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) reached SAR14.45 billion ($3.9 billion) last year. New investments rose 63 percent year on year from 891 local and foreign companies, state-owned SPA news agency reported, citing Modon’s annual report for 2023. Foreign investments grew by […] April 9, 2024
Opinion Industry Gulf giants need to take a lead role in the age of ‘Big Shovel’ There are challenges to overcome before the region can become a mining powerhouse April 8, 2024
Aviation Saudi Arabia and China strengthen ties with extra flights Saudi Arabia is strengthening its ties with China with the launch of new passenger and cargo flights between the two countries. Beginning on April 16, China Southern Airlines (CZ) will operate four commercial passenger flights and three cargo flights connecting Beijing Daxing and Riyadh, according to a report on the Saudi Press Agency website. This […] April 8, 2024
Energy Aramco and Shell near final stage of Pavilion Energy talks Saudi Aramco and Shell, which are competing to buy the assets of Singapore’s Temasek-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading firm Pavilion Energy, are now locked in price negotiations after completing the due diligence process, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The potential sale comes a decade after the Singapore state investment firm set up Pavilion […] April 7, 2024
Business of Sport Riyadh secures three years of women’s world tennis finals Riyadh is to host the Women’s Tennis Association finals for the next three years, with record prize money for participants. The top eight singles players and doubles teams in the annual Race to the WTA Finals will play for a prize pot of $15 million, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said in a statement. The […] April 5, 2024
Banking & Finance Saudi Telecom’s pay app to offer full banking service State-owned Saudi Telecom’s pay app has received central bank approval to become a fully fledged digital bank. Part of the kingdom’s fintech expansion strategy, the new STC Bank will offer traditional and Sharia-compliant services fully aligned with the international banking system. The service will be available to a small test group in the coming months […] April 5, 2024
Infrastructure PIF close to buying Pakistan copper mine stake Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to finalising a deal to buy a $1 billion stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold mine, in what would be a Saudi lifeline for the debt-ridden country, a Pakistani newspaper has reported. Barrick Gold, the Canadian-listed company that owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mine, […] April 5, 2024
Analysis Finance China and US vie for FDI supremacy in Gulf’s biggest economies China and the United States invested more than $23 billion in projects in the Gulf’s two biggest economies last year. The US more than doubled its “greenfield” foreign direct investment in the UAE to nearly $4 billion, while China’s commitment to Saudi Arabia rose 10-fold to almost $17 billion. Greenfield FDI involves a foreign entity […] April 5, 2024
Retail Electronic retail payments rise to 70% in Saudi Arabia The Saudi central bank said this week that the share of electronic payments in the retail sector rose to 70 percent in 2023 from 62 percent the year before, as the government tries to boost online banking and the fintech sector. A total 10.8 billion transactions were processed in 2023 compared to 8.7 billion transactions […] April 4, 2024
Media & Advertising Streaming platform Shahid to drive growth, says MBC TV The Arabic TV network MBC says its new Shahid streaming platform will lead its growth after subscriptions grew 40 percent in 2023 to nearly four million. The Saudi-owned group recently completed an IPO on the Saudi stock exchange, requiring it to open its books to the public for the first time. It reported net profit […] April 4, 2024
Finance Riyad Bank plans IPO of its investment arm Riyad Bank’s board is planning to list its investment arm, Riyad Capital, on the Saudi stock exchange, as the government tries to increase market offerings to raise the status of Saudi capital markets in global rankings. The bank said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Thursday that it and its subsidiary […] April 4, 2024
Industry Saudi Arabia invites bids for six mining licences Local and international investors are being invited to bid for the latest round of mining licences in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom ramps up operations across its minerals sector. The six mining opportunities revealed by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources include gold, copper, zinc, lead and silver ore and cover a total area […] April 4, 2024
Cybersecurity PIF entities invest $133m in South Korea’s AhnLab A technology subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will set up a joint venture with South Korea’s AhnLab to develop and localise multiple cybersecurity technologies in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Information Technology Company (Site) and its subsidiary, Site Ventures, will invest more than SAR500 million ($133 million) in the venture to carry out research and […] April 4, 2024
Employment Saudi Arabia will pay costs of normalising migrants’ status Saudi Arabia said this week it will take on the costs of normalising the status of displaced individuals from neighbouring countries in what could amount to amnesty for thousands of illegal migrants and refugees. “The state assumes the costs on behalf of individuals permitted to stay and rectify their status among the displaced from neighbouring […] April 3, 2024
Retail Cenomi Retail to divest more brands in turnaround plan Franchiser Cenomi Retail has announced another round of brand divestments as it seeks to tackle rising losses. The Saudi company closed more than 200 stores last year and sold 16 brands in the first quarter of 2024. On Wednesday Cenomi Retail said its board of directors had approved the third phase of the sell-off. The […] April 3, 2024
Trade Kuwait’s record performance tempered by costs Rising inflation and increasing staffing costs are weighing heavily on Kuwait’s non-oil business sector despite growth, the latest business sentiment survey has revealed. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Kuwait purchasing managers’ index (PMI) revealed strong growth, with competitive pricing by businesses helping to attract new customers. The index was up at 53.2 for March from […] April 3, 2024
