Construction Finance ministry to help Binladin Group pay off debts Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry has said it will lend Binladin Group money to pay back debts to banks. It is also considering raising its stake in the construction giant. The finance ministry’s Al Istedamah Holding currently holds around 36 percent of Binladin Group, a private company owned by the Bin Ladin family since it was […] August 2, 2024
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia to convert $10bn Egypt deposit to investment Saudi Arabia is planning to convert its $10 billion deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) into an investment. The Saudi investment minister Khalid Al Falih announced the news during a meeting with Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly on Thursday. It follows a $35 billion agreement by the UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ to […] August 2, 2024
Finance PIF in $50bn pact with Chinese financers The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed six memorandums of understanding worth up to $50 billion with Chinese financial institutions as it seeks to raise more cash for its giga-projects. The agreements were signed with the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Export & Credit Insurance […] August 2, 2024
Energy Sabic keeps capex at $5bn in 2024 as quarterly profit rises Petrochemicals major Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) will maintain capital expenditure between $4 billion and $5 billion for 2024 after its quarterly profits surged. Net profit rose 32 percent year on year to SAR2.4 billion ($640 million) in the first half of 2024, driven by higher sales volume. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight […] August 2, 2024
Analysis Construction Saudi real estate hiring drops amid giga-project review Saudi Arabia’s review of its many giga-projects dented real estate hiring in the country in the second quarter of this year, driving a larger decline across the GCC. The drop, revealed by Cooper Fitch’s latest Gulf Employment Index which tracks new hires, mirrors a broader slowdown in the Saudi property and construction markets. However, it […] August 2, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid outlines 11 new stadiums Saudi Arabia plans to build 11 new stadiums as part of its 2034 World Cup bid, including one inside its horizontal city The Line, but without any breakdown of the costs. The Saudi bid – which is expected to win formal Fifa approval this year – centres on five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha and […] August 1, 2024
Transport Flyadeal seat capacity rises with fleet expansion Flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline, reported a 5 percent year-on-year rise in seat capacity amid fleet expansion. The available seating capacity reached more than 5 million in the first half of 2024 as its fleet size increased 12 percent annually to 33 aircraft. The airline increased its routes to 75, up 8 percent year on […] August 1, 2024
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia cools down by raising imports of Russian oil An unusually hot summer is forcing Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, to increase fuel imports from Russia and Kuwait to meet peak domestic demand for electricity. The Gulf state is importing thousands of tonnes of discounted Russian oil, while imports from Kuwait also made a strong comeback in July after a two-year […] August 1, 2024
Economy Saudi Arabia’s GDP falls as revenue tightens Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted in the second quarter of 2024 as non-oil activity slowed amid retail pricecutting. However, the end of oil output cuts next year could give the country’s coffers a much-needed boost. The General Authority for Statistics said in its latest report this week that real GDP fell 0.4 percent compared to the […] July 31, 2024
Finance US forms bulk of growing Mena M&A activity Middle East and North Africa merger and acquisition deals over the first half of this year were focused in the US. In the opening six months of 2024, 321 deals worth $49 billion were completed in the Mena region, a 1 percent year-on-year increase in volume and 12 percent rise in value, the EY Mena […] July 31, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality Riyadh to get a new 45,000-seat stadium Riyadh, the Saudi capital, is set to house another new world-class stadium as the kingdom bets on becoming a global sporting hub. The 45,000-seat stadium in south-west Riyadh will be developed by Roshn Group, a giga-project developer backed by the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. The stadium will be part of a […] July 31, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia formally bids to host Fifa World Cup 2034 Saudi Arabia has officially submitted its bid to host the Fifa World Cup 2034. The bid books will be published after the official deadline ends on July 31, the football governing body said in a statement. Saudi officials, including sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal and Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser Al […] July 30, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Hosting the Olympics is set to be a marathon for Gulf bidders If Qatar and Saudia Arabia bid for 2036 they face a race against time to train medal-winning talent July 29, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects Giga-project slowdown to hit Riyadh population growth Riyadh’s population is unlikely to meet a growth target by 2030, when it is due to host the World Expo, as giga-projects are scaled back. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set an ambitious goal for the population to grow to between 15 and 20 million in 2021. However it is now absent from the website […] July 29, 2024
Business of Sport King Salman Stadium in Riyadh to open in 2029 The King Salman Stadium in Riyadh – planned to be one of the world’s largest sports arenas – will be ready in the fourth quarter of 2029, as the kingdom continues its investments in the sports sector. The stadium will serve as the Saudi national team’s main headquarters, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, quoting […] July 29, 2024
Analysis Construction Supply logjams force Gulf builders to get creative Shipping cost spikes resulting from the Red Sea crisis are hitting the Gulf’s construction industry especially hard. Mounting tensions between Israel and the Houthis in Yemen are exacerbating the already severe decline in commercial shipping traffic there. Builders are struggling to adjust their supply chains and pricing mechanisms to deliver materials and products to their […] July 29, 2024
Analysis Logistics Bahri Q2 profit rises 48% on better shipping rates Saudi Arabia’s shipping giant Bahri reported a 48 percent year-on-year increase in net profit to SAR733 million ($195.4 million) in the second quarter of 2024, thanks to better shipping rates and optimised fleet management. The company’s top line rose 15 percent year on year to SAR2.7 billion, driven by chemical revenue growth and higher contributions […] July 28, 2024
Opinion Aviation Flynas saves the best for last at Farnborough Airshow This year the headline-grabbing deals arrived later than expected July 26, 2024
Telecoms STC approves PIF purchase of telecom company Shareholders of Saudi telecom giant STC have approved plans to create a new telecommunications infrastructure company in which the Public Investment Fund will have a 51 percent stake valued at SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion). Under the deal, the STC-owned Telecommunication Towers Co. Limited (Tawal) will become a PIF subsidiary through a merger with Golden Lattice […] July 26, 2024
Markets UAE capital markets partner with Hong Kong exchange The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) has added the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to its roster of recognised marketplaces. The move opens the door for UAE-based companies to pursue secondary listings on one of Asia’s premier financial markets. It also follows the inclusion of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) […] July 26, 2024
