Leisure & Hospitality Ronnie O’Sullivan to be Saudi snooker ambassador Saudi Arabia has signed a deal with the world’s top snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan, for him to act as an “ambassador” for the sport in Saudi Arabia. It was announced alongside news that Saudi Arabia has become an official sponsor of the World Snooker Championship that begins this weekend in Sheffield, UK. Under the three-year […] April 18, 2024
Renewable Energy Renewables target for 2030 in sight for Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia will expand its renewable energy output sixfold by 2030 if it continues at its current pace, a survey found this week. But it will need to add 20GW of capacity annually if it is to reach an ambitious government target laid out last year. In December the government set a new target of […] April 17, 2024
Economy IMF cuts Saudi GDP growth prediction The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its estimate for Saudi economic growth in 2024 to 2.6 percent in its most recent World Economic Outlook, but raised its expectation for 2025. The IMF’s April report says it’s GDP estimate is down from the 2.7 percent in predicted in January. However, the it said that Saudi […] April 17, 2024
Real Estate Residential price rise counters slip in Saudi commercial property Residential property was the driving force behind a rise in Saudi Arabian real estate prices in the first quarter of 2024 as prices of commercial real estate fell, government statistics released this week showed. The overall real estate price index rose by 0.6 percent compared with the same quarter in 2023. But while there was […] April 16, 2024
Manufacturing EV imports rise in Saudi Arabia, but only to 779 cars Saudi imports of electric vehicles rose sharply in 2023 – but to a total of just 779 EVs, despite government hopes that it can become a green economy leader through the manufacture and use of electric cars. The kingdom imported only 210 EVs in 2022, showing the mountain it has to climb to realise ambitions […] April 16, 2024
Giga-projects Roshn awards $57m contract for Riyadh villa community The Saudi giga-project Roshn has signed a deal worth more than SAR215 million ($57 million) with Dar Al Arkan, a local developer, for a villa community in Riyadh. The two companies signed an agreement allowing Dar Al Arkan to acquire and develop residential villas in the first phase of Sedra. The 35 million sq m […] April 16, 2024
Analysis Tech Space trash offers Saudi Arabia a new revenue source Saudi Arabia is targeting lucrative and environmentally critical opportunities in the rubbish removal sector – in outer space. More than 27,000 man-made objects larger than 10 centimetres, such as defunct satellites and spent rocket stages, orbit Earth, according to Nasa. This space debris puts at stake billions of dollars of assets such as spacecraft and […] April 16, 2024
Economy Inflation eases to 1.6% in Saudi Arabia Inflation in Saudi Arabia fell to 1.6 percent in March, from 1.8 percent in February, driven mainly by housing rents. The trend of lower price rises over the past year continued. The consumer price index hit a high of 2.8 percent year-on-year inflation in May 2023 but has been under 2 percent since September. The […] April 15, 2024
Giga-projects Neom increases workforce to get vision over the line The pace of construction on Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project Neom is to accelerate, with the workforce rising by almost half by next year. The number of people employed in construction will increase from more than 140,000 to more than 200,000 in 2025, the developer said in a statement, after reports of construction workers being […] April 15, 2024
Opinion Sustainability The Gulf is all-in on AI, but it’s thirsty work for a desert region AI data centres in themselves can use vast amounts of scarce water for cooling April 15, 2024
Retail Diriyah Square planned for historic Riyadh district A public space featuring 400 retail outlets and 100 restaurants and cafes is planned for the historic Riyadh district of Diriyah. Diriyah Square will be announced next week at the World Retail Congress in Paris and aims to attract a combination of international retail brands and local artisans. Diriyah Gate Development Authority group CEO Jerry […] April 14, 2024
Aviation Third Chinese airline to launch flights to Saudi Arabia Air China is set to begin flights to Riyadh in May, becoming the third Chinese airline to establish a route to Saudi Arabia. It joins China Southern and Eastern Airlines in connecting China with the kingdom. Air China’s Airbus A330-300 will serve the Beijing-Riyadh route three times a week. The expansion in capacity between the […] April 12, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising AI will free up local creatives for more award-winning campaigns Robots can help, but it's still humans who win the trophies April 12, 2024
Analysis Renewable Energy Lithium’s highs and lows – and what they mean for the Gulf For one of the world’s most critical minerals, the past two years have been the best of times and the worst of times. First, lithium prices shot skywards, hitting around $80,000 per metric tonne in 2022 amid fears that global supply would not meet demand. Then, in just a year, the soft, silvery-white metal lost […] April 12, 2024
Logistics Volumes up at Saudi ports in spite of Red Sea attacks Container volumes at Saudi Arabia’s ports were up last month compared to March 2023 despite continuing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, data from the kingdom’s ports authority shows. The Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, oversees 10 ports. These include facilities in Jeddah, Yanbu and Jazan on the country’s Red Sea coast, and […] April 11, 2024
Opinion Aviation Saudi Arabia’s 2030 passenger target is a hard climb The kingdom will view hard-to-achieve passenger growth figures as a challenge, not a deterrent April 11, 2024
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