Opinion Gaming Saudi Arabia’s Pokémon Go deal is a gamechanger No longer a niche sector, gaming is driving the evolution of other cultural fields April 1, 2025
Analysis Mining Tech may find Saudi Arabia’s mineral wealth but mining will take years The rocky hills of western Saudi Arabia hide huge wealth, prospectors insist. The crags and crevices are part of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, an exposed Precambrian rock formation which runs from the west of the kingdom across the Red Sea to eastern Egypt and Sudan. The government estimates total mineral wealth at $2.5 trillion, more than […] April 1, 2025
Aviation Low-cost carrier Flynas to offload 30% on Saudi bourse Saudi low-cost carrier Flynas has received the market regulator’s approval to offload nearly a third of its shares on the local stock exchange in the latest of a series of bourse flotations. The airline, partly owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, will sell 51.3 million shares or 30 percent of its stock in an initial public […] April 1, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco holds LPG prices steady for April Oil producer Saudi Aramco kept April official selling prices (OSPs) for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) unchanged from March, while Algeria’s Sonatrach cut its OSPs by 2-7 percent due to weaker demand in the Mediterranean, traders said on Monday. Aramco’s April OSP for propane was stable at $615 per metric tonne, while butane was $605 per tonne, […] April 1, 2025
Economy Trump to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar by May US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May to sign an investment agreement in what will be the first foreign trip of his second term, with stops also planned in Qatar and the UAE. “It could be next month, maybe a little later,” Trump told reporters […] April 1, 2025
Analysis Markets Saudi bourse less affected by Ramadan than in previous years Trading on Saudi Arabia’s bourse has changed little this Ramadan as the growing influence of institutional and professional traders offsets the impact of a decline in retail investor activity. Historically, Gulf nationals have been the dominant force on the region’s stock markets. Individuals often meet at the bourses to trade and socialise. Such habits would […] March 31, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia may cut May oil prices for Asia to three-month low Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may lower its crude prices for Asian buyers in May to a three-month low, tracking the steep declines in benchmark prices this month, traders said. The May official selling price (OSP) for flagship Arab Light crude may decline by $1.80 to $2 a barrel from April, four Asian refining sources […] March 28, 2025
Analysis Markets The ups and downs of PIF’s US holdings Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made some big gains but has also been hit by some substantial losses in listed US companies in the five years since it began publishing its holdings, AGBI analysis shows. Overall, the value of its assets in publicly traded companies in the US has plunged 55 percent from […] March 28, 2025
Video length: 04:10 VIDEO Giga-projects Saudi Arabia must capitalise on curiosity to grow investment Fulfilling the bold ambitions of Vision 2030 will require more foreign direct investment and private sector participation. AGBI spoke to Ali Raza, CIO at Saudi Arabia Holding Company, to find out about the impact of falling FDI. Raza says that although FDI inflows in 2024 have “perhaps not been at the levels we would like […] March 27, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco considering investment in Indian refineries Saudi Aramco is in talks to invest in two planned refineries in India as the world’s top oil exporter looks for a stable outlet for its crude in the world’s fastest-growing emerging market, several Indian sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer and importer, wants to become a […] March 27, 2025
Markets Hospital operator SMC given approval for Saudi IPO Specialized Medical Company (SMC), which operates two hospitals in Riyadh, has received approval from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority to launch an initial public offering (IPO). The announcement allows SMC to issue 75,000 shares, representing 30 percent of its share capital. No further details about the listing were released. SMC’s CEO, Bassam Chahine, told AGBI […] March 27, 2025
Giga-projects Saudi jobs growth ‘likely to halve’ as PIF reins in spending Employment growth in Saudi Arabia will halve by 2026 as the kingdom reins in spending and focuses on delivering Vision 2030 projects, recruitment and real estate specialists are saying. Growth in recruitment for jobs in the Saudi economy, after hitting a high of nearly 10 percent in 2022, will slow to 3 percent by 2026, […] March 27, 2025
Markets Junior Saudi market considers easing investor requirements Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority has proposed reforms to broaden the investor base of the kingdom’s junior stock market in an attempt to increase liquidity. The changes relax the requirements to register as a “qualified investor” on Nomu, the parallel alternative to the Tadawul, and extend this designation to board and committee members of listed […] March 26, 2025
Transport Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia next month Tesla is due to launch in Saudi Arabia on April 10, with a special event at the Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh to show off its products, including its autonomous driving Cybercab and Optimus, its humanoid robot. Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is currently facing slowing sales and rising competition from cheaper Chinese rivals in key […] March 26, 2025
Renewable Energy Aramco buys 50% of local blue hydrogen producer Saudi Aramco has purchased a 50 percent stake in a low-carbon hydrogen production plant in Jubail, a city on the Gulf, owned by a unit of the Saudi Arabia-based company Air Products Qudra (APQ). The stake buyout will enable Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG), a wholly owned subsidiary of APQ, to provide blue hydrogen […] March 26, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Riyadh’s financial ambitions bump up against hard reality Saudi Arabia wants to emulate London or Hong Kong in the international money markets and become a global financial centre, Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih said at a capital markets conference in Riyadh in February. “We need to channel global capital,” he said. “We want to become a regional financial hub.” But judging by the […] March 26, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco looks at China’s potential growth sectors Saudi Aramco is exploring new opportunities in China’s energy, chemicals and technology sectors, president and CEO Amin Nasser has said. China occupies a key position in Aramco’s global strategy, he told the China Development Forum in Beijing on Monday. The Saudi-listed company is supporting China’s energy and chemical feedstock security by investing in multiple downstream projects, Nasser […] March 25, 2025
Finance Umm Al Qura shares soar as more Saudi IPOs approved Shares in Saudi Arabia’s Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction surged 30 percent on Monday, the maximum allowed on a first day of trading. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) also approved another three companies for initial public offerings. Within minutes of the opening of the Saudi Exchange, after Umm Al Qura raised SAR1.96 billion […] March 25, 2025
EXCLUSIVE Giga-projects PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has ordered deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, slowing projects and triggering layoffs, people familiar with the matter have told AGBI. The sovereign wealth fund at the heart of the government’s economic transformation strategy is mandating a minimum 20 percent reduction in 2025 […] March 24, 2025
Energy Orascom wins $2.6bn contract for Saudi power plant A consortium comprising Egypt-listed Orascom Construction and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas has signed a contract to build a 3 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The consortium signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth around $2.6 billion for expanding the Qurayyah independent power project, Orascom said in a statement on Monday. In […] March 24, 2025