Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi Arabia Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia fans wave flags before a World Cup qualifier in Jeddah. The country is sole bidder for the 2034 tournament

Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium

Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh. Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project. “What we don’t want is to design, […]

Saudi Arabia's finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan on stage at the FII conference. The country's revenue has risen 12%

Saudi Arabia’s deficit rises again as oil output cuts bite

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit was SAR58 billion ($15.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, rising by SAR30 billion in the third quarter alone and confirming predictions of a funding crunch for the country’s giga-projects.  The finance ministry said in October that it expects to post an overall deficit of SAR118 billion this year […]

A Saudi man walks at the Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Kuwaiti companies looking at Saudi exchange listings

Kuwaiti companies are eyeing up opportunities to list on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange, according to reports. It comes almost two years since deals were signed between market regulators in both Gulf states to explore collaboration around cross-listings on the Tadawul and Kuwait’s bourse. Firas Al-Salem, chairman of the Kuwaiti Business Council, said that listings could […]

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas (front left) at the signing ceremony for the company's latest Airbus order. He says the airline intends to challenge travel websites such as Expedia and Booking.Com

Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants

Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […]

Saudi riyadh expo 2030

The remaking of Riyadh ahead of World Expo 2030

Expo 2030 is already propelling real estate development in Riyadh six years before the international fair is scheduled to take place – and, along with other giga-projects, is helping to shift the city’s core to the north. The World Expo, which typically takes place in a different city every five years, is expected to occupy […]

Khalid Al-Falih Saudi Arabia’s investment minister regional conflict Future Investment Initiative

Regional conflict eroding investment openings, Saudis warn

More than a year of regional conflict is eroding investment opportunities across the Middle East, Saudi officials admitted on Tuesday, though they sought to downplay the impact of regional tensions.  Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) global investor conference in Riyadh days after Israel fired missiles at Iran, the officials said that the kingdom, […]

Clothing, Hat, Aircraft

Saudi Arabia pins branding hopes on Riyadh Air launch

Saudi Arabia still hasn’t found the magic sauce for branding its social and economic reforms.  Hopes are high that the launch of Riyadh Air will do for the kingdom what Emirates airline did for Dubai, industry experts say. “We saw the journey of the UAE, how brands started there then became iconic on a global […]

MB4W54 industrial pump jack

IMF lowers 2024 Saudi GDP forecast on oil output

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its GDP growth prediction for Saudi Arabia this year and next because of oil output cuts continuing to the end of this year. The Saudi economy is expected to expand 1.5 percent this year, down 0.2 percent from the IMF’s last review in July, and 4.6 percent in 2025, […]

Co-working spaces, such as this one in Riyadh, complement state-led VC funding initiatives for Saudi startups

Saudi Arabia pumps funding into startups as it vies for Mena No 1

Saudi Arabia is piling money and government support into its venture capital industry as it competes with the UAE to attract startups. The VC market across the Middle East and North Africa raised $1.3 billion from January to September 2024 – and Saudi Arabia “led the region”, said startup analyst Magnitt. The kingdom secured “39 […]

The housing needs of hundreds of thousands of workers on construction sites in Saudi Arabia will now be met by the Smart Accommodation for Residential Complexes Company

PIF launches company to build worker accommodation

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has established a company to develop and operate accommodation for workers employed on major projects in the kingdom. Smart Accommodation for Residential Complexes Company (Sarcc) will build workers’ accommodation for both public and private sector developers who are working on projects across the country.  Sarcc will also seek opportunities […]

Visitors tour the exhibition halls at Gitex Global. This year's expo runs until October 18

Tech startups drive rise in Ireland’s exports to UAE

Exports from Ireland to the UAE rose by 21 percent last year, driven by Irish technology and healthcare companies.  The trade agency Enterprise Ireland says exports to the GCC increased 13 percent last year, reaching €532.5 million ($580 million). Qatar had the region’s fastest growth in exports from Ireland last year, with a rise of […]

A street in Khobar is adorned with flags to celebrate Saudi Arabia's national day. The region has benefited from an influx of PIF money

Real estate picks up in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province

The Gulf city of Dammam and the Eastern Province that surrounds it have long trailed behind Riyadh, Jeddah and Mecca in the push for glitzy development, but real estate activity is picking up across the hospitality, residential and industrial sectors. The province, which has deep pockets thanks to its importance to the Saudi energy industry, […]

Construction is well underway at King Salman Park in Riyadh. Developments in the city may take priority over giga-projects elsewhere

World Cup and Expo wins divert funding to Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects have slowed down because of financing constraints – and now the government’s unexpected success in bidding for global events is redirecting even more resources towards Riyadh.  Even prestigious developments such as Neom, the $500 billion futuristic city in north-west Saudi Arabia, are taking second place. The priority is turning the capital into […]

Saudi Arabia data centre

Four-fold boost to Saudi data centres planned

Saudi Arabia plans to boost its data centre capacity four-fold to more than 1,000 megawatts over the next five years, according to one of the country’s leading data centre providers. The current capacity in the kingdom is approximately 250-300MW. Abdullah Al Ghamdi, CEO of Al Moammar Information Systems (MIS), revealed the target in an interview […]

Saudi Vale copper

Saudi-backed Vale plans to increase copper output

Brazilian miner Vale, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), aims to increase copper production after conceding that it had lost ground to competitors in its output of the key metal. Vale is a top global iron ore producer but also operates base metal projects including copper and nickel.  In his first […]

Workers prepare to clean the floor of the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca

Saudi Arabia promises more pilgrimage industry work visas

Saudi Arabia will issue more temporary work visas to those employed in the pilgrimage industry.  A statement by the ministry of human resources said Hajj and umrah work would now be included in its temporary visa programme. A half-year visa will cover the fasting month of Ramadan and the Hajj pilgrimage, which comes around three […]

Visitors to the Mipim property conference look at images of the Mukaab, which will be the centrepiece of New Murabba in Riyadh

New Murabba CEO promises Riyadh district’s core by 2030

The New Murabba giga-project, which aims to create a 19-sq-km city district in Riyadh, will be up and running by December 2030, its CEO said this week.  Michael Dyke told a tourism forum in Dubai: “What’s important is to say that New Murabba is real, tangible today. It’s physically there, it’s not something on a piece […]

Commercial development near Mecca's Grand Mosque can be sensitive and PIF keeps projects tightly guarded

PIF companies push ahead with Mecca expansion plans

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is building a vast commercial district in Mecca with an estimated value of $10 billion, giving the Islamic holy city a radical makeover.  After a series of ownership changes, two companies have emerged as the lead developers of commercial space around the Grand Mosque in Mecca – the 100 percent […]

Members of Saudi Arabia's security forces participate in a parade in Mecca. Military spending decreased by 6.3 percent in the first half of the year Video length: 06:31

Saudi Arabia cuts military spending as deficit increases

Saudi Arabia estimates its military spending will be 15 percent lower than budgeted this year, while capital expenditure rises, according to figures released on Monday. The kingdom’s budget deficit will increase to 2.9 percent of GDP in 2024, according to the preliminary budget statement released by the ministry of finance, as spending on the Vision […]

Red Sea hotels Desert Rock, 'a hotel that’s literally built into the side of the mountain', is expected to open this year

Red Sea Global to open 19 luxury hotels in 2025

Red Sea Global, the Saudi giga-project, is due to open 19 new luxury hotels in 2025, it was revealed this week. It will also be opening two hotels this year, including one carved into a mountainside, an official said. “2023 saw us opening our first resort, and in 2024 we’ve opened another two resorts and […]