BEIRUT, Lebanon — The security forces in Saudi Arabia have carried out a nationwide dragnet in recent months that resulted in the arrest of more than 400 people believed to be connected to the Islamic State jihadist group, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Saturday. The people who were arrested were linked to recent attacks inside the kingdom; they planned attacks or monitored potential targets, or used […]
By SAEED AL-BATATI and KAREEM FAHIM July 11, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — A cease-fire brokered by the United Nations that was intended to allow the delivery of relief supplies failed to take hold in Yemen on Saturday, as a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes, and fighting continued between the Houthis rebels and rival militias in several cities. The “pause” in the fighting had been scheduled to […]
Saudi Arabia … expanding population base ofbrand-conscious consumers.Image: Bigstockphoto. For illustration only. Mall rental rates curbing retail growth in Saudi DUBAI, 15 hours, 58 minutes ago High rental rates in the top-tier malls are deterring the growth of Saudi Arabia’s retail market, a report said, noting that the kingdom is currently facing a great challenge due to scarcity of human resources owing to high attrition rates. Availability […]
Sophisticated attacks by an Islamic State branch in Saudi Arabia show the jihadist group is better established there than previously suspected, and that fueled by anger over Arab civil wars, Riyadh’s militancy problem is not going away. A sustained militant campaign could undermine stability in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam, one of the few major Arab states that has so far mostly avoided […]
Saudi leaders, whose portraits are displayed at the stock exchange in Riyadh, have not confirmed the leak’s authenticity. By BEN HUBBARD June 20, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — It seems that everyone wants something from Saudi Arabia. Before becoming the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi wanted visas to take his family on a religious pilgrimage. A Lebanese politician begged for cash to pay his bodyguards. Even the state news agency […]
Yemenis waited to buy food and water in Taiz on Friday. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has appealed for a two-week humanitarian truce in honor of Ramadan, which began this week. By SOMINI SENGUPTA June 19, 2015 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations mediator for Yemen peace talks said on Friday that four days of discussions had ended with no agreement for even a brief pause in […]
UAE. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked as the 23rd and 33rd most expensive cities to live in (respectively) according to Mercer’s 2015 Cost of Living Survey. The two cities have experienced a significant jump compared to 2014, with Dubai soaring 44 places from last year’s position at 67 and Abu Dhabi going up 35 places 68th in 2014. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most […]
MRC Global announced that its subsidiary, MRC Transmark Middle East FZE, has signed a framework agreement with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), naming MRC Transmark Middle East as one of SABIC’s primary valve suppliers to SABIC’s operations in Saudi Arabia. SABIC, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. It operates from more than 50 countries and has more than 60 manufacturing and […]
INTERNATIONAL. Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) totaled 31.11 million barrels per day (b/d) in May, up 180,000 b/d from April and the group’s highest monthly volume since October 2012, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. “OPEC’s communique after the June 5 meeting mentioned that members had been urged to adhere to its production […]
Saudi opening may be non-event with no licences awarded RIYADH, 11 hours, 30 minutes ago The opening of Saudi Arabia’s stock market to direct foreign investment on Monday may disappoint traders who have been hoping for large and immediate fund inflows, as the kingdom has yet to announce the award of any licences. Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority announced plans to open the market last July, and […]
Bond issue … big shift in Saudi economic policy. Saudi may issue government bonds this year DUBAI, 6 days ago The Saudi Arabian government may resume issuing bonds this year, easing downward pressure on the country’s foreign reserves caused by low oil prices, a senior International Monetary Fund official said after talks with Saudi officials. “The sense we had is this year,” Tim Callen, chief of the […]
|TAP Special| Are Saudi Arabia and Iran heading towards a direct war? An opinion piece by influential Saudi commentator, carried by Al Arabia News, argues that the Saudi military operation against the Houthis is part of a Saudi policy combining diplomacy and war to stop Iranian influence and ultimately push it out of Syria and Yemen. The veteran commentator, Jamal Khashoggi, quotes Qassem Soleimani, commander of the […]
UAE. In a report released today by A.T. Kearney the UAE is ranked as the seventh most-attractive country in the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), marking the eighth year in a row that the country has been globally ranked in the top 10. The UAE’s retail market continues to grow steadily with retail space growing by 7 percent in 2014 to reach 1.6 million square meters and […]
UAE. The depressed oil prices predominant since late last year could herald a lasting trend if, as evidence suggests, we are now facing the low-price segment of an oil ‘super cycle’, according to the latest paper from global strategy and management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. This new situation would pose both challenges and opportunities to Middle East companies and countries. There is still much volatility in the […]
Foreigners can buy into Saudi IPOs on case-by-case basis RIYADH, 22 days ago Foreigners will be allowed to buy directly into initial public offers (IPO) of shares in Saudi Arabian companies on a case-by-case basis, the chairman of the Saudi Capital Market Authority said on Tuesday. The CMA announced on Monday rules allowing foreign institutions to begin investing directly in the stock market, subject to restrictions such […]
An anonymous painting of Turkish Emperor Mahmud II leading his troops. By DAVID MOTADEL May 23, 2015 CAMBRIDGE, England — THE last several months have brought a dramatic escalation in conflict across the Middle East, almost all of it involving tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — which are in turn fueled by a power struggle between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia for regional supremacy. Tehran runs a […]
Kingdom Holding Q1 profit rises 10.3pc RIYADH, 20 hours, 23 minutes ago Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding , the investment firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, posted a 10.3 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, on the back of higher income from dividends and associates. Kingdom make a net profit of SR139.4 million ($37.2 million) in the three months to March 31, compared […]
|By TAP Staff| Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) totaled 30.72 million barrels per day (b/d) in March, up 800,000 b/d from February, and the highest monthly volume since November 2012, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. In November 2012, OPEC output was estimated at 31.08 million b/d. Saudi Arabia boosted production by 280,000 […]
Deloitte appoints director forensic services in Saudi RIYADH, 3 days ago Deloitte Corporate Finance in the Middle East has appointed Abdullah Farid Shaker as principal director of forensic and financial advisory services, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “I am delighted to welcome Abdullah to our team, whose joining reflects the growing need for financial advisory services in the Middle East and in KSA specifically,” said Humphry Hatton, CEO […]
The specter of an atomic arms race in the world’s most volatile region has heightened the stakes in Iran’s nuclear talks after Saudi Arabia’s repeated hints it would seek its own atomic weapons if Tehran ever did the same. Riyadh’s unprecedented action in assembling a coalition of other Sunni Muslim countries to bomb Tehran’s Houthi allies in Yemen this week has shown how seriously it takes the […]
Dubai Investments, a diversified Gulf-based investment group, plans to float shares in at least one subsidiary next year and could also divest other holdings, its chief executive said on Monday. The firm, which reported a 63 percent rise in annual profit to 1.34 billion dirhams ($364.8 million) last year, has primed three subsidiaries – in financial services and property, plus district cooling firm Emicool – to potentially […]
Salim Al Aufi, Oman’s undersecretary for oil and gas, likens attempts to cut the reliance on oil during a price slump to acting “with a gun pointed at your head.” If you have to make decisions under pressure, “you will probably make the wrong ones,” he said March 3 in Muscat during a panel discussion on the impact of the oil shock. Oman relied too much on […]
RIYADH, 2 days ago Saudi Arabia’s Mobily on Wednesday said it swung to a full-year loss in 2014 after the telecommunications operator announced its audited results, also revealing it had breached loan covenants with various lenders. Mobily — formally called Etihad Etisalat — made a loss of SR913 million ($243.4 million) in 2014 after it took an additional charge of SR1.13 billion, it said in a statement […]
Mobily chairman quits; new head named RIYADH, 8 hours, 43 minutes ago The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has resigned with immediate effect, the kingdom’s No 2 telecommunications operator said on Tuesday. Abdulaziz Al-Saghyir quit due to health reasons, but will remain on Mobily’s board, the company said in a statement to Riyadh’s bourse. Mobily has appointed Suliman bin Abdulrahman Al-Gwaiz as chairman, effective February […]
