A Kingdom of Oil From the beginning, the social contract between commoners and royals constituted a trade-off: a share of the country’s wealth in exchange for absolute rule by the Saud monarchs. A Life magazine correspondent visiting in 1943 described how, as King Abdulaziz waited on a roadside while a flat tire was fixed on his Packard, he gave a shepherd passing on camelback several gold pieces. […]
ACE Hardware, the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative, is to open at First Avenue in Dubai’s Motor City, becoming its main anchor retail tenant. The retailer said in a statement that it will operate on the ground floor across an area of almost 6,500 sq ft. ACE stores sell a wide variety of hardware products to maintain and fix homes and businesses. “The pace of demographic growth […]
Infrastructure works for two new berths at King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City will be finished in the next few weeks, significantly boosting capacity. Berths 5 and 6 are part of the port’s expansion plan, which aims to significantly uprate the port’s capacity, thus boosting its standing in the maritime industry, both regionally and internationally, a statement said. “With the two new berths, […]
Saudi Arabia will resist plans to introduce a tax on expat remittances for now, according to Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, secretary general of the Financial Committee at the Royal Court. Saudi Arabia’s Shura council has discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former Shura council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent […]
Saudi Arabia’s government plans to provide 200 billion riyals ($53 billion) of incentives to the private sector over the next four years in its drive to diversify the economy beyond oil, according to an official planning document. A reform programme launched this year, after a plunge in oil prices slashed state revenues in the world’s top oil exporting country, envisions the private sector investing tens of billions […]
Minor Hotel Group, the Thai-based operator of the luxury Anantara brand, has announced plans to open a resort in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Scheduled to open in 2019, Anantara Jeddah Resort will be located on the waterfront in Obhur and will offer 226 guest rooms and 102 two to five bedroom villas. Facilities will include a selection of dining options with both indoor and outdoor seating, fitness and […]
Saudi Arabia plans to borrow between $10 to $15 billion from international markets in 2017 and around 70 billion riyals from the domestic market, a senior Saudi official told Al Arabiya television channel. Mohammad al-Tuwaijri, secretary-general of the Finance Committee at the Royal Court, was speaking to Al Arabiya in an interview aired on Friday. The Saudi government borrowed $17.5 billion this year in its first international […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Saudi Arabia unveiled a $237 billion budget for 2017, an 8 percent increase from 2016, with projections of a record 33 percent decrease in the Kingdom’s national deficit. “Our economy is firm and it has sufficient strength to cope with the current economic and financial challenges,” said King Salman bin Abdulaziz.. “We have sought through this budget and its programs to improve the […]
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), a developer of large-scale solar power plants and part of Saudi-based Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, has been awarded a 30-year 300MW solar project in Mexico. With this build-operate-own agreement, FRV said it is extending its global footprint into the Mexican market at a rate of $26.99/MWh for the first 15 years of the project. The construction of the plant will begin in mid-2018 […]
Dubai, UAE, Riyad, Saudi Arabia, 22 December 2016 Tasnee, the leading industrial company in Saudi Arabia, is the platinum sponsor of ArabPlast Show to be held from 8th to 10th of January 2017 at the Dubai Exhibition and convention Centre. Co-organised by Al Fajer Information and Services and German exhibition organiser Messe Dusseldorf, ArabPlast is expected to bring together key players in the plastics, petrochemicals and rubber […]
Gulf stock markets barely moved in quiet, early trade on Thursday before the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s 2017 state budget, expected in the afternoon. The Saudi stock index edged up 0.1 percent in the first 40 minutes. Much activity focused on second-tier stocks such as Saudi Printing and Packaging, up 4.9 percent, although Saudi Electricity rose 0.9 percent. Saudi Electricity’s profits rose in the wake of the […]
Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell in October by 176,000 barrels per day from the month before, despite high production, but its refined products shipments rose as the kingdom expands its refining power, official data showed on Monday. The world’s top exporter shipped 7.636 million barrels per day in October, down from 7.812 million bpd in September, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). […]
An Arab coalition fighting in Yemen said on Monday it would stop using British-made BL-755 cluster munitions in Yemen where thousands of civilians have been killed in 20 months of conflict. “The government of Saudi Arabia confirms that it has decided to stop the use of cluster munitions of the type BL-755 and informed the United Kingdom government of that,” Saudi state news agency SPA reported. The […]
Global Investment House said on Monday that its Elaj Group unit has concluded partial divestment from Al Borg Medical Laboratories Limited to Investcorp and Boubyan Petrochemical Company. Al Borg is the largest chain of private laboratories in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to its website, with 26 laboratories in Saudi Arabia, four in the UAE, two in Qatar, and one each in Bahrain, Kuwait, […]
A senior Saudi cleric and a health ministry official said women should be allowed to work as paramedics and opticians, Saudi newspapers reported on Monday, part of a push to relax strict labour codes in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The government announced an economic reform plan in June that aims to increase the number of women as a proportion of the workforce to 28 percent from 23 percent […]
The Middle East mobile phone market suffered its third consecutive quarter-on-quarter decline between July and September, according to the latest figures announced by IDC. Shipments in the region totalled 23.8 million units, down 0.7 percent on the 23.9 million units shipped in Q2 and 19.4 percent on the corresponding period last year. IDC said that given that the quarter-on-quarter decline in Q2 was much steeper at 8.5 […]
With Net Profit Reaching SAR 159 Million; a 41.8% Increase Compared to the Same Period Last Year: 15 December 2016 Riyadh: Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) has commenced operations of the new solar project that comes in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision for renewable energy, offering new employment opportunities and creates economic diversification. “The new 2 SAR million solar power project at our Riyadh Regional […]
15 December 2016 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — As a strategic step towards the development of the small-to-medium-sized enterprises (or “SMEs”) in Saudi Arabia, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and Catalyst Group inked an Engagement Agreement to commence ITFC’s KSA SME Program to boost the SME Trade development. Through this partnership, ITFC will be piloting a SME Trade […]
With over 150 Saudi suppliers now, GE aims to double the number by 2020, creating a dynamic Saudi supply chain ecosystem that serves global markets GE’s investments in localized manufacturing helps build Saudi entrepreneurship, create new jobs for Saudis and build the local SME sector Dubai, United Arab Emirates; December 15, 2016 GE Oil & Gas today won the ‘Best in Supplier Development’ honor at the In […]
Saudi Arabia’s 2017 state budget is likely to show Riyadh has shrunk a huge deficit caused by cheap oil faster than expected, which may let it spend more to bolster a shaky economy This year was one of the most painful for the Saudi economy in decades. Growth slowed sharply and speculators bet against the Saudi currency as the government fought to curb a deficit that totalled […]
13 December 2016 Riyadh – Over 1,400 digital leaders gathered at the ArabNet Riyadh conference to discuss the latest in digital innovation and entrepreneurship, following the launch of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP). The event was held under the patronage of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEA), and hosted by King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) and the Badir […]
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has deepened its rift with its Gulf allies over the ongoing conflict in Yemen, blocking a transfer of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia because of concerns about civilian casualties that administration officials attribute to poor targeting. Administration officials said on Tuesday that the White House had made the decision to block the sale by Raytheon of about 16,000 guided munitions kits, which […]
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is reportedly planning to install pre-paid electricity meters for new subscribers. Company spokesman Abdullah Al Rakaf said the move was part of wider plans to cut electricity consumption, according to Saudi Gazette. Installing pre-paid meters in customers’ homes will enable them to control their electricity consumption by re-charging the meter according to monthly needs. SEC will be publishing a statement setting out […]
Saudi police detained a young woman for violating modesty rules after she removed her abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes women are required to wear, on a main street in the capital Riyadh, local media reported on Monday. The conservative Muslim country enforces a strict dress code for women in public, bans them from driving and prohibits the mixing of sexes. The Arabic-language al-Sharq newspaper reported that the […]
Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) has bought 30 percent of Falcon Cement Co, Bahrain’s largest cement producer, to help to drive economic growth in the region, the development bank said on Monday. The stake was bought from Islamic investment bank GFH Financial Group, which said it would remain a strategic shareholder in Falcon. The companies did not disclose the purchase price, but GFH has previously valued Falcon […]
The first global crude supply pact in 15 years has underlined the growing energy alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, as the depth of the two-year oil slump forces co-operation between once unlikely partners. Russia led the main oil producers from outside the Opec cartel, including Mexico and Kazakhstan, in a deal signed this weekend to reduce supply by 568,000 barrels a day — with Moscow, the […]
Britain’s exit from the European Union will mean it can forge free trade deals with Gulf Arab allies, foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Friday in a speech also heralding closer defence ties to the conservative monarchies. Johnson was speaking at a conference in Bahrain a day after footage was published of him accusing Saudi Arabia, an important ally for Britain, and Iran of stoking proxy wars […]
The Islamic Development Bank has listed a $1.25 billion sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, the region’s international financial exchange. It is the seventh sukuk listing on the exchange by the IDB, making it the largest sukuk issuer on Nasdaq Dubai at $8.55 billion. Altogether, Nasdaq Dubai has 56 sukuk listings totalling $43.96 billion, making it the largest exchange in the world for Sukuk by value. Based in Saudi […]
The first global crude supply pact in 15 years has underlined the growing energy alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, as the depth of the two-year oil slump forces co-operation between once unlikely partners. Russia led the main oil producers from outside the Opec cartel, including Mexico and Kazakhstan, in a deal signed this weekend to reduce supply by 568,000 barrels a day — with Moscow, the […]
Saudi Arabian non-oil private sector growth rebounded in November following a back-to-back slowdown in September and October, according to a new survey. Data from the Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that utput, new orders, purchasing activity and input stocks all rose sharply and at faster rates than in the prior month. That said, the expansions remained weaker than their respective averages. Subsequently, the […]
