#Saudi Arabia

Smartphone market

Is the region’s smartphone market expected to grow in 2023?

The competition remains stiff in the coming years, especially for emerging brands

Dubai Police Ramadan Cannon

Ramadan 2023: UAE moon-sighting committee to meet Tuesday

The sighting of the moon signifies the start and the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar

logistics sector

Is Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector future-ready?

The kingdom is exercising concerted efforts to infuse a digital-first approach

S&P Global, Moody’s raise Saudi Arabia rating on reform agenda

Fitch Ratings, one of the big three rating agencies, assigns Saudi Arabia the same score as S&P Global while Moody’s has it one level higher

SPAC

Saudi Arabia explores setting up framework for SPAC listings

Yazeed Saleh Aldemaigi, deputy of strategy and international affairs at Capital Market Authority didn’t give a time frame for when the framework could be introduced

Tamara, Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs backs BNPL startup Tamara with $150m facility

The facility will help finance the growing demand for bringing the buy now, pay later products in the GCC while continuing its growth across new verticals

NorthLadder

NorthLadder launches second-hand marketplace in Saudi Arabia

Residents in Riyadh and Jeddah can now use the marketplace to sell their used laptops, mobile phones, tablets and smartwatches

PIF unveils 3 private sector initiatives. Image by PIF

Saudi Arabia’s PIF unveils three initiatives to boost private sector growth

The strategy aligns with the fund’s aim to support the private sector in increasing its contribution to GDP by up to 65 per cent by 2030

Saudi Aramco’s record net income. Image by Aramco

Saudi Aramco profit surges to $161.1bn in 2022, raises dividend

The company’s declared a dividend of $19.5bn for the final quarter of 2022, a 4 per cent increase compared to the previous three-month period

Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia unveils Riyadh Air, the country’s new national carrier

Riyadh will be the company’s operational hub, and will connect the Saudi capital to over 100 destinations globally

Saudi Arabia tourism visa

Saudi Arabia relaxes tourist visa rule for all GCC residents

The announcement is the latest in a series of initiatives that seek to attract visitors coming from GCC countries

Saudi Arabia GDP 2022

Saudi Arabia’s 2022 GDP grows 8.7 per cent, boosted by higher oil prices

The country’s GDP crossed the $1tn mark for the first time in 2022 as higher oil prices boosted government revenues

Cover story: How Magnom Properties is keen to invest in the future

The real estate arm of Saudi conglomerate, Rawabi Holding, is looking to be part of the solution on climate change

Agility opens data centre sites

Kuwait’s Agility launches data centre sites across Middle East and Africa

The company plans to build additional sites in other rapidly growing data centre markets including Nairobi, Casablanca and Lagos

Tamakani milestones showcased by Aamer Sheikh PepsiCo CEO Middle East

How PepsiCo’s Tamakani initiative is empowering Saudi women

Aamer Sheikh, PepsiCo CEO Middle East, shares how the company’s women empowerment platform aims to support one million Saudi women by 2030

UAE corporate tax exemptions.

MENA M&A activity smashes record to top 700 deals in 2022

Domestic deals represented 34 per cent of the total M&A value at $28.4bn while outbound deals led in value at $40.1bn

Saudi oil Europe

Saudi Arabia raises oil prices for Asia and Europe for April

Prices for US customers were left unchanged

Kazakhstan & ACWA Power agreement signed in presence of Abdulaziz bin Salman -

ACWA Power, Kazakhstan to develop key 1GW wind energy and battery storage project

The project marks ACWA Power’s entry into the Central Asian country with an initial investment of $1.5bn

Shareek programme to suppport Saudi Arabia's private sector

Aramco, ACWA Power, SABIC to receive support from Saudi’s Shareek programme

The first wave of supported projects, which will have strategic impact on several economic sectors, will benefit from investments worth SAR192.4bn

Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia and UAE

UAE, Saudi Arabia lead GCC renewable energy investments: S&P Global

The Gulf states are accelerating the decarbonisation of their energy sectors by investing heavily in renewable energy

SABIC projects tight industry margins

Saudi Arabia’s SABIC sees industry margins staying tight

SABIC, which is majority-owned by Saudi Aramco, said average sale prices dropped 9 per cent from the previous quarter.

Saudi Arabia's PIF backs emkan capital

Saudi wealth fund unit backs Emkan Capital’s technology fund

Emkan Capital’s technology fund will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies with high-growth potential

Saudi’s Mawani, Jeddah Chamber to jointly build $267m integrated logistics park

Mawani said the logistics park is expected to further boost its role as a key player in the national transportation ecosystem

Netflix

Netflix launches programme to upskill television producers in Saudi

The seven-week programme will be available exclusively through the University of Southern California

saudi arabia non-oil activity

Saudi Arabia to host Web3 Delight in March

The event will take place on March 6 at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center

Saudi

Saudi oil revenue drop rounds off year of $326bn windfall

The kingdom wants to use its energy windfall to accelerate projects that contribute to weaning it off a reliance on oil

OPEC

Saudi Arabia says OPEC flexible and can adjust policy if needed

The kingdom’s energy minister reiterated that the group’s policies are determined by technical studies of market balances

Premier Inn Ibn Battuta Mall

Premier Inn MENA plans foray into Saudi Arabia in 2023

Premier Inn plans to launch a new, higher-grade room category in the Middle East, as well as more enhancements at its existing properties this year

Dubai's DXB beats forecasts, welcomes over 66m passengers in 2022

DXB receives over 66 million passengers in 2022

December was the busiest month of the year, with 7.1 million passengers

Nintendo

Saudi Arabia becomes largest outside shareholder of Nintendo

The Public Investment Fund owns 8.3 per cent of the Kyoto-based company, according to its latest filing