#Saudi Arabia

Saudi approves Moderna vaccine for 12-17 age group

Saudi’s education ministry has said that students over the age of 12 will require to be vaccinated to be admitted back to school

Saudi says students who are not vaccinated will be considered absent

Students above the age of 12 will require to be vaccinated with both shots to return to schools

Saudi wealth fund buys a stake in Italian supercar maker Pagani

The Pagani family will keep full control of the company

Dubai’s Invygo raises $1.9m in pre-series A funding round

Invygo will build new partnerships with dealers and car rental companies, while also expanding its engineering talent

Saudi Arabia’s Sirar by STC blocks 14m catfishing emails during 2020

The kingdom ranks 37th among the countries most targeted by cyber-attacks

Saudi’s Mabaat secures SAR9m in seed funding round

Funds will be used to market and enhance the platform

Saudi Arabia to extend residency permits for expats stranded outside the kingdom

It will be extended automatically and at no additional cost

Ntechlab

NtechLab expands into GCC with its face recognition tool

The company has announced the opening of its Gulf representative office in Abu Dhabi

Acwa power solar panels

Aramco joins group building giant solar plant in Saudi Arabia

The plant will start producing power in second half of 2022

Agthia Group

Abu Dhabi’s Agthia seeks food deals in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

The group is pursuing a strategy to grow through acquisitions and investment in its food and beverage business

Saudi’s Red Sea Farms raises $16m pre-series A funding round

Initial investor group includes Aramco venture Wa’ed, the Future Investment Initiative Institute and KAUST from Saudi Arabia, as well as UAE-based Global Ventures

Data and Analytics

Alteryx survey highlights the great data disconnect in the region

Despite data workers, specifically in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, possessing advanced and valuable data skills, businesses are failing to take advantage of this untapped resource

Saudi says children under 12 exempt from vaccination requirement for outdoor events

Children will need to be accompanied by fully vaccinated adults and must not show any influenza-like symptoms

Saudi Arabia Riyadh

Saudi Arabia issues highest-ever number of foreign investor licences in a single quarter

It issued 478 licenses in Q1 2021, a 36 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year

Riyadh tops Saudi Arabia’s residential market boom

Apartment values in Riyadh grew 7.6 per cent year on year in the second quarter

Dumat Al Jandal wind farm

Trials successful on Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm; connected to electricity grid

UAE’s Masdar has partnered on the construction of the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal facility

Umrah Saudi Arabia Grand Mosque

Saudi Arabia increases cap on number of Umrah pilgrims to 2 million per month

Foreign pilgrims who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to perform Umrah starting from August 9

Islamic Development Bank, Bloomberg LP launch financial education programme across 9 countries

Participating universities will be announced over the coming months

Saudi wealth fund is said to hire ex-HSBC executive as director

Since 2015, the PIF’s assets under management have risen to $430bn from about $150bn

Buy-now-pay-later provider tabby secures $50m in Series B round

The funding will be used to expand tabby’s product portfolio and launch in new markets

MSI - LAPTOP

CITC unveils gaming performance by Saudi Arabia’s telecom service providers

Game mode report reveals that Zain and STC shared the first place for quarterly performance

Saudi Arabia airport

Saudi Arabia: Vaccinated tourists can now enter without having to quarantine

Saudi recognises the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines

DGA

Saudi Arabia’s DGA approves the regulatory framework of digital government

The regulatory framework will serve as the foundation for future digital government regulation

Saudi Arabia levies Covid-19 vaccine mandate

The kingdom reported 1,146 new Covid-19 cases on July 31

Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets rose in June

The price of Brent crude averaged over $73 a barrel in June

Saudi ARabia Travel Ban

Covid-19: Three-year travel ban for Saudis who visit “red list” countries

The Ministry of Interior added that those who do not abide by these travel rules risk facing legal action and heavy penalties upon their return

Saudi to resume Umrah for foreign pilgrims from August 10

The kingdom reopened the Grand Mosque in Makkah to domestic Umrah pilgrims on Sunday, July 25

How is the GCC’s energy transition faring

In the GCC, hydrocarbons have traditionally been the driving force for the economies

Saudi Arabia

Saudi bans citizens from travelling to Indonesia over Covid-19 concerns

It urged its citizens in Indonesia to exercise caution and to return to the kingdom at the earliest

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco confirms data leak after reported cyber ransom

The state-owned driller was reportedly offered the chance to have the data deleted for $50m in cryptocurrency