Follow on Twitter
Subscribe by RSS
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority is in the final stages of developing a regulatory framework to allow foreigners to own stocks directly. The move is being viewed as a way to promote greater foreign investment in the Kingdom, although the market does not need liquidity from...
Saudi Arabia’s 18th International event for food, beverages and catering, hotel equipment, supplies and services is to be held from May 19-22, 2013, under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture. The event will be hosting over 400 companies from 22 countries with national pavillions from China, Egypt, Indonesia,...
Women’s Entrepreneuship Initiative (WEI) in collaboration with the Ashridge Business School recently launched a report highlighting the growing need of a limited number of Saudi women to be fully represented in the entrepreneurial sector. As proposed by the report, in the attempts to inculcate such change across the Kingdom, regulatory, educational...
When the Arab Spring happened across some of the MENA nations in 2011, all eyes were on Saudi Arabia. With unemployment & poverty on the rise and a visibly disgruntled public and living within the confines of restrictive Sharia laws, it was easy to see how some might have thought...
· Saudi beverage market experiencing 8% annual growth · Eleven beverage categories purchased per household · Average of 11 beverage categories per household The Saudi beverage market is growing at an annual rate of over eight percent according to Ranjitha Subash, Consumer Insights Director at Kantar Worldpanel. Their information reveals the beverage sector...
Wadjda is a 12-year old girl who lives near Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she’s growing up in a conservative country, Wadjda is a girl full of life who wears jeans and sneakers, listens to rock music and dreams only of one thing — to buy a beautiful...
Revealing it’s ambitious growth plans, the CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) has stated that the company is chasing the status of becoming the world’s top producer of refined fuels and petrochemicals. Currently the world’s biggest crude-oil exporter, Saudi Aramco CEO, Khalid Al-Falih told a conference in Beijing...
The Saudi government has given internet messenger application providers an ultimatum of one week to provide a monitoring service or face a ban across the Kingdom. Skype, Viber and Whatsapp will likely face a ban if operators fail to allow authorities in the Kingdom to censor them and allow a monitoring server...
Saudi Arabia’s labor reforms appear to be working as more than 600,000 locals have landed jobs with private companies in the kingdom. While economists are wary of drawing conclusions regarding the kingdom’s job market and private sector hiring, these reforms appear to have recorded some early success stories. New data...
The latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence highlights that consumers in the GCC countries are gaining confidence in their national economies and are optimistic about the future trends. The index measured consumer confidence in five indicators, namely regular income, employment, economy, stock market and quality of life. Consumer confidence...
As many of you know, I’ve always disagreed with many of the laws set by Saudi Arabia, but in particular with their law prohibiting women from driving. Westerners, as well as some Arabs, see women as oppressed in the Arab world, but more so in Saudi Arabia. The wealthy women...
According to a new rule by the Saudi Ministry of Labor, small and medium-sized businesses in the kingdom will be forced to hire at least one Saudi worker from next month. The rule will be applicable on businesses in Saudi Arabia that employ ten or fewer staff. Government figures show...
In a recent report published by IDC, an increasing number of organizations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are tying up with specialized IT service providers to manage their IT infrastructure. Referencing its 2012 report, IDC says that managed and datacenter services, in particular, have gained significant traction in both...
There seems to be an overheating going on in the Saudi economy as the country is primarily depending on a limited sources of income. The dependence on oil primarily does mean that the rising commodity prices can lead to unwanted and uncontrollable inflation. The spending plans underway is based on...
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has claimed that the Forbes Billionaires List is seriously flawed and biased against Middle Eastern investors. In light of these accusations, he has severed ties with the publication and called for removal of his name from the list. The fresh list valuates the personal...
The Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia claims that there has been a sharp growth in university enrollment largely because of an increase in the income levels of Saudi families and greater interest among women to pursue tertiary education. World Bank figures suggest that the per capita income in...
Saudi Arabia’s top religious cleric believes that the government’s decision to significantly increase fees for companies that employ expats could harm the national economy. In November last year, the government had decided to impose an annual fee of USD 640 per employee on companies that employed a higher proportion of...
A new global survey has ranked Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE as top investment destinations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. These countries have been favored due to a stable business and political climate. Conducted in association with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA), the Global...
A newly established data center at the Saudi Ministry of Health will promote better health services in the Kingdom by linking 22 regional health directorates, 166 hospitals and more than 40 hospital management centers across the Arab world. The data center will help in provision of better medical services through...
Media reports point out that Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has sold his yet to be delivered Airbus A380, popularly dubbed ‘the flying palace’. Quoting the chief financial officer of his Kingdom Holding Company, reports suggest that, “it was sold in the second half of last year”. However, the...
New figures released by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health reveal that the healthcare sector created thousands of jobs, with 1,364 specialists recruited from abroad, last year. A total of 2,087 consultant physicians were appointed at various levels to provide health services across the Kingdom. The specialists hired from abroad belong...
A new survey has revealed that the Saudi Arabian consumer remains one of the most optimistic about the state of their personal finances. The findings are part of third annual Emerging Consumer Survey, conducted by Credit Suisse Research Institute. It points out that 33 percent of respondents expect to see...
Residents of Jeddah have demanded the authorities to ensure that factories are relocated from residential areas at an accelerated pace. The Jeddah Municipality has been working closely with Makkah province, Jeddah governorate, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Saudi Electricity Company (SET), Civil Defense and the Presidency...
The booming real estate and construction industry in Saudi Arabia will continue to fuel tremendous growth for steel and cement in the coming years. The demand for cement will climb by an estimated 9.4 percent every year to over 80 million tons by 2017. This significant growth would be achieved...
A new report by computer security software corporation Symantec has revealed that Saudi firms are poorly equipped to deal with cyber attacks because of “lack of data backup operations on daily basis”. As information technology assumes greater importance in today’s business environment, an increasing number of Saudi firms are digitizing...
General Motors Middle East and its dealer partners have reaffirmed their commitment to the Saudi market by outlining investment plans of up to USD 750 million by 2015. General Motors Middle East and dealers Aljomaih Automotive Company (AAC) and Universal Motors Agencies (UMA) will increase their network from 96 to 120 facilities in...
With the budget 2013 set to be announced in a few days, all eyes are set on the real estate market in Saudi Arabia. The real estate market in the Kingdom has shown an impressive jump in recent times due to a rapidly growing housing sector. The housing sector performance...
The Saudi government plans to launch 15 smart schools in each of the country’s region by February 2013. The Smart Schools Project is an initiative of the government to modernize the country’s education system. According to Ahmad Al-Dandani, Ministry of Education’s Director General of School Equipment, each region would boast...
Saudi Arabia is planning to invest heavily in its railway infrastructure, with about SR 365 billion ($99.4 billion), by the year 2040. In the coming years, the government plans to launch a number of initiatives in this sector, according to The National Commercial Bank’s (NCB) latest research, reported Arab News....
The incidence of Diabetes in the Middle East is on an alarming rise. This is not only detrimental to people’s lifestyle and health, but also to the productivity of an economy. The Middle East and North Africa Region have been reported to have the highest rate of diabetic incidences...
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: UAE invests $200 million in Azerbaijan projects The UAE Deputy Economy Minister Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shihhi said during a joint business forum in Baku on Wednesday his country’s investments in Azerbaijan’s economy exceeded $200 million....
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: UAE’s First Gulf Bank inks $900m loan deal First Gulf Bank, the second-largest lender by market value in the UAE, has signed a three-year $900m loan with a group of international lenders, the bank said in a...
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: Dubai sees no need to recapitalise support fund Dubai sees no need to recapitalise the financial support fund which provides aid to indebted state-linked companies, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the head of the emirate’s Supreme Fiscal...
Forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday said the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer by 2017. The Paris-based energy organisation predicted that Washington will come very close to achieving a previously unthinkable energy self-sufficiency. The latest report comes in stark...
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority announced on Monday it will allow subscription rights for share offers to be listed and traded on the Saudi stock market, as part of its drive to modernise the market while it prepares foreign investors’ entry in the market. “This framework aims to add further...
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: Britain, UAE enter defence partnership, discuss other deals Britain and the United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday they have agreed a defence deal which will see boosting of the British military presence in the Gulf state. The...
BAE Systems is eyeing the Middle East for business growth after a merger with EADS was torpedoed by the German government, media reports suggested on Tuesday in the wake of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s trip to the Gulf. Many analysts said investors are hoping they will receive proceeds from the BAE...
Press Release Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, has opened its fourth business centre in Saudi Arabia, in the key strategic port of Jeddah. It complements Regus’ popular existing centres in Riyadh and Dammam. The launch of the first Regus centre in this important Red Sea port offers...
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: British PM in the UAE to secure arms deal British Prime Minister David Cameron is in the United Arab Emirates to kickoff a three-day trade visit to the Middle East aimed at securing major UK arms deals...
Today’s top business and economy news from the Middle East and North Africa: Guinea, UAE seal bauxite deal Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) and Mubadala Development Company have signed a long-term supply agreement to supply bauxite, the main raw material in aluminium, the UAE’s state news agency reported on...
Apple seen losing its innovation magic by 71% http://t.co/CEkNoNunJr #tech #innovation - posted on 18/05/2013 12:29:02Google Glass Is Watching http://t.co/cGmzcPHOcz #data #privacy - posted on 18/05/2013 12:15:04Pro-Assad hackers attack Financial Times http://t.co/LxPvohJtIs - posted on 18/05/2013 12:07:25Yahoo to vote on $1.1 billion Tumblr buy http://t.co/02y5kt5WLH - posted on 18/05/2013 12:00:22Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million IDs stolen http://t.co/0loaS7TzUf #hacking - posted on 18/05/2013 12:00:13After Google, Amazon to be grilled on UK tax presence http://t.co/5pmwlzuuyk - posted on 18/05/2013 12:00:09Contenders for the 66th Palme D’Or Awards http://t.co/kzDpJ989yz #Cannes #hollywood - posted on 18/05/2013 11:13:052 Types Of #SocialNetwork - ones that trap you and the ones that set you free http://t.co/5joVoUWFHf - posted on 18/05/2013 10:51:43Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million user IDs leaked http://t.co/lCQEVEwung #hacking - posted on 18/05/2013 10:46:52EU cites Chinese telecoms Huawei and ZTE for trade violations http://t.co/XE85Uo1Sbe #tradewar - posted on 18/05/2013 10:45:24
