#Saudi Arabia

KFC Operator

Middle East KFC operator picks banks for dual listing

Americana operates restaurants for brands including Baskin Robbins, Costa Coffee and TGI Fridays as well as KFC and Pizza Hut, according to its website

Lucid Motors

Lucid will sell up to 100,000 EVs in deal with Saudi Arabia

Lucid said it would start delivering the vehicles by the second quarter of 2023

Agtech Red Sea farms

Agtech Red Sea Farms completes $18.5m fund raise

The agtech company will use the funds for its global and regional expansion plans, including the expansion of its fresh produce business in the GCC

Rawabi Holding launches real estate vertical

Saudi’s Rawabi Holding expands into real estate

Rawabi Holdings has established Magnom Properties, the real estate vertical of the company, to oversee the construction of projects in the MENA region

Flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka till end of August

Budget carrier flydubai restarts flights to Saudi Arabia’s Ha’il and Tabuk

The resumption of these flights will take flydubai’s network in Saudi Arabia to ten destinations, including Dammam, Gassim, Jeddah, Taif and Riyadh

Saudi wealth fund weighs stake in Thyssenkrupp’s hydrogen unit

Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no guarantee PIF will proceed with an investment

AIr Arabia

Air Arabia to resume flights to four cities in Saudi Arabia

The airline will start flying to the four destinations from April 28

Saudi Arabia’s Foodics raises $170m in Series C round in MENA

The Series C funding was led by Prosus and Sanabil Investments, with participation by Sequoia Capital India and existing investors

Getty Images - Saudi office

Kaspersky opens new office in Saudi Arabia

Establishing this new office in the kingdom is a milestone in the company’s roadmap to protect over 400 million users

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Over 98% in UAE, Saudi believe business leaders would trust bots over humans in social decisions

Nearly all of the respondents in the UAE believe sustainability and social factors are more important than ever

ServiceNow appoints country managers for UAE, Saudi

The digital workflow company eyes UAE and Saudi Arabia markets, selecting leaders with proven records in strategy, growth and team building

UAE’s flydubai resumes service to Gassim, Saudi Arabia

Budget carrier flydubai’s network in Saudi Arabia has now grown to eight destinations, including AlUla, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Taif and Yanbu

Standard Chartered closes transition trade facility

StanChart plans to exit seven markets in Africa, Middle East

The markets it plans to exit made up about 1 per cent of total group income in 2021

Wa’ed Ventures and Maydan Capital to fund ‘ethical’ fintechs in Saudi

The two companies will coordinate and collaborate on finding, backing and mentoring founders as they launch and grow their ethically-focused startups

Ekar launches contactless peer-to-peer carshare in Saudi Arabia

The company’s digital peer-to-peer solution eliminates the requirement for the host and the renter to meet in person

UAE’s flydubai restarts service to Taif, Saudi Arabia

With the Taif service restarting, flydubai’s network in Saudi has grown to seven destinations, including AlUla, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh and Yanbu

EFG Hermes hires Saud Altassan as CEO for Saudi business

Altassan was the head of investment banking for Bank of America in Saudi Arabia

Saudi’s Shrimp Nation plans UAE expansion with Dhs10m investment

The seafood restaurant chain has 18 branches in Saudi Arabia and plans to open more across the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt

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Saudi Arabia, UAE to give $3bn to Yemen in new peace push

Saudi Arabia will also provide $1bn for the purchase of oil products and to support of development projects

Saudi startup Lawazem closes $1.3m seed round

The seed round was led by Merak Capital with participation from Merced, a Saudi VC company

Saudi’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority launches app to improve taxpayer experience

The ‘Zatca’ app is designed to be more effective in providing fast, reliable and high-quality services

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Saudi Aramco’s Luberef Refinery unit plans $1bn IPO

Luberef would be joining several Aramco subsidiaries already listed on the Saudi stock exchange

Saudi Arabia hikes oil prices further into record territory

More than 60 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s oil shipments go to Asia, with China, Japan, South Korea and India

Saudi Investment

Saudi Arabia makes $5bn deposit in Egypt Central Bank

It is part of the kingdom’s efforts to support Egypt’s economy

Emaar to manage new Armani hotel in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah development

Armani Hotel Diriyah will include 70 rooms and two restaurants, with its suites featuring their own spa and swimming pool

OPEC says it’s stabilised oil market

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners have resisted calls to raise output faster

SAFCSP and Spire Solutions ink partnership for capacity building in Saudi Arabia

The partnership aims to support Saudi youth by providing a series of short courses on some of the latest cybersecurity technologies

Saudi Arabia’s FDI hit decade-high last year on Aramco deal

Foreign direct investment in 2021 totalled $19.3bn, the most since 2010

Dubai attracts 57% of scaleup funding in MENA region – report

Scaleups in the UAE raised $5.4bn as of December 2021

Saudi’s Alpha Pharma and SAP sign deal for digital transformation partnership

SAP’s suite of solutions to deliver initial steps into wider digitalisation strategy