#Saudi Arabia

Saudi’s $360bn sovereign wealth fund PIF rejigs top leadership

The reshuffle comes as the PIF and its subsidiaries prepare to significantly increase domestic spending

MBC Group reappoints Sam Barnett as CEO

Marc Antoine d’Halluin, who spent a year as group CEO at MBC, has now been appointed as a board advisor

Google teams up with Aramco to bring its cloud business to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia joins global network of Google Cloud Platform regions

Covid-19 new strain: Kuwait joins Oman, Saudi in suspending flights, closing its borders

The border closure will be in place from 11pm on Monday, December 21 until Friday, January 1, 2021

UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad suspend flights to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman

Emirates has suspended flights to the kingdom until December 27, while flights to Kuwait and Oman have been halted from December 22-28

SAUDI-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRAVEL

Saudi suspends all international flights, closes land and sea ports over new virus strain

New urgent measures have been put in place for one week, with the possibility of an extension

OPEC+ will react faster, be more hands-on with oil market, Saudi, Russian officials say

Saudi Energy Minister met in Riyadh on Saturday with Russian Deputy Prime Minister

Investment lessons: Now is the time to focus on ETF assets in the MENA region

Locally-listed ETFs are a simple, cost-effective and efficient investment tool and will increasingly be used as such in the coming months and years

Saudi health minister gets Covid vaccine as kingdom offers free shots

Saudi Arabia earlier this week asked citizens and residents to sign up for its vaccination programme

UAE-based Trukker seeks new funding, weighs IPO

Trukker raised $23m last year in one of the largest Series A funding rounds in the region

Saudi vaccine

Covid-19 vaccine: Saudi receives first consignment, over 150,000 register in 24 hours

The vaccine is free for citizens and residents, and the first batch will be distributed over the next three days

Bahrain-Manama

Bahrain, UAE and Saudi ranked among world’s top five Islamic finance economies

Islamic Development Bank report places Bahrain in third place globally

US-HEALTH-VIRUS vaccine Covid-19

Saudi begins registrations for free Covid-19 vaccination for citizens, residents

The vaccination process in the kingdom will be in three stages

Saudi Arabia plans spending cuts in 2021 as economy recovers

The kingdom will stick to its plan to cut spending by 7.3 per cent in 2021

Blast at Saudi Port hits oil tanker as Red Sea attacks mount

No group or country claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack

Pfizer vaccine

Saudi approves registration of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

The authority will analyse samples from each incoming vaccine shipment before using it to ensure its quality

Five key stages for developing the tourism sector across the Middle East

Tourism is essential for economic diversification, growth, and job creation

Saudi forces destroy armed drone targeting ‘civilians’ in the kingdom

Saudi has seen a string of attacks launched by the Houthis in recent months

No pre-flight Covid-19 PCR test for passengers arriving in Dubai from GCC countries

The exemption is not applicable to passengers arriving by road through the Hatta border

SAUDI-HEALTH-VIRUS-DECONFINEMENT

Saudi to soon reveal registration process for Covid-19 vaccine in the kingdom

The kingdom has signed “important contracts with companies developing the coronavirus vaccine”

OPEC+meeting

Oil market receives boost as OPEC+ agree to gradual output hike

Members have decided to add 500,000bpd of production to the market next month, then hold monthly meetings to decide on subsequent moves

Saudi business conditions hit 10-month high as sales, jobs climb

Business activity in Saudi Arabia grew at the fastest pace since the beginning of the year, fueled by a sharp rise in sales and strengthening sentiment

SAUDI-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRAVEL

Saudi set to announce date for complete lifting of travel restrictions

The kingdom resumed international flights from September 15 in a phased manner

Natixis replaces Saudi Arabian CEO after six months in the role

International banks have been expanding in Saudi as the country embarks on a plan to diversify its economy beyond oil

Oil extends drop as OPEC+ struggles for consensus on output plan

Oil has just capped its biggest monthly increase since May on optimism energy demand will rebound as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out in the coming weeks

Saudi Telecom’s CEO quits after two years

A search for a successor is underway

How new Saudi labour reforms benefit the economy

This initiative is a win-win situation for employees as well as employers

Outlook 2021: Challenging outlook offers varied picture for GCC banks

The GCC governments’ measures to help corporates and individuals navigate the challenging environment have taken various forms

Saudi Arabia broadens Central Bank’s mandate to promote growth

The new charter also formally changed the name of the central bank, from Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority to Saudi Central Bank

smart city

Why partnerships are key to achieving the GCC’s smart city ambitions

UK technology companies involved in smart city projects across the region share their experience of collaborating with developers in the Gulf