Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) won two awards at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s largest travel trade event, which took place from April 22-25 at the Dubai International Convention Center. An independent panel of judges from the ATM organizers selected SAUDIA for the “Best Stand Personnel” award.…
Saudi Arabia’s record $17.5 billion bond issue Saudi Arabia conducted the largest-ever emerging market bond sale last month, selling $17.5 billion of debt in the government’s first international offer while attracting investor orders totalling almost four times that amount. Reuters attributed the huge demand, larger than many market participants had…
According to a report by ratings agency S&P, the GCC’s corporate and infrastructure bond (sukuk) market remained subdued in the first half of 2018 while GCC corporate and infrastructure bond issuers raised over $7.6 billion in 2017, the market was subdued in the first half of 2018. Five issuers raised…
At the end of April, Saudi Arabia’s council of economic and development affairs, chaired by crown prince Muhammad bin Salman, approved the kingdom’s privatization program. The program aims to generate 35 billion to 40 billion riyals ($9 billion to $11 billion) by 2020 and create up to 12,000 jobs. It…
On July 23rd, only ten months since Saudi Arabia’s low-fare domestic carrier, Flyadeal, was launched, the airline celebrated a major milestone with its one millionth passenger. Hours before the arrival of the millionth passenger at Riyadh’s King Khalid international airport, airline representatives roamed the terminal carrying a sign that read…
According to a new study by MENA Research Partners, the value of the travel and tourism industry in the Middle East and North Africa could reach $350 billion by 2027. The growth will be led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which currently account for around 50% of the region’s tourism market. Both these…
A May 2018 report by Jadwa Investment says the Saudi government’s 2018 first quarter budget statement shows the government’s efforts to raise non-oil revenue are beginning to work. Revenue Total government revenue totaled SAR 166 billion ($44.27 billion) in Q1 2018, an increase of SAR 22 billion ($5.87 billion) or 15 percent year-on-year.…
Saudi Aramco and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), the national oil company of Malaysia have unveiled the names of their two joint ventures in the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) located in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia. Subject to regulatory approvals, the joint ventures will be operated under the names Pengerang Refining Company SdnBhd (PRefChem Refining) and Pengerang Petrochemical Company SdnBhd (PRefChem Petrochemical),…
Recent developments According to the World Bank, Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted moderately at 0.6 percent in 2017, as oil production was restrained in accordance with the OPEC+ agreement, and non-oil sector growth slowed in the wake of reduced public spending. Early data for 2018 suggests that non-oil gross domestic product…
What is the current volume of trade between KSA and China? Our statistics indicate that the volume of trade with Saudi Arabia increased from $43 billion in 2016 to $50 billion in 2017. That’s a big increase in a single year. That said, I should note that at one time…
