Saudi Arabia has long been a major investor in its military, with defence outlays representing a significant portion of the national budget. Despite the drop in oil prices since mid-2014, which in the short term is having a noticeable impact on the government’s military spending, defence spending is likely to continue to grow, with multi-...
Saudi Arabia has long been reliant on the upstream petrochemicals industry, but the Kingdom is accelerating efforts to diversify its economy and has some clear sector-specific industries it is looking to develop. Plastics, fertilisers, mining and metals are particularly attractive, and a strong push is likely to come in the near future in the...
Saudi Arabia has put in place ambitious plans to raise the value of its mining operations to reach SR260bn ($69.3bn) by 2030. Currently, the direct and indirect contribution of the sector to the Kingdom’s GDP is estimated to be around SR80bn ($21.3bn), with the sector accounting for 265,000 jobs, according to a speech made by Ali Al Naimi,...
There is a growing awareness in Saudi Arabia that cybersecurity is a major global priority, and that the Kingdom needs to be adequately prepared to deal with advanced cyberattacks. In August 2015 Saudi government websites, including state education, health, sports and municipal sites, were targeted and breached over the course of two hours....
Historically, oil has generated the majority of Saudi Arabia’s revenues and around 50% of its GDP. However, in recent years an emphasis has been placed on growing the Kingdom’s non-oil private sector by bringing in manufacturing and other industries to diversify the economy. The National Transformation Programme (NTP) has replaced the Kingdom’...
With Saudi Arabia’s population now above 30m, and an increasing number of high-end private and public hospitals in the Kingdom, there are strong opportunities in the field of pharmaceuticals, not only for companies looking to import drugs but also for the local production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, an area the government is eager...
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