When the price of crude oil began its decline in mid-2014, banking regulators across the GCC examined the liquidity in their respective banking sectors. The centrality of hydrocarbons activity in regional economies means that large alterations to spot prices and futures have the potential to significantly affect the liquidity, and therefore...
With three of its domestically licensed institutions in the regional top 10 in terms of net assets, Saudi Arabia’s banking sector is one of the largest and most vibrant in the Middle East. Historically it has thrived on the rise of high-value lending derived from the government’s infrastructure programmes, but recent years have also seen local...
The question of Saudi Arabia’s economic relationships with global markets has become a prominent one in 2016. Historically, the Kingdom has benefitted greatly from its ability to ship its hydrocarbons resources to consumers across the world, while its strong economic growth over recent decades has meant that it has also become a significant...
After recording consecutive declines for seven years, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia returned to growth in 2015, increasing by 1.6% to $8.1bn, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The declining trend in FDI inflows in recent years has represented a reversal of the surge in inward FDI that...
Home to an estimated 15.7% of the world’s proven oil reserves and the single largest economy in the MENA region, Saudi Arabia is a key player not only in the region but also globally. Since the establishment of Saudi Arabia in September 1932, the Kingdom has poured its considerable resources into a series of large-scale economic development,...
While economic debate in 2015 centred on low oil prices and the challenge they posed to the economy, by 2016 the focus of public discourse had shifted to how these hurdles might be overcome. In January the government set the tone for the discussion: after years of only modest reform it would radically reconfigure the Saudi economy to cope with...
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