Saudi Arabia

Local scientists and engineers working in Saudi Arabia’s laboratories and on its test rigs have been making significant research and development (R&D) gains in the energy technology sector in recent years. In 2014, Saudi Aramco set a new record for inventiveness and innovation – 99 patents were granted to the company in the US, while an...

Visitors to Jeddah in January 2015 were witness to a rare treat: as part of the festivities surrounding the opening of the 2nd Historic Jeddah Festival, an operetta called “Your Sun Shines” was performed by 100 local folk artists. The subject of the operetta was highly apposite: it told the story of historic Jeddah’s social life, how later...

With Jeddah’s population continuing to grow at pace, the Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC) estimates that demand for housing in the city will rise to 40,000 units by 2023, up from a current figure of 18,000-25,000 units per year.

The Kingdom’s second-largest city and its most significant seaport, Jeddah is a key engine of the Saudi economy. The “Bride of the Red Sea” is currently experiencing rapid population growth, as rural dwellers and migrant workers arrive in search of jobs and opportunities. To meet the infrastructural challenge presented by the pace of growth,...

Project insurance is nothing new in Saudi Arabia: the insurance market in its modern form emerged in the 1970s, when foreign insurers, brokers and agents opened branches in the country to provide coverage for the spike in construction projects caused by the oil boom of that era. Over successive decades these firms expanded their business to...

The recent return to the bond market by Saudi Arabia marks a significant shift in government policy, as the world’s biggest oil exporter taps capital markets to cover budgetary shortfalls and balance drawdowns of foreign reserves. The SR15bn ($4bn) issue in mid-July 2015 was the first sovereign bond offered by the Kingdom since 2007, with senior...