The Middle East Economy

The second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, dates back to within 20 years of the Prophet Muhammad’s life. The city’s seaport is now the largest in the Kingdom and is complemented by a busy international airport. And while Jeddah is known to many as the country’s commercial capital, it is also the principal gateway for a...

With Saudi Arabia’s recent budget providing the financial fuel for the country’s economic expansion and diversification, the government’s ninth development plan (NDP) 2010-14 provides the roadmap. The most recently updated version of the plan divides SR1.4trn ($373.1bn) among five development sectors. Developed by the Saudi...

One of Jeddah’s most pressing needs is a vast supply of new housing, both to cater for an expanding population and improve the quality of living for those in unplanned settlements. Growing 1.5% each year, Jeddah’s population is projected to be 13% higher in 2015 than in 2010, according to the Jeddah Development and Urban...

With the spectre of the global economic slowdown still looming over advanced economies, investors weary of waiting for the long anticipated financial rebound might do well to look to emerging markets for potentially attractive yields. Four years on from the credit crisis, advanced economies are still lagging behind global...

Looking to safeguard the county’s security in a tumultuous region, Saudi Arabia’s spending on defence continually ranks among the highest components of the country’s annual budget. While military expenditures as a proportion of the entire budget has fallen in recent years, defence and security spending accounted for 30.8% of the...

As Islam’s holiest city, Makkah has an economy that enjoys extraordinarily high demand from the many millions of Muslim pilgrims who visit it each year. With pilgrim numbers expected to nearly double between 2008 and 2019, the real estate, infrastructure, hospitality and retail sectors are among those most likely to benefit. All...