The Middle East

Saudi Aramco is planning to boost its maximum crude oil production capacity to over 13m barrels per day (bpd) by 2027, up from 12m bpd as of August 2022. This is set to bolster Saudi Arabia’s position in global energy markets and afford the Kingdom greater agility under various possible energy transition scenarios. The expansion plan was announced in March 2020 and is expected...

Saudi Arabia’s insurance market, the second largest in the Gulf region by gross written premium (GWP) after the UAE, offers a vibrant and competitive environment. Growth in recent years has been attributed to economic development creating new insurable assets, and new lines of mandatory coverage.

Insurance companies worldwide are preparing for the most significant change in global accounting standards in almost two decades. In January 2023 the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 17 will come into effect. Replacing the previous standard, IFRS 4, which was issued in 2004, IFRS 17 aims to standardise insurance accounting globally in order to improve...

Capital markets in Europe, the US and Asia have experienced challenging times in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Saudi Arabia’s capital markets have experienced sustained growth, with high-value initial public offerings (IPOs), robust trading and the Saudi Exchange showing the largest market capitalisation and liquidity of any...