Industry

The growing security threat posed by cyber-attacks as Saudi Arabia becomes ever more reliant on IT has led to the development of a national information security strategy (NISS) and increasing investment in cybersecurity. Demand for cybersecurity products comes from both the government and private sectors. “Cybersecurity is big business in...

Heavy investment in defence procurement by Saudi Arabia has been accompanied by a desire on the part of government to see such spending advance not just the Kingdom’s national security objectives but also its ambitions to become a knowledge-driven economy. Critical to these efforts are foreign expertise and investment in skilled job-creating...

While Saudi Arabia may traditionally have seen the oil fields in its Eastern Province as the source of its wealth, the gold, phosphates and bauxite found in its western and northern regions promise to provide a third pillar of the economy by complementing oil and petrochemicals. Billions of dollars will be ploughed into mining, infrastructure...

The Kingdom’s agricultural sector is a little unusual by the standards of emerging markets. Whereas in many countries the major challenge is turning primary production into higher-value end products, Saudi Arabia is faced with the opposite issue. The Kingdom has developed a highly successful processing industry. However, this sector is...

Falling demand and rising competition for feedstock, alongside a national push to bring the price of raw materials closer to market rates, are combining to put pressure on Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals industry.

Of all the industrial and commercial sectors that Saudi Arabia is targeting for development as part of its shift towards a knowledge-based economy, defence is one in which it is particularly well placed to become a global leader. Already the world’s third-biggest defence spender, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies,...