June 24     Chinese tourist groups will now find it easier to visit Saudi Arabia following the implementation of the Approved Destination Status arrangement, effective July 1. The agreement aligns with Saudi Arabia’s goal of attracting 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030, facilitated by new direct flights from Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern, alongside existing Saudia flights.   

June 24      China remains Saudi Arabia’s main trading partner. China held the first place for Saudi Arabia’s imports, accounting for 22.4% of total imports in April. In second place came the United States with 8.3% of total imports then India with 6.6% of the total. 

June 19      Riyadh is the region’s most expensive city to build in at $2,593 per m2, as the Saudi capital benefits from accelerated growth. A five-star luxury hotel in the city now costs an average of $4,798 per m2. KSA has also been trying to attract global corporate occupiers with the price of an average high-rise CBD office in Riyadh now standing at $2,266 per m2.

June 5       7 in 10 residents of Saudi Arabia are "very" or "moderately" likely to purchase a battery-electric vehicle (BEV), a figure that is projected to rise to 85% by 2035, indicating significant growth potential for BEVs in the country over the coming years.

June 3       The Saudi Tourism Authority has announced the achievement of more than 100 million tourist visitors to the Kingdom in 2023, +56% growth compared to 2019. The target has been reached seven years ahead of the original schedule set by the country’s ambitious Vision 2030. It underscores Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a global tourism powerhouse.

June 3      More than 120 international firms received licenses to relocate their regional headquarters to Saudi Arabia during the first quarter of 2024, representing a 477% year-on-year increase. 

June 3      Jeddah gets a second ring road. KSA has inaugurated a second ring road in Jeddah worth USD 176 mn (SAR 660 mn) and spanning a total of 113 km. The project comes as part of the Kingdom’s drive to upgrade its roads and boost connectivity with the region. 

May 26      Saudi Minister of Investment underscored the plan to draw investments and financial flows exceeding $3 trillion by 2030.

May 25      Credit rating agency Moody's raised Saudi Arabia's local and foreign currency rating to 'Aa1' from 'Aa2', citing increased predictability of the government's decision-making processes affecting the private sector.

May 12      Riyadh Airports Company, which manages and operates Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, has announced the launch of a new air service connecting Riyadh and Beijing with three weekly flights operated by AIR CHINA, starting the 6th of May.

May 7       GCC Grand Tours will be the name of the new unified tourist visa of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which will allow tourists to spend more than 30 days in all six Gulf countries.

May 2       Saudi Arabia’s Sharqia Development Authority is set to build an 8 mn sqm regional logistics hub in Dammam Port, dubbed Dammam Regional Logistics Center (RLC). No further details regarding the investment ticket or the project’s timeline were disclosed. 

May 1       Ceer has awarded a contract to Modern Building Leaders (MBL) to begin construction of its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing complex in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

May 1       Cashless payments in Saudi Arabia are expected to surge by 7.6 % in 2024 to SR550 billion ($146.8 billion) as compared to SR511.5 billion the previous year. 

April 27, CNOOC Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC) has successfully won the bid for an offshore gas development project contract from Saudi Aramco, covering the areas of Arabia, Hasbah and Karan. The scope of work includes design, procurement, construction and installation. The project will help Saudi Arabia expand its natural gas production capacity, reduce the direct combustion of crude oil, and deepen energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia. Having previously delivered projects such as the Safaniya field, COOEC’s latest award further consolidates its competitiveness in the high-end oil and gas engineering market across the Middle East.

April 15, NSG Space Group, the Kingdom’s leading commercial space services company and a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced the launch of internet service on Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the Kingdom’s national carrier, by equipping its fleet with the latest in-flight internet connectivity solutions. Under this partnership, Saudia will offer free high-speed internet to all passengers on its flights, making it one of the first airlines in the Middle East to provide free broadband connectivity during flights. The service is based on the NSG Skywaves system, utilizing the SES Open Orbits™ multi-orbit network, ensuring fast and reliable connectivity across Saudia’s global network.

 April 9, Official data has revealed that Saudi Arabia has a strong capacity to withstand shocks, benefiting from substantial foreign reserves that cover imports for a highly comfortable period, far exceeding the global average and placing the Kingdom at the top among G20 countries on this metric. The Kingdom’s foreign reserves are sufficient to cover imports for about 22 months, roughly three times the global average of around six months, according to the Al-Eqtisadiah’s Financial Analysis Unit.

 April 9, Saudi Arabia is planning a new airport in Makkah that would allow Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to fly directly to Islam’s holiest city. Saleh Al-Rasheed, chief executive of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, said feasibility studies and initial designs have been completed, with the project’s economic and investment plans now approved.

April 8, Health Water Bottling Company, the owner of the leading bottled water brand 'Nova,' has signed an MoU with the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) with focus on recycling, waste reduction, and environmental stewardship, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030. Under the MoU, the two parties will jointly explore significant initiatives aimed at reducing waste, improving material recovery, and increasing national recycling rates.

April 26        The various Saudi Vision 2030 initiatives have now been completed or are on track to meet targets. Out of the 1,064 initiatives that have been rolled out under the ambitious strategy, 87% are complete or on track. 

April 22        Saudi Arabia took its Neom road show to China. Neom officials visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong to court Chinese investors and shed more light on the mysterious megacity.

April 15      The World Bank has raised its expectations for Saudi Arabia’s economic growth to 5.9% in 2025 from 4.2% predicted earlier in January. In its latest report the bank, however, revised its 2024 forecast for the Kingdom’s gross domestic product growth downward to 2.5% from an earlier forecast of 4.1%.

April 15      Starting April 16, 2024, flights will operate from Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to Riyadh. The summer 2024 schedule will see four passenger/commercial flights and three air cargo flights weekly. 

April 4        Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are moving forward with a strategic railway network project that would significantly reduce travel times between the two countries. According to Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works, the project is expected to be completed by 2028.

April 3       Saudi Arabia has seen a big rise in e-payments by individuals, making up 70% of total individual transactions in 2023, up from 62% in 2022—a 13% increase. According to the Saudi Central Bank, almost all transactions, 96%, were made using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

March 22      Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya Investment Company revealed plans to construct the world’s first-ever “Dragon Ball” theme park. Spanning over 500,000 square meters, the park will transport visitors into the vibrant world of Goku and his epic adventures.

March 21      The number of POS operations in Saudi Arabia during the first week of Ramadan reached 168,615,000, with a value of SR11,688,154,000. The number of operations in clothing and shoes reached 6,283,000 with a value of SR914,909,000 while the number of operations in construction materials stood at 1,522,000, with a value of SR307,596,000.

March 21      The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has reported remarkable progress in Saudi Arabia's air traffic performance for 2023. In 2023, the Kingdom experienced a 16% increase in the total number of flights, rising from 701,290 to 814,995. The number of passengers surged by 26% from 88 million to 112 million. 

March 18       The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has approved the classification of foreign investors (owners of private establishments) as Saudis under the Nitaqat Saudization program. This is one of the provisions for the classification of categories of people who will be treated equal to Saudis while calculating the percentage of Saudization. 

March 17       Saudi Arabia has attracted approximately $13 billion in private investments for its burgeoning tourism sector, positioning the Kingdom as a burgeoning travel destination. These investments are set to introduce between 150,000 to 200,000 new hotel rooms within the next two years, as part of the nation's ambitious plans to amplify its tourism offerings.

March 16     S&P Global Rating has reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at 'A/A-1', maintaining a Stable Outlook.

March 15     Non-oil activities in Saudi Arabia recorded their highest contribution to the real gross domestic product (GDP) during the year 2023, representing 50%, which is the highest historical level it has ever reached. 

February 29  Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih announced that over 350 international investors have so far obtained licenses to establish their regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, most of which will be in Riyadh.

February 28  Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the ministry is working on a program to Saudize 75 percent of jobs in the energy sector.

February 27  The National Transformation Program, one of the Saudi Vision 2030 programs, was able to accomplish 34 strategic goals, equivalent to 35 percent, last year, out of 96 goals set to be achieved by 2030.

Feb 26  Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has hired banks to tap the debt market for the second time this year with an Islamic dollar bond, a document emailed to the banks and reviewed by Reuters showed.

Feb 20   A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund with ambitions to develop sophisticated technology announced a $200 million partnership with a Chinese surveillance technology company Dahua Technology previously sanctioned by the United States.

Feb 20   Saudi Arabia has invited the market to join a public consultation on a planned framework to enable large shareholders to float additional shares, said Abdullah Binghannam, Deputy of Financing and Investment, Capital Market Authority.

Feb 19   Saudi Arabia's non-oil growth is expected to come in above 5% in the medium term, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said, slightly lower than the 6% figure previously projected, but likely to outperform the wider region this year.

Feb 12   Saudi Arabia's U-turn on its oil capacity expansion plans was because of the energy transition, its energy minister said , adding that the kingdom has plenty of spare capacity to cushion the oil market.

Feb 07   Saudi Arabia drew 27 million foreign tourists in 2023 and has more than doubled its goal for the end of the decade, an official said.

January 31    The balance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia jumped to SR762 billion ($203.2 billion) by the end of 2022, compared to 2021 when it reached SR659 billion ($175.7 billion).

January 23    Mohammed Elkuwaiz, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA), said that the authority intends to allow non-Saudis to invest for the first time in listed companies that own real estate in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

January 15    The Consumer Price Index or inflation in Saudi Arabia recorded a decrease of 1.5 percent during December 2023, compared to December 2022, which recorded a rate of 1.7 percent.

January 4    The Saudi Ministry of Investment has revealed that it issued more than 2100 investment licenses in the third quarter of 2023, with a growth rate of 135.4 percent on an annual basis. 

January 4    The Saudi Ministry of Commerce revealed that more than 95,000 commercial registers have been issued during the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 23 percent year-on-year, bringing the total commercial registers to more than 1.4 million by the end of the year.