Author: Steven Sahiounie

RIYADH: In a bid to enhance its digital services in Saudi Arabia, the General Authority for Statistics has launched an Economic Data Platform to allow researchers to follow up on the developments in the Kingdom. The platform, which aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives of enhancing digital services, provides national and global organizations with economic data and statistics. Moreover, it also offers the most significant data and indicators related to pricing, energy and gross domestic product as well as international commerce, labor market and business statistics. According to GASTAT, the launch of the platform facilitates access to economic statistics and indicators by beneficiaries and…

LONDON: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday said it saw prospects for a healthy oil market in the second half of the year and stuck to its forecast for robust oil demand in 2024 as the outlook for world economic growth slightly improves. The oil producer group’s upbeat view comes as global oil prices have reached the highest since January. Tight supply has given impetus to the rally and OPEC’s monthly report also showed Saudi Arabia delivered on a voluntary output cut in July. The OPEC said it expects world oil demand to rise by 2.25 million…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 137.91 points, or 1.22 percent, to close at 11,424.12. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6.23 billion ($1.66 billion) as 133 of the 228 stocks advanced, while 76 retreated. The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu slipped 121.76 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 23,580.70 while MSCI Tadawul Index soared 17.10 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 1,483.87. The best-performing stock of the day was Almarai Co. The company’s share price rose 6.21 percent to SR65. Other top performers included Arabian…

RIYADH: Saudi energy giant Aramco has announced creating four new senior level positions for upstream and downstream operations in a move to drive the company’s long-term strategy across its value chain and global portfolio. In a press statement, Aramco said it has introduced new business line executive vice president roles for both its upstream and downstream divisions, following the establishment of president roles in July. It has appointed Abdul Hameed Al-Dughaither as business line executive vice president of exploration for petroleum engineering and drilling in its upstream business. It has also appointed Abdulkarim Al-Ghamdi as the second in the upstream segment as the business line executive vice president of gas. The two other roles under the downstream segments were appointed to Ibrahim Al-Buainain and Yasser Mufti as the business line executive vice presidents of global manufacturing, and products and customers, respectively. The modifications will take…

RIYADH: Emaar Development, a subsidiary of Emaar Properties, has announced it achieved property sales of 19 billion UAE dirhams ($5.2 billion) during the first half of 2023, reflecting a growth of 25 percent over the first half of 2022. The UAE build-to-sell operation reported revenue of 6.3 billion dirhams during the first half of 2023, and successfully launched 16 new projects in the country. In June, Emaar Development also unveiled its luxury lifestyle destination, The Oasis. Meanwhile, Emaar Properties has issued its financial results for the first half of 2023, demonstrating consistent performance and operational efficiency across its various businesses,…

RIYADH: Red Sea Global, the developer of ambitious tourism destinations such as the Red Sea Project and AMAALA, announced on Thursday it had awarded the design contract of Rosewood Hotels and Resort at Triple Bay to SALCO. According to a press release, RSG selected SALCO as the contractor because of its expertise in delivering extraordinary outdoor spaces. Established in 1982, SALCO specializes in external works, site development, infrastructure, utilities, landscape, and irrigation. With a team of 1,500 people, the company has delivered projects exceeding SR2 billion ($533 million) over the last five years. Commenting on the contract, Fahad Al-Balawi, head…

RIYADH: Saudi farmers will have a chance to elevate their standards of living as two of the Kingdom’s leading organizations have reached a deal to enhance developmental and financing support for the agricultural sector. The Agricultural Development Fund of Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Reef National Foundation, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The MoU aims to increase the efficiency and productivity of farmers, rural families, and craftsmen while enhancing their technical as well as productive capabilities through training programs. The move is in line with the fund’s objective to boost support for agricultural activity in…

BEIJING: China on Thursday vowed to “safeguard” its interests against a new US policy to restrict investment in Chinese technology, accusing Washington of disrupting global supply chains. US President Joe Biden hours earlier announced an executive order directing the Treasury Department to restrict certain US investments in China in sensitive high-tech sectors including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.China’s foreign ministry blasted the move as an attempt to “engage in anti-globalization and de-sinicization,” warning that China would “resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests.”“Beijing is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes the United States’ insistence on introducing restrictions on investment in…

RIYADH: Saudi families affected by various economic reforms received SR3.7 billion ($986 million) in August from the government via the Citizen Account Program. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the 69th installment of the program has been disbursed among 11.2 million beneficiaries who have completed their application procedures and met the eligibility criteria. The program protects affected Saudi families through monthly cash transfers deposited directly into their accounts. Abdullah Al-Hajri, the director general of communications of the program, said in a statement that 76 percent of the beneficiaries received support in this batch, with the average aid per family amounting to…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, one of the world’s largest water project developers, reported a net profit of SR684.13 million ($182.30 million) for the first half of 2023, up 26.29 percent compared with SR514.72 million in the same period a year ago. According to a bourse filing, the company attributed the rise to higher operating income and an increase in revenue contribution from existing projects that experienced outages last year in Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The statement added that the company’s net profit for the second quarter of this year also witnessed a surge of 6.29 percent to SR414.40 million from…