January 1st, 2018 marked the day Saudi Arabia raised their price for a barrel in their first baby step to begin taking their economy off energy subsidies, as well as to reduce the amount of oil the Saudis consume. The prices went up substantially to achieve the kingdom’s goals, by 82 percent. The Ministry of… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia
S&P Appoints New Managing Director
Hadi Melki, former regional business leader at Thomson Reuters, was appointed to head the independent credit ratings provider S&P Global Ratings. He will act as the new managing director and regional head for the company’s Middle East business, which is headquartered at the Dubai International Financial Center. Melki spent 20 years at Thomson Reuters, before… Continue Reading
Trump Brand Selling Homes in Dubai
Two of President Donald Trump’s sons did the groundwork for increased sales in February when they visited Dubai to open a luxury golf course under the Trump brand. Then in May the President himself visited the Middle East on his first trip outside the US since his election. Upon Trump’s arrival to the region he… Continue Reading
Qatar World’s Third Biggest Spender on Arms Imports
In recent years Qatar has boosted its defense spending drastically going from being included in the top ten countries for the first time in 2015 to coming in third place this year. Only Saudi Arabia and India surpass Qatar as an importer of defense materials from the year 2007 until 2016. From 2005 until 2014… Continue Reading
Facebook Launching Platform to Help Women in the Middle East Build On-line Businesses
Facebook recently launched a new initiative designed to empower women in the Middle East to more easily start and grow their own businesses. SheMeansBusiness will bring together Facebook tools such as training videos and other resources to help women develop online businesses. The initiative is a partnership with three other organizations: Egypt based Ahead of… Continue Reading
Canada Financial Giant’s Investments in the Middle East Expected to Double
The regional head of Canada’s giant financial services group, Canaccord Genuity announced that it will be doubling its investments in its Middle East and India banking businesses over the coming five years. The company was recently involved in sealing the C$Five billion deal between Dubai ports operator DP World and Caisse de Depot et placement… Continue Reading
Despite Ban, Indonesian Women Heading for Middle East
Indonesian women have not been convinced that working as domestic help in Middle Eastern countries is a bad idea, and are defying their county’s ban on travel to these countries in large numbers. In response to several high-profile cases of Indonesian women subjected to abuse in Gulf states, Indonesia enacted a ban on women traveling… Continue Reading
WHO Declares MERS Not a PHEIC
After meeting for five hours in an emergency meeting the World Health Organization announced that the new deadly MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus is causing a “significant increase” in concern but does not yet qualify as a global public health emergency- Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC.) “The committee concluded that the conditions… Continue Reading
Saudis Will Launch Two New Satellites in Next Three Years
Speaking at the Second Annual Saudi International Space and Aeronautics Technology Conference, Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed, the KACST vice president for Research Institutes said that Saudi Arabia is planning on launching two satellites in 2013 and 2015 as part of the country’s space science development strategy. Prince Mohammed said that the SAUDISAT4 and… Continue Reading
Saudi Begins Push to Replace Foreign Cabbies With Homegrown Drivers
The Saudi government is considering a plan to hire about 28,000 Saudi workers to man the extensive limousine service within the country in order to replace a similar number of foreign workers who at the moment inhabit most of this job sector. The plan stipulates that a Saudi driver will receive a salary of about… Continue Reading