Saudi Arabia Financial News

Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 1.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, flash estimates by the government's statistical authority showed on Wednesday, as a decline in oil activities continued to hurt overall growth. The kingdom's GDP had shrunk 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, as cuts to oil production and lower crude prices weighed on the economy.

The article goes to great lengths to explain why the central incidents — involving the alleged assassination attempt of a Khalistan advocate in the US and murder of another in Canada — did not lead to public censure of India by the US. That India today is geopolitically and commercially important to the US, and like Saudi Arabia, it got a free pass from the Americans because they are, at least at present, playing on the same team. Where the article loses me, however, is in its linking the issue of extrajudicial killings with what it sees as the rise of 'deepening authoritarianism' in India. Killing dissidents, activists and journalists on foreign soil is chilling. And jailing them in a constitutionally democratic country is, indeed, a sign of creeping authoritarianism. But surgically targeting those deemed a credible threat to national security is what the US and its allies have been doing for decades.

McKinsey & Company, known as a "CEO factory," is facing scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its past advice to opioid companies on sales strategies, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Notable alumni include Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta Platforms, John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, James Gorman, ex-CEO of Morgan Stanley, and Delphine Arnault, an executive at Louis Vuitton. Other prominent figures, such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Tom Cotton, also had stints at the firm.

Also read: India's oil imports from Russia drops 19% in February, Saudi Arabia 2nd largest supplier According to an ICRA report based on data from the ministry of commerce and industry, the value of India's oil imports fell by 15.2% year-on-year to $162.4 billion during April-February of FY24. This decrease could be attributed to a combination of factors, including a reduction in international crude oil prices and savings from the purchase of discounted Russian crude oil.

₹4,162 crore). While fresh issue of shares will account for $218 million ( ₹1,815 crore), the rest will come from an offer for sale. Investors who are putting up their shares for sale include TPG Growth, Premji Invest, Softbank Group and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Also Read: Oil prices decline amid Israel-Hamas peace negotiations, Fed rate cut hopes As of now, Brent crude futures have seen a modest increase of 0.26% in April, while WTI crude futures have experienced a slight decline of 0.55%. Crude prices surged sharply in mid-April, reaching their highest level since October, driven by Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel in retaliation. This was seen as a response to a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier in the month.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed on Monday a proposal for a ceasefire presented to Hamas by Israel, characterising it as «extraordinarily generous,» CNN reported. «In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas,» he told World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende in the Saudi capital Riyadh. «They (Hamas) have to decide and they have to decide quickly,» he said. «I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision.»

A suspected missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Red Sea, the latest assault in their campaign against international shipping in the crucial maritime route

Tata group-backed Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) is aiming for double-digit topline growth this fiscal and plans to open 25-30 hotels. It will also launch hotels overseas but its primary target will remain India's thriving hospitality industry. «Our commitment extends to maintaining zero net debt while accumulating cash reserves, positioning us strategically for future investments in cash deployment, capex, M&A, or strategic reserves,» Puneet Chhatwal, MD, IHCL, told ET in an interview. He said while FY25 will be a 'breakthrough year' for the company's international expansion, the primary focus will remain on the Indian subcontinent. «We're expanding internationally with a target of at least three hotels outside of India, with contracts already signed, including two in Bhutan, and ongoing discussions for locations such as Dubai, London, Frankfurt, and others. We have two hotels under construction in Dhaka and several negotiations underway in the Indian peninsula, Sri Lanka, and nearby regions,» he said.

Tata group-backed Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has set an ambitious aim of a double digit topline growth this fiscal, besides plans of opening 25-30 hotels. It will also launch hotels overseas, but its primary target will remain India's thriving hospitality industry. “Our commitment extends to maintaining zero net debt while accumulating cash reserves, positioning us strategically for future investments in cash deployment, capex, M&A, or strategic reserves,” Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO of IHCL, told ET in an interview. Chhatwal said while FY2025 will be a 'breakthrough year' for international expansion, the primary focus will remain on the Indian subcontinent.

AI plumbing. It may not sound as exciting, but tens of billions of dollars are quickly being spent on behind-the-scenes technology for the industry's AI boom. Companies from Amazon to Meta are revamping their data centers to support AI. They are investing in huge new facilities, while even places like Saudi Arabia are racing to build supercomputers to handle AI. Nearly everyone with a foot in tech or giant piles of money, it seems, is jumping into a spending frenzy that some believe could last for years.

Shehbaz Sharif is on a visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the World Economic Forum. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar is currently serving as Pakistan's Foreign Minister. He has been also included in the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for regional «stability», warning of the effects of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war on global economic sentiment at the start of a summit attended by a host of Gaza mediators. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, capital of the world's biggest crude oil exporter.

Pakistan's Cabinet has relaxed rules to hire foreign consultancy firms to make up for 'unskilled' bureaucrats and speed up official efforts to bring investment for various projects in the cash-strapped country from the Gulf and other nations, according to a media report. The decision was taken to support the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the top civil-military body created last year to bring investment into the country. According to The Express Tribune, the Cabinet relaxed the public procurement legal framework to hire foreign consultancy firms to strengthen the SIFC to prepare various projects before offering them to foreign investors.

Saudi Arabia on April 29 to meet with regional partners. Blinken, on his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and «how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire,» the US State Department said in a release.

Saudi Arabia has announced that persons with any type of visa are now eligible to perform Umrah, or minor pilgrimage at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah said, “Visitors can effortlessly perform Umrah from any location and with any entry visa, ensuring ease and peace of mind.” The ministry added that all visa holders, including personal, family, transit, labor, and e-visas, are permitted to participate in Umrah rituals.

Alphabet is tremendously well managed, its free cash flow is absolutely astonishing, and it has a massive R&D budget, so while no one knows what company will have the best AI products, this is a tough one to bet against," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services. While the stock breached the $2 trillion level on an intraday basis in 2021, and again earlier this month, this is the first time Alphabet has closed above it. Doing so puts it into rarefied territory — only Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp, Saudi Aramco, and Nvidia Corp.

India's state-run firms' output from overseas oil and gas fields marginally rose in 2023-24 after declining for four straight years. The output, however, remained a fifth below the peak of 2018-19 as producing fields matured and no new overseas assets were acquired in recent years. The share of India's state companies in oil and gas production from overseas fields increased to 19.9 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE) in 2023-24 from 19.5 MMTOE in the previous year. Production at Russia's Skahalin-1 project normalised during the financial year, after being badly affected in 2022 following the launch of the Russia-Ukraine war. ONGC Videsh, India's largest investor in overseas oil and gas fields, has a stake in Sakhalin-1, where production had nearly halted for some time following the exit of its operator Exxon, industry executives said.

Players who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour amid lucrative recruitment by Saudi-funded LIV Golf are starting to find out how much that loyalty could be worth. The PGA Tour on Wednesday began contacting the 193 players eligible for the USD 930 million from a "Player Equity Program" under the new PGA Tour Enterprises. The bulk of that money — USD 750 million — went to 36 players based on their career performance, the last five years and how they fared in a recent program that measured their star power. How much they received was not immediately known. Emails were going out Wednesday afternoon and Thursday informing players of what they would get. One person who saw a list of how the equity shares were doled out said the names had been redacted. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because many details of the program were not made public.

Also read: Saudi Arabia has an unlikely solar star Data from the ministry of commerce and industry showed that oil supplies from Saudi Arabia jumped 67.5% to $2.6 billion taking it to the second position in the list of oil suppliers to India, from $1.55 billion in January. For most part of the past two years, Iraq has been the second largest supplier to India. It has now slid to the third position with $2.24 billion worth of supplies in February, 11.6% down from $2.54 billion in January.

NRIs) are contributing nearly a fourth to the total residential sales at large developers, up from 7-10% before the pandemic, as top cities continue to see price appreciation and rising demand. According to developers and brokerage firms, the US, Singapore, the UAE, Australia and Saudi Arabia have emerged as big markets for them and they have dedicated teams to help buyers in selecting the projects. According to market sources, the country's biggest developer DLF in its last project Privana South in Gurugram, had achieved 25% share (about ₹1,800 crore) in NRI sales.