Posted on 26 August 2010
Saudi Arabia's Economic Cities are "under pressure to deliver." That’s because the four cities are massive reinvestments in the Kingdom’s own modernization and possibly the greatest single planned governmental effort at economic diversification in history. Continue Reading...
US-based Alcoa and Saudi mining firm Maaden are set to build to world’s largest fully integrated aluminum plant at Ras Azzour in Saudi Arabia, writes Reem Shamseddine in Reuters.
Maaden and Alcoa today awarded $274.7 million “mainly to provide equipment for the rolling mill at Ras Azzour on the Gulf coast,” Shamseddine reports. He also notes that “the joint venture is to be a fully integrated industrial complex, with a bauxite mine at Ba’aitha as well as an alumina refinery, an aluminium smelter and a rolling mill.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that the IMF, or International Monetary Fund, is supporting a Saudi effort to unwind its various stimulus measures as economic growth prospects strengthen.
But some Saudi Arabia M3 Money Supply Slows to Seven-Year Low, including the slowing of M3 money supply growth to a seven year low in July of this year, as reported in Bloomberg.
Saudi Saudi Shares Gain Most in One Month on Oil Price Rally, Bernanke Comments, particularly in response to the increase in crude’s price.
Ben Roberts of constructionweekonline.com reports that Aramco will cancel plans for Jazan Economic City’s port tender as it moves its planned oil refinery location.
Jazan is one of four planned “economic cities” by the Kingdom in a massive, unprecedented effort to diversify and modernize the economy. Jazan is “situated in an area of abundant raw materials and along the shipping route, the City will occupy 103km2 with a coastline of approximately 12km. To the east of the site is the high motorway, allowing direct access to Jizan City,” writes Roberts.
Soraya Permatasari of Bloomberg reports that the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, a multilateral development financing institution, will offer $1 billion of Sukuk to “fund development projects in its member countries.”
Sukuk bonds, which are Islamic bonds structured to comply with Shari’ah law, have gained in popularity in recent years and are likely to see a growth in investor participation.
Dr. John Sfakianakis of the Banque Saudi Fransi looks at the expanding role of food prices in driving inflation in Saudi Arabia. The report can be read at SUSRIS by clicking here.
Check out the BBC’s coverage of the “In the Eyes of Saudi Women” photography exhibit, which I had the pleasure of attending at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia earlier this month. The photographs were astounding and moving, and as always, the Embassy was a terrific host to this fascinating exhibit.
The August 2010 Jadwa Chartbook of Saudi economic trends is now available at SUSRIS. Click here for the complete report with graphs, tables and links.
SUSRIS discusses Islamic finance with Jean Francois Seznec ahead of Wednesday’s Islamic Finance Forum in Washington, D.C.
Read about the new Routes to Arabia exhibit in Paris, Raytheon’s new contract with Saudi Arabia, and more in the SUSTG News Review: www.sustg.org.
Read the latest Saudi news at http://www.sustg.org/category/news-review/
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