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Home - January 2021

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ECONOMIC TRENDS

Despite the economic fallout from the pandemic, growth in the kingdom’s non-oil private sector appears to gather steam.


SAUDI BUDGET

Spending on infrastructure, social benefits and stimulus packages are vital to boosting the economy during the pandemic. 

EDUCATION

Multi-billion-riyal funding in the sector has paid off, as the country proves well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of modern digital learners. 

GCC MARKET

With healthy budgets that target private sector growth and favourable oil price outlook, the region is poised to become an attractive investment destination in 2021.


RETAIL

A shift to online has helped retailers weather the coronavirus storm and meet consumer demand.


SECTOR

Investments in these sectors will be crucial to achieving the government’s fiscal, climate, investment, and job creation goals.

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 IN THIS EDITION

The New Year has ushered in a new promise for the Saudi and global economy.

The kingdom’s senior leadership has received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to protect them against the disease and that has already injected fresh optimism that the global health threat will soon recede.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia has been rolling out the vaccine since 17 December, the first Arab country to roll out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

While there is still a long way to go and, new variants of the coronavirus emerging, the global sentiment is that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Saudi authorities are already looking ahead with a robust budget that should channel funds in key sectors of the economy and revive growth quickly.

The launch of The Line project, located in the NEOM Smart City, signals that the government is keen to start major projects that will require financing, construction, and business spending and overall reverberate across the wider economy.

The project will house 1 million residents, host 5 million tourists, and create 380,000 jobs that together will generate SAR 180 billion in GDP by the end of this decade. Breaking new ground in sustainable living, the project will be 100% powered by renewable energy.

More investments are expected to be poured into the economy.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) told the Financial Times in January that it plans to invest USD 40 billion within the country over the next five years.

“Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, told the UK-based newspaper that after 2025, “these amounts, maybe, will grow higher” as he described the investment vehicle becoming the “engine of economic growth” in the kingdom. The PIF invested about USD 15.5 billion in the kingdom in 2019,” the paper said.

The year 2021 could turn out to be a watershed for the global economy. With 2020 having shaken the foundations of business models for most countries and companies, they are now on the cusp of a new repair and regrowth phase. It is an opportunity for Saudi Arabia to leverage its financial strength and leap ahead.

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