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It stood in stark contrast to the low-key welcome extended in July to U.S. President Joe Biden, with whom ties have been strained by Saudi energy policy and the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi that had overshadowed the awkward visit. In an op-ed published in Saudi media, Xi said he was on a "pioneering trip" to "open a new era of China's relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia". [1/6] Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 8, 2022. Chinese and Saudi firms also signed 34 deals for investment in green energy, information technology, cloud services, transport, construction and other sectors, state news agency SPA reported. While Saudi Arabia was an important U.S. ally, she noted, "in recent years, it has upheld its strategic autonomy, resisted the pressure of the United States".

☆ Saudi Arabia Hosts China's Xi Jinping in Apparent Snub to White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Saudi Arabia is hosting China's President Xi Jinping at a lavish summit this week. This comes in the wake of a series of diplomatic spats between Saudi Arabia and the US. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced that it would be keeping the production cuts in place, but the country has also made diplomatic moves seemingly designed to placate the US. Saudi Arabia is China's main oil supplier, and this is an issue likely to feature prominently at the summit. Though Crown Prince Mohammed is seeking to steer a foreign policy less dependent on Washington, DC, it's unlikely either nation will want to significantly loosen ties any time soon, analysts say.

The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by U.S. criticism of Riyadh's human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November midterm elections. China, the world's biggest energy consumer, is a major trade partner of Gulf oil and gas producers. Saudi Arabia is its top oil supplier and state-run Saudi Aramco has annual supply deals with half a dozen Chinese refiners. While economic ties remain anchored by energy interests, bilateral ties have expanded under the Gulf's infrastructure and technology push, part of diversification plans that have gained importance as the world turns away from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have said they would continue to expand partnerships to serve economic and security interests, despite U.S. reservations about their ties with both Russia and China.

☆ Saudi Arabia will soon make $5 bln deposit with Turkey -Saudi finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RIYADH, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will place a $5 billion deposit at Turkey's central bank "within days," the kingdom's finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said on Wednesday. The decision was taken between us and Turkey," he told reporters, saying discussions were on remaining details and the deposit could happen "within days." "There is great improvement in our relationship with Turkey and we aspire for investment opportunities in Turkey and other countries," he said. A Saudi finance ministry spokesman told Reuters on Nov. 22 that the two states were in "final discussion" on the deposit. The momentum of talks between the countries' central banks comes after Ankara and Riyadh's joint effort to mend ties that were ruptured after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

☆ Analysis: Saudi prince seeks Mideast leadership, independence with Xi's visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment on Xi's visit and its agenda. It is China's top oil supplier, although fellow OPEC+ producer Russia has increased its Chinese market share with lower-priced fuel. The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states covering energy, security and investments, diplomats have told Reuters. U.S. officials have declined to comment when asked about Saudi-China bilateral relations ahead of Xi's visit. "The relationships with China pale versus those with the United States in terms of both complexity and intimacy," he said.

☆ Saudi Aramco's Luberef expects to raise up to $1.32 bln from IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Yousef Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Saudi oil giant Aramco's (2222.SE) base oil subsidiary Luberef expects to raise up to 4.95 billion riyals ($1.32 billion) from its initial public offering, it said, if it prices at the top of a range announced on Sunday. Gulf issuers have raised about $16 billion through such listings this year, accounting for about half of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows. A minimum of 75% of the Luberef shares being sold will be offered to institutional investors, with bookbuilding getting underway on Sunday and running until Friday. Aramco owns 70% of Luberef and Saudi investment bank Jadwa Investment the remaining 30%. Saudi Aramco's record listing in late 2019, later boosted to total $29.4 billion in proceeds, was the world's largest IPO.

☆ Saudi Arabia announces plans for six-runway hub airport in Riyadh
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RIYADH, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Monday plans to transform Riyadh airport into a massive aviation hub with six parallel runways and designed to accommodate up to 120 million travellers by 2030, state news agency SPA reported. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will build King Salman International Airport, which should stretch over 57 square kilometres (22.01 square miles) and include current King Khaled airport, SPA said. Aviation is part of a government strategy to become a global transportation and logistics hub by 2030, with Riyadh airport as the operation base of a brand new airline, RIA, that would compete with regional heavyweights Emirates and Qatar Airways. The kingdom has set itself high targets for diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into a plan called Vision 2030 initiated by the kingdom's de facto ruler Prince Mohammed. It added King Salman airport would create 103,000 direct and indirect jobs, handle 185 million travellers and process 3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050.

Pro-Palestinian sympathies among fans have also spilt into stadiums as four Arab teams compete. Qatari players have worn pro-Palestinian arm-bands, even as Qatar has allowed Israeli fans to fly in directly for the first time. The first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup, Qatar has often seemed a regional maverick: it hosts the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas but has also previously had some trade relations with Israel. Arab fans have shunned Israeli journalists reporting from Qatar. Omar Barakat, a soccer coach for the Palestinian national team who was in Doha for the World Cup, said he had carried his flag into matches without being stopped.

☆ Saudi Aramco's Luberef gets regulator nod for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Saudi oil giant Aramco's (2222.SE) base oil subsidiary, Luberef, has received the approval from the kingdom's stock market regulator for an initial public offering, the Capital Market Authority said on Thursday. Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef), formerly Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co, will offer investors 50.045 million of its shares, equivalent to 29.656% of its share capital. Aramco owns 70% of Luberef and Saudi investment bank Jadwa Investment owns the remaining 30%. Gulf issuers have raised about $16 billion in initial public offerings this year, accounting for about half of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows. Saudi Aramco's record listing on Riyadh's Tadawul exchange in late 2019, later boosted to total $29.4 billion in proceeds, was the world's largest IPO.

[1/2] Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday the immunity decision did not speak to a review of Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which was ongoing. HISTORIC LOWSaudi ties with the United States and the wider West are still at a historic low point. When Saudi Arabia consequently took its security into its own hands with its war in Yemen, it saw Western criticism as hypocritical. Saudi Arabia would likely still prefer to have a U.S. security umbrella.

☆ The US is quietly extracting concessions from Saudi Arabia after Mohammed bin Salman humiliated Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Saudi Arabia has made moves to placate the US after a recent feud over oil. Diplomatic ties between the Biden White House and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, are being tested as never before in a series of high-stakes diplomatic encounters. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Moscow in May 2017. Biden himself said there would be "consequences" for Saudi Arabia, though did not specify what they'd be. "These are mutual interests keeping the US and Saudi Arabia interested in the bilateral partnership.

☆ Saudi Arabia considers new mining index in diversification push
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mining Minister Bandar bin Ibrahim al-Khorayef told Reuters in an interview in Sydney that his team met with Australian counterparts to learn more about a mining index, similar to Australia's ASX 300 Metals & Mining (XMM) sub-index (.AXMM) that lists metals and mining firms including producers of gold, steel and precious metals. "We have a secondary stock market in Saudi...its still evolving. "The whole idea (of a mining index) is to ensure that we have something that financing companies or financial institutions like banks can have good visibility on," he said. "We want to encourage people who offer services to mining companies to come to Saudi either directly or through partnering with some local people. Saudi is hosting the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh in January, where it hopes to announce more details of its plans for the mining sector.

☆ Ex treasury secretary Mnuchin says U.S. in recession, will continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

RIYADH, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Former U.S. treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Wednesday he believed the United States was in a recession and said this would continue. Speaking at Riyadh's flagship investment conference FII, he said: "I think we'll probably see a peak of 4.5% 10-year rates." "I think you are going to see inflation in the U.S. begin to come under control, it will probably be a two-year period," he added. He added that the Middle East's economic issues need to be dealt with regionally. Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Rachna Uppal in Riyadh and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; Writing by Yousef Saba, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SummarySummary Companies OPEC+ oil output cut led to U.S., Saudi spatSaudi Arabia and U.S. "solid allies" – ministerBig Wall St turnout at flagship Saudi investment summitRIYADH, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia decided to be the "maturer guys" in a spat with the United States over oil supplies, the kingdom's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday. "We keep hearing you 'are with us or against us', is there any room for 'we are with the people of Saudi Arabia'?" Biden pledged that "there will be consequences" for U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ move. JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, speaking at the gathering, voiced confidence that Saudi Arabia and the United States would safeguard their 75-year-old alliance. It recovered the next year, attracting leaders and businesses with strategic interests in Saudi Arabia, after which the pandemic hit the world.

☆ Top Israeli bank chairman to speak at Saudi investment event
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Yousef Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The chairman of Israel's Bank Leumi (LUMI.TA) is due to speak at Saudi Arabia's flagship investment conference in Riyadh on Thursday, in the latest sign of a potential thawing in relations between the two countries. In 2020, Riyadh's Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed historic U.S.-brokered deals to normalise relations with Israel. Organisers of the FII conference confirmed Bank Leumi chairman Samer Haj Yehia's planned attendance in response to a Reuters query. Bank Leumi, one of Israel's two largest banks, declined to comment. Haj Yehia is the first Arab Israeli to serve as the bank's chairman.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives U.S. President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Still, the U.S.-Saudi rift is widening as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MbS, flags his country's -- and his own -- importance on the world stage. "He has made a great effort since day 1 to signal to the U.S. that he wants excellent ties. Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, is aware of Riyadh's oil market power and position as a counterweight to Iran, and may stand firm in the face of U.S. criticism. It says it faces a threat from Iran and its proxies, especially after 2019 attacks that temporarily hit Saudi oil output and shook energy markets.

☆ Saudi Arabia pushed other OPEC nations into oil cut, White House claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Flames are seen at the production facility of Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in the Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia pushed other OPEC+ nations into an output cut last week, the White House claimed on Thursday, part of an escalating war of words between the two countries. "More than one" OPEC member disagreed with Saudi Arabia's push to cut production and felt coerced into the vote, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Of those cuts, experts expect an actual production cut of about half that level. The production cut is the latest sign of deteriorating U.S.-Saudi relations since Biden took office.

☆ Russia releases 10 foreigners captured in Ukraine, after Saudi mediation, Riyadh says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERSRIYADH, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday released 10 foreign prisoners of war captured in Ukraine, following a mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi foreign ministry said. "The relevant Saudi authorities received and transferred them from Russia to the kingdom and are facilitating procedures for their respective countries," the statement said. A Saudi official said they were five Britons, two Americans, a Croatian, a Morrocan and a Swedish national. Large numbers of foreigners have travelled to Ukraine to fight since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. Some of them have been caught by Russian forces, along with other foreigners in the country who say they were not fighters.

☆ Despite Biden's assurances, Middle East militaries are buying their own weapons to take on Iran at sea and in the air
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been investing heavily in new military hardware in order to Iran. The Royal Saudi Air Force's core strength are its 232 F-15 Eagles, at least 84 of which are F-15SA variants designed specifically for Saudi Arabia. A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 at King Faisal Air Base in Saudi Arabia in February 2021. US and Bahraini officials in front of unmanned naval vessels at at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama in January. US Navy/MCS1 Mark Thomas MahmodIMX 2022 was also the first time Israel and Saudi Arabia, which don't have diplomatic relations, officially took part in an exercise together.

☆ Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. For Axiom and other space companies, cutting deals with foreign governments is seen as vital to sustaining a business centered on putting people in space. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

☆ Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

☆ ‘Unique’ Aramco IPO changes the dynamics of Saudi Arabia’s economy, stock market CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2018-05-02 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"The Saudi Stock Exchange is as excited as everybody else with the listing of Aramco," Khalid Abdullah Al Hussan, CEO of the Saudi Stock Exchange, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble in Riyadh on Wednesday. watch nowThe world's largest initial public offering (IPO) will radically transform the way in which Saudi Arabia's economy operates, according to the chief executive of the Saudi Stock Exchange. So far, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul is the only confirmed listing exchange for state-owned energy giant, Saudi Aramco. "The Saudi Stock Exchange is as excited as everybody else with the listing of Aramco," Khalid Abdullah Al Hussan, CEO of the Saudi Stock Exchange, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble in Riyadh on Wednesday. "It is almost doubling the size of the Saudi market and that is definitely changing our position as far as size ... (And) will change the dynamics of how the Saudi capital market — as well as the economy — operates," he added.

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