Saudi Arabia said on Monday evening it will stop giving contracts to any company that has its regional headquarters outside the kingdom from 2024.
"The cessation will include agencies, institutions and funds owned by the government and will take effect January 1st, 2024," the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing an official source.
The move is being taken “to incentivise the localisation of businesses by foreign companies that deal with the kingdom’s government”, its agencies and its related funds, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia has been encouraging multinationals to establish regional offices in the kingdom’s capital as part of ambitious growth plans. The kingdom aims to “make Riyadh one of the 10 largest city economies in the world”, up from number 40 currently, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman told the Future Investment Initiative last month.
That will involve doubling the size of its population from 7.5 million currently to more than 15m by 2030.
Speaking at the same event, Brendan Bechtel, president of the US's biggest contracting group, Bechtel, said his company is relocating its regional office to Riyadh.
Bechtel was one of 24 companies that subsequently signed agreements with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to establish their main regional offices in Riyadh earlier this month. Others included Big Four accountancy firms Deloitte and PwC, the world's biggest oilfield services company Schlumberger, German engineering business Bosch and soft drinks giant PepsiCo.
The decision “will not affect any investor’s ability to enter the Saudi market, or to continue their business with the private sector,” the SPA said.
New regulations relating to the decision are set to be drawn up this year, it added.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
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The Internet
Hive Mind
four stars
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Match statistics
Dubai Sports City Eagles 8 Dubai Exiles 85
Eagles
Try: Bailey
Pen: Carey
Exiles
Tries: Botes 3, Sackmann 2, Fourie 2, Penalty, Walsh, Gairn, Crossley, Stubbs
Cons: Gerber 7
Pens: Gerber 3
Man of the match: Tomas Sackmann (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
