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In a move to protect the Kingdom’s natural environment and wildlife and to transform them into tourist destinations, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued a royal decree establishing the Council of Royal Reserves under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman.

Nine areas have been designated as royal reservations and their board of directors has been appointed to help promote natural landscapes as tourist destinations as well as to limit overfishing and overgrazing, prevent deforestation and maintain and encourage vegetation. The designated areas will not be fenced off because they are public property.

The royal order declared that each natural reserve must have its own independent management and budget and allowed a three-month duration to the Experts Commission at the Council of Ministers to appoint qualified leaders to manage each reserve.

The scope of ecotourism is on the rise globally and the nine locations identified by the royal decree will help the Kingdom become a renowned ecotourism hub in the Middle East. Its rich flora and fauna, as well as biological, geological, and genetic diversity that have tremendous potential to withstand harsh environmental conditions, will attract global tourists and provide alternate sources of income to the Kingdom in line with Vision 2030.

Source:
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1288541/saudi-natural-reserves-will-become-touristic-destinations

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter has seen a boost in its revenues after the recent surge in oil prices, noted Capital Economics, a London-based think-tank group on Tuesday.

The Kingdom has pulled itself out of recession and depicted a 1.5 percent economic growth in the first quarter of 2018, after having shrunk by 0.7 percent last year.

Oil prices escalated to approximately $80 a barrel last month from under $30 a barrel in early 2016 after OPEC and non-OPEC producers hit a deal to cut output. The crash in oil prices dipped the Kingdom into negative territory last year for the first time since 2009, a year after the global financial crisis.

To overcome the crisis, the Saudi government has announced a budget deficit in the last four years, borrowed from domestic and international markets, hiked fuel and power prices as well as introduced a five-percent value-added tax from January 2018.

Jadwa Investment, a Riyadh-based investment company said on Monday that Saudi fiscal reserves rose by $13.2 billion in April, marking its largest monthly increase since October 2013.

Source:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1316121/business-economy

Saudi Arabia is all set to adopt a digital platform in line with the objectives of Vision 2030. Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the Kingdom’s Finance Minister announced obtaining King Salman’s royal decree which calls for suspending paperwork of all procedural and financial transactions, in a final transitional move towards e-governing.

The ruling ordered all ministries and government agencies to install a digital system within 60 days and scrap paper documents related to financial transactions and other procedures at the earliest.

State bodies who fail to meet the government requirement within the specified time should send their explanation to the finance ministry in participation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

The Etimad digital platform was launched earlier in January with the aim of providing digital financial services to the public and private sectors.

Jadaan noted that e-services will greatly reduce time and effort as well as increase transparency of government transactions and operations. Furthermore, a fully developed digital system would open more competitive lines for SMEs.

Source:
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1287676/saudi-govt-finances-end-procedural-paperwork-install-e-services

The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) urged value-added tax (VAT) registered companies and entities whose annual value of taxable goods and services exceed SR40 million to file their tax declaration for the month of April by May 31, 2018.

Meanwhile, enterprises whose supplies of taxable goods and services total SR40 million or less are required to file their tax declarations every three months.

A fine of 5 to 25 percent of the tax amount will be imposed on businesses and enterprises that fail to submit their declaration within the specified time, in addition to a fine for the delayed payment of tax due, which is equivalent to 5 percent of the value of the unpaid tax per month or part of the tax that was not paid.

Source:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1310666

In line with the government directives to unify paydays for all state employees according to the Gregorian calendar, the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) announced that it will switch to the Gregorian calendar from June for the payment of pensions to retired employees and to family members of the deceased retirees.

In accordance with the social insurance system, the organization will deposit pensions in the accounts of beneficiaries and family members of the deceased and compensate unemployed people at the beginning of each month starting from June 2018, announced Abdullah bin Muhammed Al-Abdul Jabbar, spokesperson for GOSI. He added that since June 1 falls on a Friday, GOSI would start distributing payments on May 31.

GOSI, a semi-state body that enjoys administrative and financial independence, spends more than SR1.7 billion every year to pay pensions benefitting more than 360,000 citizens.

Source:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1310706

The Ministry of Commerce and Investment registered Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea project as a standalone closed joint-stock company, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), solely owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The PIF, headed by Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman, will inject initial investments into the project and later start partnerships with international companies.

The ministry appointed John Pagano, the former managing director of development for the UK’s Canary Wharf Group as the company’s chief executive. The pioneering project which is part of the Crown Prince’s blueprint to prepare the biggest Arab economy for the post-oil era will cover 50 islands and over 34,000 square kilometers of the area to attract travelers looking for luxury, tranquillity, adventure and beautiful landscapes.

The TRSDC will now create a Special Economic Zone, with its own regulatory framework that is independent of the base economy, with a special emphasis on environmental sustainability, offering visas on entry, relaxed social norms, and improved business regulations. Plans are underway to simplify entry procedures and offer visas on arrival for overseas visitors to attract huge volumes of tourists from around the globe.

The project located along the western coast of Saudi Arabia, between the cities of Al-Wajh and Umluj, some 500km north of Jeddah, will serve as a unique tourist destination throughout the year. The first phase of the venture will focus on hotels and residential units, along with a new coastal town, an airport, and a marina, and is due for completion by the end of 2022.

The project is expected to generate more than 35,000 jobs and contribute as much as SR15 billion to the local economy by attracting large volumes of global and domestic investments. TRSDC listing comes soon after the ministry has officially incorporated Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), the entertainment, sport and cultural destination being built on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Source:
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1282571/saudi-arabia-establishes-red-sea-development-company

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) announced that it will start withdrawing one-riyal notes from the market from Thursday and new riyal coins will replace the notes. However, SAMA confirmed that paper currencies will still be traded alongside the new coins until all one-riyal notes are gradually withdrawn from the markets.

Earlier in December 2016, SAMA had unveiled the sixth issue of Saudi currency in different denominations, which included the new one-riyal and two-riyal coins as well as 50-halala, 25-halala, 10-halala and one-halala coins.

The one-riyal coin has a portrait of King Salman in silver in the center, on the right is the name and title of the King (Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) engraved in a golden frame and on the left is the plant motif encircling the Kingdom’s national emblem.

Like most of the developed countries, which despite the development of extensive monetary and financial systems, still depend on currencies widely, Saudi Arabia is also moving towards accepting a piece of metal as its main currency which can, later on, be used in a number of services and machines.

SAMA noted the benefits of the new decision that the average life expectancy of a coin is estimated at twenty to twenty-five years, whereas the life expectancy of a paper currency is estimated at anywhere between twelve to eighteen months, depending on the usage. Coins are efficient for recycling and their transfer and preservation remain easier than paper currency.

SAMA informed that all six categories of the currency issued are currently available at all SAMA branches and banks operating across the Kingdom. In case of any difficulty in obtaining the currency from banks, citizens are advised to register a complaint with the Customer Protection Department through SamaCares.com or by calling the toll-free number 8001256666.

Source:
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1278531/saudi-arabia-launches-riyal-coins-replace-banknotes

The Saudi domestic banks, which are working to capitalize on economic reforms, have cumulatively reported a 7.5 percent year-on-year growth and an 18 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in net profit for the first quarter of 2018, despite slight recessionary trends, said a report published by Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday.

According to Moody’s, interest expenses in Saudi banks declined by 12.5 percent year-on-year and 2 percent quarter-on-quarter, suggesting a significant improvement in funding conditions in Saudi Arabia after the substantial tightening in 2016.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s improving liquidity and funding conditions since 2017 have narrowed the Saudi Arabian Interbank Offered Rate’s (SAIBOR) spread against the US dollar-denominated London Interbank Offered Rate, even reaching negative spreads in March 2018, despite several rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, said the report.

The report also observed that Saudi banks have an average net-loans-to-deposits ratio of 83 percent and above 60 percent of their liabilities were in non-interest-bearing deposits as of March 2018.

The Kingdom’s recent economic reforms focussing on investments in non-oil related sectors and its privatization plan has opened several business opportunities and banks across the world like Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc. are establishing their presence in the Kingdom.

Source:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1308536

The high-speed Haramain Express train connecting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah will roll out this September with four trains per week, in the beginning, followed by daily services by September 2019, the Spanish consortium building the project announced on Thursday.

The 300kph high-speed intercity rail transport system linking Madinah and Makkah via King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) at Jeddah, initially scheduled to start operating by the end of 2016, had a budget overrun of 210 million euros, which Saudi Arabia agreed to pay.

Earlier in 2011, Saudi Arabia awarded the 6.7 billion euros contract to the consortium of 12 Spanish companies and two Saudi companies for laying 444 kilometers of track between Makkah and Madinah, providing 35 trains and maintaining the line for 12 years.

However, the project faced many obstacles as disagreements surfaced among members of the consortium over who is responsible for resolving and paying for the cost of overruns. Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s recent visit to Spain played a vital role in resolving the disputes over the delays in completing the project.

Source:
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/535093/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-high-speed-rail-line-to-start-operating-in-September

Saudi Arabia’s Directorate General of Traffic has called on women with foreign licenses to have them replaced with a Saudi license. The official Twitter account of the Directorate tweeted: “We invite all citizens and residents of the Kingdom who wish to replace their valid driving licenses which they have obtained from other countries with a Saudi driving license through registering their information via the website of Saudi Driving License Portal (http://www.sdlp.sa) for completing the replacement procedures of the license on Monday, May 21.”

To further clarify the procedure, the tweet included a video with guidance to apply for a Saudi license by visiting www.sdlp.sa, registering with the required information and finally booking an appointment at a traffic center.

To obtain a Saudi license, women drivers will have to undergo a driving test and an evaluation to measure their knowledge on the Kingdom’s road rules, and successful candidates will be granted their Saudi driving license on the same day. However, female drivers with foreign or internationally recognized licenses will be exempted from the driving test for beginners.

With only a few weeks remaining before women will be able to take to the road themselves, the Kingdom has opened driving schools for women across the country, car advertisements and safety advice are being directed at both men and women, and new traffic signs addressing women drivers along with men are being set up on highways.
Source:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1305501/saudi-arabia