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Minister of Labor and Social Development, Dr.Ali Al Ghafis declared that work visa validity for foreign employees working in private sector companies will be reduced from two years to one year. However, visas issued for government services as well as domestic workers will not fall in this category. This decision was taken based on Article […]

The Minister of Labor and Social Development, Dr. Ali Al Ghafis issued an order granting permission to employ non-Saudi mothers of Saudi children and non-Saudi children of Saudi women in those sectors which had earlier been limited only to Saudi nationals. The revised Saudization program (Nitaqat) will treat any employee falling in the above category […]

Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to build an independent mega city, investment and business zone in the north-western region of the country, backed by a capital of $500 billion. The 26,500-square km mega city will span across the coast of Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, spreading across Egypt and Jordan, making it the world’s first […]

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) revealed plans to nearly double the value of assets it manages by 2020. PIF, which is currently managing assets worth around $230 billion, plans to raise its value to $400 billion in the coming years. The funding is expected to come from proceeds of privatisation of state owned assets, […]

SoftBank Vision Fund(SBVF), backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group, claimed a return of $3 billion during its first five months of collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF earlier committed to invest up to $45 billion in SBVF over the next five years, in an effort to diversify the Kingdom’s portfolio beyond oil assets. […]

The government of Saudi Arabia approved plans to issue tourist visas for the country, reported Al-Watan newspaper. During the first phase of its implementation, visas will only be made available to tour groups through authorized tour operators. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) would play a key role in promoting tourism in the Kingdom and has […]

Saudi Arabia has shown a huge progress in corruption control in the World Bank Indicator report, according to a statement published by National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha). The Kingdom advanced 18 points in the corruption control indicator in 2016, in comparison to 2015 making this the country’s most significant improvement in the World Bank indicator report […]

The auction launched by Riyadh Metro on Sunday invited private companies to name and advertise in select metro shops, which is expected to open in 2019. Local and international companies licensed in the Kingdom will be eligible to bid for naming and advertising rights at 10 stations, cited officials from Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), who […]

As Value Added Tax (VAT) is about to take effect in the Kingdom from January 2018, the official VAT twitter account announced that housing rents and government funded services are exempted from VAT levies. Few of the governmental services cleared from VAT include passport and driver’s license renewal. The Kingdom will be the first GCC […]

Saudi Arabia will host the first World Boxing Super Series Cruiserweight final in May next year as well as its first-ever worldwide motorsport event, Race of Champions, featuring stars from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sportscars and touring cars competing against each other. For the very first time in the event’s 30-year history, […]