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ECONOMY
The United States leader’s recent major trip to the kingdom reflects the enduring ties that bind the two nations and the trade opportunities that lie ahead.
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May 2025
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The sovereign wealth fund-backed entity will enable the development and delivery of innovative products and services that support the digital economy.
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ASIAN TRADE
Exports to and imports from the continent account for the majority of the kingdom’s movement of goods, including its hydrocarbon products.
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SMEs
Bespoke financial solutions with flexible payment terms offer capital boost to small business owners, allowing them to accelerate their company’s growth.
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LOGISTICS
The new logisitcs hub signals the authorities’ commitment to partner with the private sector in nurturing industries like manufacturing and transportation.
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IN THIS EDITION
The Saudi economy showed impressive growth in the first quarter of 2025 despite strong global economic headwinds, including lower commodity prices and trade tensions.
The economy grew 2.7% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period of 2024, driven by a strong performance in non-oil and government sectors, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Flash estimates showed non-oil activity rose 4.2% year on year (YoY), while government services expanded by 3.2%. Oil activity, however, contracted by 1.4% amid continued output cuts aimed at supporting global crude prices.
On a quarterly basis, seasonally adjusted real GDP increased 0.9% in the first three months of 2025, supported by a 4.9% jump in government activity and a 1.0% rise in non-oil sectors. Oil activity fell 1.2% from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) hit SAR 22.1 billion during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to SAR 25.5 billion during the same period in 2023. Altogether, FDI stood at SAR 74.1 billion for the year, compared to SAR 85.7 billion in 2023.
Over the past few years, the kingdom has seen a strong investment surge from foreign companies, drawn by the country’s desire to build out its minerals, space, technology, gaming, and infrastructure projects, and expand its non-energy industry.
Saudi Arabia recently attracted over USD 13 billion in United States (US) investments – more than 90% of all international investments in artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, and cloud services. These investments were made in partnership with major tech companies such as AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle, and Groq.
UAE led the FDI with USD 40.5 billion by the end of 2024, followed by Luxembourg (USD 27.1 billion), France (USD 17.4 billion), the Netherlands (USD 17.1 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 16.7 billion), and the US (USD 15.4 billion), according to the Ministry of Investment.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Japan rounded out the top 10, with investments of USD 10 billion, USD 9.5 billion, USD 6.8 billion, and USD 6.3 billion, respectively.
