Saudi Arabia

The region covered in this publication scores reasonably well in our new business environment ratings, with an average overall score of 49.6, slightly higher than the world average... 2007-10-03

The kingdom's monetary authorities are debating strategies for clamping down on inflation, which has risen to near 4% this year. We see the CPI increasing by 3% y-o-y in 2007, but... 2007-10-02

Saudi Arabia's relations with Syria are worsening, with Riyadh deeply unhappy about Damascus' alleged involvement in recent events in Lebanon. Syria's foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem,... 2007-10-02

Despite concerns over a frosty turn in Saudi-US relations, we remain sanguine that the alliance will hold firm going forward. This is based firstly on the fact that the relationship... 2007-09-05

Recent comments by the central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) that 'there is no inflationary pressure resulting from government spending' stands in contrast to the... 2007-07-30

The consumer price index measure of inflation remained relatively static in March, coming in at 2.9% y-o-y. Food prices however, rocketed by 9.4% y-o-y while the second largest rises... 2007-07-03

BMI View: Strengthening relations between China and the Middle East look set to remain mutually beneficial, offering new opportunities in terms of investment and trade.

The deteriorating situation in Iraq, ethno-sectarian strife in Lebanon, chaos in the Palestinian Territories and the ongoing diplomatic standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions present... 2007-06-26

Saudi Arabia's current account surplus came in at an impressive 27.5% of GDP in 2006, or US$95.5bn, and should remain at an elevated, albeit lower 20.3% of GDP in 2007. The 2006 figure... 2007-06-07

We have revised down our growth forecasts on the back of new data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). We now expect real GDP to drop to 2.7% this year, picking up to 3.7%... 2007-06-01