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Saudi Arabia
Investment Property Sales in Saudi ArabiaThe Saudi Arabian government is to build six 'smart' cities which use huge computing power and smart design to attract inward investment and reduce running costs.
The first project will be built next to the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology on the Red Sea, and will cover 168 million square metres or roughly the size of Manhattan.
Another five cities are on the drawing board and the government is hoping to house 4.5 million people and bring in billions in GDP by 2020.
"Smart cities will drive value into the city by boosting productivity and cutting costs," said Ahmad A. Al-Yamani, director general for the Smart Cities Office ICT Sector at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
The opportunity to build in strong IT resources from scratch will have a dramatic effect on costs, according to Al-Yamani.
Installation costs would be much lower than retrofitting an existing city, while running costs would be 35 per cent lower owing to better management by technology. Property values would also get up to a five per cent value boost.
The first city will include industrial, residential, financial and learning centres, along with a marina for leisure and a port to handle shipping traffic. The port already has enough businesses signed up to ensure that it will work to capacity.
The government believes that Saudi Arabia is in a good position to attract inward investment from around the world.
The country takes up 80 per cent of the Middle East and has 70 per cent of the population, and its position puts it within easy reach of Europe, India and Africa.
However, crucially for the IT industry, the country also has very low energy costs.
"To make a car takes twice its weight in fossil fuels, but that rises to 10 times for a PC, and even more for smaller gadgets that are mainly plastic," said Al-Yamani.
"It is these gadgets that are partially to blame for high oil prices. With semiconductor labs, 35 per cent of costs are down to energy costs. We have a significant advantage to offer the industry."
Area: 2.25 million square kilometres
Population:24,300 000 (2003 est.)
Capital City: Riyadh
People: Arabs, 7 million of the total population are foreign workers
Languages: Arabic is the official language (English is widely spoken in business circles)
Religion: Islam; the public practise of any other religion is forbidden. About 90% of the Muslim population is Sunni and 10% Shia.
Currency: Saudi Riyal (SR)
Major political parties: Political parties are not permitted
Government: Monarchy
Head of State: King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
First Deputy Prime Minister: His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Prime Minister/Premier: King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Foreign Minister: His Royal Highness Prince Saud al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz
Membership of international groups/organisations: World Trade Organisation, Arab League, Gulf Co-operation Council, Organisation of Islamic Countries and United Nations and Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Flag: The flag of Saudi Arabia bears the Muslim creed: 'There is no God but God: Muhammad is the Messenger of God.' The official emblem is a date palm, representing vitality and growth, and two crossed swords, symbolising justice and strength rooted in faith.
GEOGRAPHY
Saudi Arabia is about the size of Western Europe, covering four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula. The Red Sea lies on the West coast and the Persian Gulf Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the East. Saudi Arabia has borders with Yemen and Oman in the South, and Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait in the North. There are four geographical regions: Hejaz (North-West), Asir (South-West), Nejd (Central Plateau) and Al Hasa (Eastern Province). Most of the population is concentrated in Jeddah and Mecca in the West, Riyadh in the centre and Dammam and Al Khobar in the East. Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter is the largest sand desert in the world and is the size of France.
Summer temperatures inland can reach 50°C during the day, but can fall dramatically to below 30°C at night. In winter they can be close to freezing in the desert. The coastal temperatures are more moderate but humidity is high.
HISTORY
Modern Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932 when Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud united different regions of the Arabian Peninsula into one nation. On 23 September 1932, Abdul Aziz was proclaimed King. All of Saudi Arabia's rulers since 1932 have been descendants of Ibn Saud. During his rule, King Abdul Aziz laid the foundations for the modernisation of his country. He began to build the country's infrastructure, first establishing roads and basic communications systems, and later introducing modern technology and improving education, health care and agriculture.
In November 1953, King Abdul Aziz died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Saud bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. The new King’s brother, Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, was named Crown Prince. King Saud established the Council of Ministers and the Ministries of Health, Education and Commerce. The Crown Prince became King Faisal in 1964. To deepen links between Islamic nations, he travelled throughout the Arab and Islamic world.
In 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew, Faisal bin Musa’id bin Abdul Aziz. He was succeeded by his brother, King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz, whose reign lasted until 1982, when he died of a heart attack. His brother, Fahd, who had been made Crown Prince on King Faisal’s death, succeeded him. In 1986, King Fahd stopped using the title ‘His Majesty’ and took the title ‘Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’. Since 1996, Crown Prince Abdullah increasingly took on more responsibility after King Fahd suffered a stroke and upon the death of King Fahd on 1 August 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah became King and Prince Sultan became Crown Prince.
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy with a political system rooted in Islamic Sharia law. The monarchy is the same family as the founder of modern day Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah, the Head of State, is also the Prime Minister and nominates a Council of Ministers. His half-brother, Prince Sultan, is the Crown Prince. Other members of the King's close family hold important roles, including Prince Naif, Minister of Interior.
Between 1992 and 1993, King Fahd introduced a number of political reforms, including the establishment in 1993 of a Consultative Council, the Majlis Al-Shura. It has 120 members, all of whom were selected by King Fahd apart from, Princes and serving Ministers. The Council’s role is to formalise existing political arrangements and debate new political legislation or social developments.
In January 2003, Crown Prince Abdullah set out proposals for "self-reform and the promotion of political participation" in the Arab world. A few days later he received a petition signed by 120 people which called for reform including: election of members to the Shura council and regional assemblies; an independent judiciary; freedom of speech and association; the development of civil society and increased human rights; a greater public role for women; and a national forum for open discussion.
Elections
As part of this reform process, the then Crown Prince Abdullah announced in October 2003 the plan to hold municipal elections for half of the members of municipal councils. These elections were the first elections to a government body in Saudi Arabia. Polling took place between February and April 2005.
ECONOMY
Saudi Arabia has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and is by a long way the largest exporter of oil. Oil was discovered in 1938, and production began under the then US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company). Saudi Aramco, now nationalised, controls all onshore oil and has the largest reserve base of any company in the Exporting Countries (OPEC); It has always been the dominant player within OPEC in adjusting production in line with market stability.
Large oil earnings, particularly since the oil price rises of the early 1970’s, have allowed the Government to spend heavily to look after the people and to build the infrastructure of a modern economy. The economy is heavily dependent on oil earnings and the high level of Government spending they make possible: a large and varied private sector has grown up but remains vulnerable to fluctuations in the oil price and government spending. In the 1980’s and 1990’s economic growth was barely fast enough to keep up with population growth, but very high oil prices in 2003-5 have made possible a strong spurt in growth.
Saudi Arabia has long had a very liberal policy on the use of foreign workers, who form the vast bulk of the private sector workforce. But the Saudi population is rapidly increasing and policy is now focusing on the need to create more jobs for young Saudis.
Economic reform continues: moves in recent years include opening some previously closed sectors of the economy, such as the gas industry, to investment by foreign companies. Upstream oil remains closed to foreign investment. Saudi Arabia has applied to join the World Trade Organisation and is in the process of negotiating the terms of its entrance.
Basic Economic Facts
Proven oil reserves (end-2004): 262.7bn barrels
Proven oil reserves as share of world total: 22.1%
Oil production (2004): 10.6mbd
Oil production as share of world total (2004): 13.1%
GDP (2003): US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$215 billion
Population including expatriates (2003): 22.5 million
GDP per head (2003): US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$9500
Annual growth rate in real GDP (1987-96): 3.0%
Annual growth rate in real GDP (2003, preliminary): 7.2% (oil 14.9%; non-oil 3.8% )
Consumer price inflation (2003, preliminary): 0.5%
Major sectors: Oil, petrochemicals, financial services, construction and building materials
Major destinations for Saudi exports: USA, Japan, Korea, EU
Major exportaters to Saudi Arabia: USA, Japan, Germany, UK
| Exchange Rate (average 2004): | US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$=3.75 Saudi Riyals | | UK£=6.86 Saudi Riyals |
Money: The Saudi Riyal (SR) is divided into 100 halalas. Notes come in denominations of SR1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. Coins come in denominations of 5,10, 25 and 50 halala
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Saudi Arabia's Relations with Neighbours & the International Community
Saudi Arabia plays a key role in regional affairs: in particular the Middle East Peace Process. In February 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah launched the initiative on the Middle East Peace Process. This offered Israel normalisation of relations if it withdrew to the land it occupied before 1967. It was endorsed by other Arab nations at the Beirut Summit. Saudi Arabia is committed to ensuring that the issue of Palestine remains a priority to the international community.
On Iraq, Saudi Arabia regarded Saddam Hussein as the main threat to Gulf stability and supported the implementation of UNSCR 1284. Saudi Arabia has welcomed the recent key role played by the UN through the role of the Secretary General’s special representative in Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi. Following the military action taken against Saddam Hussein’s regime, Saudi Arabia has pledged over 100 million SR in humanitarian aid to Iraq. On 30 November 2004 at a meeting of Regional Ministers in Tehran, Interior Minister Prince Naif said that Saudi Arabia would co-operate with Iraq on security and counter terrorism. Also on 30 November Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud declared that Saudi Arabia is committed to cutting Iraqi debt and re-establishing diplomatic relations with Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has been closely following the situation in Lebanon and Syria following the death of Rafiq Al Hariri, and has made public statements in support of the Lebanese people. The Saudi cabinet has urged them to 'preserve Lebanon's national unity, stability and cohesion, ensuring that wisdom prevails in facing events'. Crown Prince Abdullah has called for Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559. The Syrian Foreign Minister, Faruq al-Shara'a, recently met with Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh, to confirm that Syria would work on a timetable for withdrawal and Saudi Arabia is working alongside Egypt and Algeria to progress this.
In 1981, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates established the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a forum for economic and political policy coordination.
The Saudi government stands firm against terrorism and is determined to take action against terrorists. It has a record of condemning acts of terrorism. The Saudi royal family was swift to condemn the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Saudi Arabia subsequently took action to freeze terrorist funds and has continued to take steps to support these actions. There were numerous terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia between 2002 and 2004 which resulted in the deaths of numerous Saudi and foreign nationals. The government of Saudi Arabia held a Counter-Terrorism Conference in February 2005 in order to exchange information and expertise more widely in the international community.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The British Government has a number of concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia. These include the implementation of basic international human rights norms; aspects of the judicial system; corporal and capital punishment; torture; discrimination against women and non-Muslims; and restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, assembly and worship. The British Government remains committed to raising human rights with the Saudi authorities at every opportunity with the Saudi authorities at working, Ambassadorial and Ministerial level. The British Government, as a member of the European Union, strongly advocates the abolition of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has signed and/or ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1996; the International Covenant on the Elimination of all Forms of racial Discrimination (CERD) in 1997; the Convention Against Torture (CAT) in 1997 and the International Covenant on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2000.
For more information on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, please see section 1.18 of Chapter One of the 2004 Human Rights Report below.
HEALTH / TRAVEL
Some parts of Saudi Arabia, most notably the South Western region of Jizan, are potentially malarial. Precautions should be taken when visiting this area. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recommends visitors have immunisations for polio, hepatitis and tetanus before visiting Saudi Arabia.
Hajj and Umrah
During the period of Hajj and Umrah, pilgrims are required by the Government of Saudi Arabia to have a valid certificate of vaccination against the ACWY strains of meningitis. This is a visa requirement. Visitors may be refused entry if they do not have a valid certificate showing that they have received this quadrivalent meningitis vaccination.
Saudi Culture
Islamic principles and social customs are strictly observed in Saudi Arabia and influence all aspects of life and society. Saudi Arabia adheres to the Islamic sharia legal system.
The Saudi working week is from Saturday to Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are the 'weekend'.
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