Stay in the know of the industry’s movements

This week from the Kingdom: private-sector jobs reached 13.6 million, with Saudi nationals up 8.2%; a new Qiwa rule requires licensed shared housing for firms with 20+ workers in 527 professions; the Energy Minister set out plans for up to 10 million barrels a day of pipeline capacity; a Saudi-Chinese consortium won a $306 million Qiddiya stadium contract; the Cabinet merged its trade and export authorities; inflation held at 1.9%; Saudi startups raised about $1 billion in the third quarter; and official figures showed factory numbers up 19% and hotels up 32% in 2025. Here is what it means for employers and businesses in Saudi Arabia.

October gave the clearest read yet on how much money is actually arriving. Foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia hit SR159.1 billion in 2025, up 33.5 percent — though net flows barely moved, because outflows nearly doubled. Underneath that headline: Riyadh's flexible offices are close to full with new entrants, PIF-owned Humain put a $1 billion data centre out to tender, Aramco signed a $200 million lithium deal, the Kingdom approved SR6.7 billion of hotel projects under a new enabler scheme, and UAE developer Arada arrived with a $3.8 billion Riyadh project. For each story we spell out what it means if you're setting up or scaling in the Kingdom.

This week from the Kingdom: accounting roles reach 50% Saudisation on 27 October; the IMF forecast 7.9% Saudi growth in 2027; SPARK and Dalipal signed a $2.1 billion energy-manufacturing deal; Elsewedy and Sinohydro won a $2.2 billion contract to expand the Rabigh 2 power plant; the Kingdom is upgrading half its power grid for industry and AI; the Riyadh Economic Forum put talent and investment in focus; S&P said the non-oil economy is gaining resilience; two Saudi startups reached a London Business School final; and the Energy Ministry is using AI to predict disruptions. Here is what it means for employers and businesses in Saudi Arabia.