KSA This Week: PIF raises $3bn with Italian backing, Aramco profit up 9%, engineering Saudisation rises to 35%
This week from the Kingdom, with investment and business in focus: PIF raised $3 billion in SACE-backed facilities to deepen trade with Italian suppliers; Aramco grew its profit 9% to $31.2 billion and started production at the Zuluf field; the private-sector PMI stayed in growth at 54.0 as firms kept hiring despite rising costs; 94 technical engineering jobs move to a 35% Saudi quota from May 2027; the six Gulf states signed their railway agreement; the Kingdom welcomed 61.2 million tourists in the first half; and non-oil revenue rose 20% in the third quarter as diversification feeds the budget. Here is what it means for employers and businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Investment & FDI
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$3bn SACE-guaranteed credit facilities raised by PIF from 25 international banks |
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is opening a new channel with Italian business. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) said on 3 November that it has raised the equivalent of $3 billion in credit facilities guaranteed by SACE, Italy's export credit agency. The facilities come in two parts: a $1.78 billion tranche and a €1.035 billion green tranche, from a syndicate of 25 international banks.
The money is tied to trade. PIF says the deal will create new opportunities for companies in its ecosystem to buy goods and services from Italian suppliers, and the green tranche will fund eligible green projects. It builds on a memorandum of understanding PIF and SACE signed in March 2025. PIF says it has deployed €98 billion in Europe since 2017.
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The TASC Take More Italian suppliers on PIF projects means more foreign firms needing people on the ground in the Kingdom. Companies arriving to deliver contracts can use an employer of record (EOR) to hire compliantly while their own entity is being set up. |
Source: PIF (press release)
Energy & Oil
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$31.2bn Aramco adjusted net income in Q3 2026, up 9% from $28.6bn a year earlier |
Aramco grew its profit in the third quarter despite a tough regional backdrop. Results released on 3 November show adjusted net income up 9% to $31.2 billion (SR117 billion), from $28.6 billion a year earlier. Free cash flow rose to $28.2 billion from $23.6 billion, and the board declared a base dividend of $21.9 billion. Downstream earnings more than tripled on stronger refining margins.
Projects keep moving. Production started in October at the Zuluf crude increment, which is designed to process up to 600,000 barrels a day. Phase two of the Jafurah gas programme and the Fadhili gas plant expansion are both due in 2027. CEO Amin Nasser said attacks on key energy facilities had deepened the global supply crisis, but Aramco kept delivering reliably to its customers.
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The TASC Take Aramco's big gas and crude projects are still on schedule, which means steady demand for engineers, technicians and project staff through 2027. Contractors in its supply chain should plan for these peaks, keeping in mind that many technical roles now carry higher Saudisation targets. |
Source: MEED (Aramco Q3 2026 results)
Jobs & Economy
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54.0 Riyad Bank Saudi PMI in October, the seventh month in a row above the 50 growth mark |
Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector kept growing in October, and kept hiring. The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index, a monthly survey of about 400 private companies) eased to 54.0 from 55.3 in September. Any reading above 50 means growth, and October was the seventh month in a row above that line.
Business output grew faster, backed by domestic demand. Firms added staff for the fourth month running, though more slowly than in September. Costs are the pressure point. Purchase prices rose at their fastest rate in six months, driven by freight, insurance, raw-material and energy costs, and staff-cost inflation hit its highest level since February. Export orders fell for an eighth month as shipping disruption continued, and confidence about the year ahead stayed subdued.
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The TASC Take Rising pay is a sign of a tight talent market. As you set 2027 budgets, build in wage pressure for skilled roles, and look at where contract staff can cover peaks without locking in fixed costs. |
Source: S&P Global (Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia PMI)
Labour & Saudisation
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35% Saudisation rate for 94 technical engineering jobs from 9 May 2027, up from 30% |
If you employ engineering technicians in Saudi Arabia, your quota is going up. On 8 November, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing announced that private companies must fill 35% of 94 technical engineering jobs with Saudi nationals from 9 May 2027. The current rate, in force since July 2025, is 30%.
The rule covers companies with five or more workers in these roles, calculated at the establishment level. Named jobs include civil, electrical, mechanical and electronics engineering technicians, surveying technicians and architectural draftsmen; the full list sits in the ministry's procedural guide, which also sets out requirements such as a minimum salary and professional accreditation for a Saudi hire to count. The ministry says it is part of a wider push to localise specialised professions and that firms will get support with recruitment, training and job retention.
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The TASC Take You have six months. Count your technicians across the whole company, work out what 35% means for your headcount, and check that every job title in Qiwa and GOSI matches the work done. Contractors and facilities firms should start building a pipeline of accredited Saudi technicians now, because competition for them will rise across the sector. |
Source: Saudi Gazette (MHRSD)
Trade & Logistics
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1,700 km GCC railway network linking all six Gulf states, targeted for operation by 2030 |
A single rail network across the Gulf moved a step closer. On 8 November, transport ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, including Saudi Arabia, signed the General Agreement for the GCC Railway Project in Manama, Bahrain. The signing took place at Al Riffa Palace on the sidelines of the 31st meeting of the GCC ministerial committee on transport and communications, with work on the roughly 1,700-kilometre network now past 50% complete.
The agreement sets a shared framework for building and running one integrated network linking Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. It rests on four pillars: project delivery, technical integration, coordination and regional connectivity. Planners expect it to carry six million passengers and 200 million tonnes of freight a year from 2030. Saudi Arabia's Cabinet approved the Kingdom's accession in May 2026, and the network is targeted for completion by 2030.
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The TASC Take Cross-border rail will change how goods move around the Gulf, giving regional trade an option beyond road and sea. Logistics, warehousing and manufacturing firms should factor rail into their medium-term network plans, and into the workforce they will need to run them. |
Source: Gulf News
Tourism
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61.2m tourists in the first half of 2026, up about 1%, spending SR151.9bn |
Tourism held steady in the first half of the year. Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb told World Travel Market in London on 3 November that the Kingdom welcomed 61.2 million tourists in the first half of 2026, up about 1% on a year earlier. Tourism spending reached SR151.9 billion ($40.5 billion).
New rooms keep coming. The Saudi Tourism Authority says there were about 623,000 licensed room keys across hotels, apartments and other accommodation in the first half, including more than 44,000 in newly licensed facilities. On the Red Sea, seven resorts at AMAALA, including Four Seasons, Six Senses, Rosewood and Nammos properties, have welcomed guests since June. The minister acknowledged the pressures partners and travellers have faced this year, and reaffirmed the target of 150 million tourists a year by 2030.
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The TASC Take Every new room needs people to run it. Hotels and resorts opening this winter should lock in front-of-house, food and beverage, and housekeeping teams early, and check which hospitality roles carry Saudisation quotas before they recruit. |
Source: Arab News (Ministry of Tourism)
Public Finance
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+20% rise in Saudi non-oil revenue in Q3 2026, to SR142.6 billion |
Saudi Arabia's shift away from oil is showing up in the public finances. The Ministry of Finance's third-quarter 2026 budget report, released on 3 November, shows non-oil revenue rose 20% year on year to SR142.6 billion, even as oil revenue fell 23% to SR116.5 billion. Total revenue reached SR259.1 billion against spending of SR343.4 billion, leaving a quarterly deficit of SR84.3 billion ($22.38 billion).
Over the first nine months, non-oil revenue grew 8% to SR412.5 billion, helped by a 22% rise in other revenues and higher taxes on goods and services. Capital spending rose 17% to SR137.6 billion, and employee compensation stayed the largest expense at SR435.8 billion. The ministry expects a full-year 2026 deficit of SR165.4 billion, funded through borrowing as the Kingdom keeps investing in Vision 2030 projects.
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The TASC Take Non-oil revenue growth is the clearest sign that diversification is feeding the budget, and it is where most private-sector jobs sit. Expect continued government spending on health, education and capital projects, which keeps hiring demand strong. Plan around the non-oil economy rather than the oil cycle. |
Source: Arab News (Ministry of Finance)
TASC in Saudi Arabia
Saudization in 2026: key hiring rules for employers
Saudisation keeps widening: 94 technical engineering jobs move to a 35% Saudi quota from May 2027, on top of new quotas across more professions this year. Our guide sets out what changed, what it means for your Nitaqat band, and how to stay compliant while you hire.
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