The twin hopes of Saudi tourism

Will they come? Mecca and Medina provide?a solid base?for tourism in Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom needs more if the sector is going to contribute the targeted 10 percent of GDP, according to Andrew Hammond . There are two great hopes:?Qiddiya, billed as an?Arabian Disneyland, and the draw of the mysterious?Salvator Mundi. They may need a saviour.

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More prosaically, Saudi Arabia is also?the Middle East’s most active market?for stock lending – an important part of the process of short selling. Matt Smith found that demand from borrowers is likely to increase.

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There’s something in the air. The?huge demand for shares?in the IPO of ?????? ????? , a Saudi perfume maker, shows how popular the fragrance sector is, Gavin Gibbon wrote.

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An Omani?state oil company's IPO?is likely to boost the sultanate’s chances of being reclassified as an emerging market by the world’s index providers, reported Matt Smith. The Muscat stock market, it has to be said, is not enormous.

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More aeroplanes. Even more aeroplanes. Etihad of Abu Dhabi is planning to invest billions over the next five years and to double the size of its fleet as it?prepares to go public, says Eva Levesque . Not sure why it needs to list – but there we go.

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Economic growth in Morocco is projected to slow to only 3 percent this year due to a contraction in agriculture,?Pramod Kumar found. There is likely to be a rebound next year helped in part by?increased (legal) cannabis?production, according to Alice Morrison .

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Frank Kane hosted a?panel on the US presidential election?at the Capital Club Dubai . The GOP-dominated panel thought that current polls do not reflect the state of support for their candidate. There’s a surprise. Please tell me there is not another 40 days of this to go.

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Coming up: more gas production is coming online from Qatar’s North Field. The place is going to be even richer, according to Eva Levesque. Meanwhile, Valentina Pasquali looks at the prospect of a merger of Alba of Bahrain with Maaden of Saudi Arabia. Or is that a takeover?

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Question:?Lab testing company 必维国际检验集团 is opening a new metal and minerals facility in Jeddah. How much is the Saudi mining industry worth each year? Read on to find out.

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James M L Drummond [email protected]