Saudi Arabia's infrastructure is among the best in the region, but the Kingdom has historically experience little of the explosive residential, commercial, and retail growth enjoyed by some of its neighbors.  That all changed in 2006.

With the launch of the King Abdullah Economic City - the single largest private sector invesment in Saudi Arabia - at $26.6 billion, the Kingdom has created a new paradigm for undertaking mixed-use megaprojects.  At one level, it is a model of how intra-Arab cooperation can attract significant expertise and foreign direct investment.  KAEC is a joint venture between UAE-based Emaar Properties, the world's largest real etate company in terms of market capitalization, and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, which has flourished under the leadership of Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh.

Economic cities aside, Saudi Arabia is not about to relinquish its role as the world's most important  energy nation any time soon.  Between 2004 and 2009, the Kingdom is expected to spend more than $17 billion to achieve increased upstream capacity, and Saudi officials recently announced that by the year 2011, petroleum production capacity would be increased to 13.5 million bbl/d - an increase of 1.5 million barrels.

On the downstream side, Saudi Arabia's production of 50 million tons of petrochemicals per year is on track to reach 120 million tons by the year 2015, creating strong demand for industrial goods, machinery, and engineering and construction services.

Saudi Arabia has redoubled its commitment to security and defense in recent years, which bodes well for such U.S. firms as Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Boeing, Raytheon, Honeywell, L-3, and others.  The Saudi National Guard is being overhauled, and American companies are looking at prospects for major contracts around tank and helicopter upgrades, border security initiatives, weapons systems, and aircraft.  Multi-year fulfillment commitments, filed with the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, signal an upswing in the U.S. share of total Saudi imports of big ticket defense items in coming years.

Information and Communications Technology has been growing steadily in Saudi Arabia, representing an important market opportunity for U.S. firms.  Cisco Systems recently characterized the Kingdom as the "fastest growing region in the world," positing 127 percent growth from 2005 to 2006.  Cisco President John Chambers pledged more than $250 million toward programs in the Kingdom, which will establish 100 Cisco Networking Academies, an innovation institutes, labs and demonstration centers, and a commitment to increase Cisco staff in Saudi Arabia from 70 employers to 600.

 


To view a web-friendly version of NUSACC's Tradeline - Special Edition on Saudi Arabia - in English, click here.

To view a web-friendly version of NUSACC's Tradeline - Special Edition on Saudi Arabia - in Arabic, click here.

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