The increased participation of women in the labour force in Saudi Arabia, combined with greater spending opportunities, boosted domestic consumption in the kingdom in the first quarter, supporting the strong growth of wholesale and retail trade, according to a new report.
The wholesale and retail trade sector expanded by 7.5 per cent in the first three months of the year and now accounts for a little less than 10 per cent of the kingdom's overall gross domestic product, Jadwa Investment said in a report.
“Demand is being propelled by women joining the workforce, while on the supply side, there is ever-increasing scope to spend new incomes on entertainment and domestic tourism,” it said.
As part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 agenda, aimed at diversifying its economy away from oil, the kingdom plans to increase the participation of women in the workforce.
Female representation in the labour force increased to 36 per cent over the past three years from 20 per cent, Jadwa said in an April report.
The increase was spurred by expanding childcare and transport services, which added to new job opportunities in developing sectors such as tourism, leading to more women joining the labour market, it said.
Tourism is also a key part of the kingdom's diversification plan, with the country aiming to attract 100 million visitors by 2030.
Saudi Arabia now claims the title of the world’s fastest growing tourism destination, according to data from the UN World Tourism Organisation.
In 2022, more than 93.5 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia – 77 million domestic and 16.5 million international visitors. This year, the kingdom hopes to attract 30 million tourists, after a record first quarter when it hosted 7.8 million international arrivals, Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, told an investment forum in Paris this week.
Saudi Arabia's economy grew by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter on an annual basis, boosted by growth in the non-oil sector, the General Authority for Statistics said this month.
The country's GDP expanded at a slightly softer pace in the three months to the end of March than the initial estimate of 3.9 per cent.
The non-oil sector grew 5.4 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the same quarter in 2022, while oil activities rose 1.4 per cent during the period, Gastat data showed.
Within the non-oil sector, another industry that recorded strong growth in the first quarter was construction, the Jadwa report said.
“Following a challenging couple of years (mainly Covid-19-related), the construction sector appears to have rebounded quite forcefully, growing by an annual 5.5 per cent in the first quarter,” it said.
The sector's average growth for the past four quarters has been 5.9 per cent.
“The sector has obviously benefitted from the surge in public sector investment, most notably around giga-projects, though housing construction has also been a significant tailwind,” the report said.
“There are some constraints around labour and other inputs, though this is hardly surprising given the pickup in pace of project roll-out as interim Vision 2030 deadlines loom.”
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
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Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
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