Saudi Arabia’s consumer spending will remain flat up to 2020 as the kingdom implements reforms, including VAT, energy prices hikes and expat levies, which will push retailers to consolidate to gain a bigger market share, according to a new report by Riyadh-based Al Rajhi Capital.
Consumer spending in the kingdom will rise 3.8 per cent between 2017 and 2020 to 977 billion riyals as economic reforms curb spending mostly by non-Saudis, who will not benefit from this year’s salary increases for public sector employees and the Citizen's Account programme targeting low to medium income Saudi households, said the report from Al Rajhi Capital.
About 90 per cent of Saudi households will be protected from the higher cost of living in 2018, thanks to allowances approved for Saudi public sector employees.
“Our calculations suggest that around 70 per cent of Saudi households are shielded from the impact of reforms during 2017-2020, primarily due to the support of the Citizen Account programme,” said the authors of the report. “Further, the bottom 50 per cent of Saudi households (by income level) will have net benefit from the Citizen Account programme i.e. for these households, cash support is higher than the likely increase in household expenditure due to reforms.”
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, is undertaking a raft of reforms to narrow its fiscal deficit, diversify its economy and lower its reliance on oil income. The kingdom introduced an excise tax on fizzy drinks, energy drinks and cigarettes last year and VAT in January this year to boost government revenue. Last year, the country started implementing a levy on dependents of expatriates as well.
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All of these new measures will drive consumer sector companies towards consolidation and getting a bigger market share as unorganised retailers feel the pressure, according to the report.
“Market share gains will be the main revenue driver in the absence of industry growth, and margin pressure from reforms will lead to industry consolidation, favouring organised retailers,” said the report. “Companies such as Al Othaim, Panda, Extra and Jarir will be long term beneficiaries of the shift in market share to organised players.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
