The players - resources on key people and personalities in Saudi Arabia.
Issues and ideas - a selection of articles covering hot topics.
Perspectives: from the GSN archive - articles from GSN's extensive database.
Saudi government list and other notables
Who's who in the government and other senior positions.
Published February 2009.
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Who is Maan Al-Sanea?
Maan Abdelwahed Abdelmajid Al-Sanea was relatively little known outside the region until he bought a high-profile stake in HSBC in 2007 (GSN 804/10, 803/9). Al-Sanea, in his mid-50s, holds Kuwaiti and Saudi nationality. According to a Kuwaiti source, he grew up in Shamiya, a middle class suburb of Kuwait City. But his maternal family is the Al-Gosaibi, from Hofuf in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. 
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Security veteran Nayef is the coming man, but not yet an assured successor in Saudi Arabia
Promotion to become second deputy PM is a key step towards a throne the interior minister has long coveted, but reports that, with Crown Prince Sultan ailing, Prince Nayef is the anointed successor seem premature as King Abdullah’s true intentions remain unclear.
Issue 851, 17 April 2009. more
Also see Issue 848, 27 February 2009: CP Sultan goes back to America; Issue 845, 16 January 2009.Saudi succession issues surface once more as Sultan rests after US medical trip; Issue 842, 5 December 2008: Succession manoeuvres with Sultan in US for tests; Issue 829, 16 May 2008: As Sultan convalesces, it’s time for a Saudi generational rethink; Issue 828, 2 May 2008: Sultan health fears add impetus to Saudi elite politicking
The Saudi reshuffle: who’s in and who’s out at the top of the Kingdom
King Abdullah’s reshuffle has brought in new ministers, a change of central bank governor and other senior officials across a wide range of government departments and official agencies. Below, GSN lists the newcomers.
Issue 848, 27 February 2009. more
Khalid Bin Sultan: Higher profile
Prince Khalid Bin Sultan, currently taking care of the Ministry of Defence and Aviation for his absent father Crown Prince Sultan, has been in the news this month for his meetings with senior Pakistani military officials and French staff officers (GSN 845/1). Khalid is seen as taking on a more public role.
Issue 846, 30 January 2009. more
Abdullah concerned to build consensus as Al-Saud leaders edge further towards reform
The King is sticking to a reform path, having reinforced his control over family and government power structures, but the pace of change remains cautious and even with the Kingdom awash with liquidity major challenges remain for the Saudi leadership. GSN examines the direction of Abdullah’s rule some three years after the respected elder statesman took over the top job.
Issue 835, 1 September 2008. more
TOP
Government
Messages of tolerance and modernisation from Abdullah’s reshuffle, but sectarian tensions persist
It will take more than a reshuffle to resolve the deep-seated contradictory pressures within Saudi Arabian politics and society. Even so, King Abdullah’s recent personnel changes send a powerful signal at a time of renewed succession concerns.
Issue 848, 27 February 2009. more
Also see Issue 848, 27 February 2009. The Saudi reshuffle: who’s in and who’s out at the top of the Kingdom; Issue 835, 1 September 2008. Abdullah concerned to build consensus as Al-Saud leaders edge further towards reform
Economy & Finances
Defaults and ratings downgrades point to deep problems for major Saudi investors
The authorities remain confident that it’s all just a blip, but with some previously well-regarded companies defaulting on payments, the impact of the credit crunch is being felt in Saudi Arabia. The shock downgrading or removal of Al-Gosaibi and Maan Al-Sanea’s ratings has rattled bankers and investors across the region.
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. more
Also see Issue 846, 30 January 2009. Economy faces slow growth; Project finance report: Gulf markets start rebuilding process
Energy
Refinery to kick-start PF deals
The Jubail export refinery is scheduled to hit the financing market in June, “but will probably come a little later,” a leading regional project finance banker, who wished not to be identified, told GSN. The Jubail facility was estimated initially to cost a massive $12bn, but Saudi Aramco is seeking a reduction to below $10bn for the proposed 400,000 b/d refinery, being developed in joint venture with French oil major Total.
Issue 852, 1 May 2009. more
Gulf companies buy into African energy assets
Issue 846, 30 January 2009. Saudis buy into Mauritania; Saudis look to North African projects
Aramco bids for regional trading hub status
Imbued by its growing market strength, senior Saudi Aramco figures have been engaging in a bout of blue sky thinking about ways of making more capital out of the burgeoning hydrocarbons sector – with ambitions for increased activity as a regional player, as well as maintaining the parastatal’s traditional Saudi focus.
Issue 829, 16 May 2008.more
Also see Issue 828, 2 May 2008: Oil output expansion will slow as Saudis go on the defensive
regional relations
Abdullah woos the UAE after central bank spat highlights lack of trust in the GCC
Rarely do GCC disputes get more public, and it will take more than warm words from Riyadh to win back the Al-Nahyan into the currency union fold. For Abu Dhabi, bank location is the deal-breaker.
Issue 854, 29 May 2009. more
Alse see Issue 853, 15 May 2009. Choosing Riyadh as a base shows GCC commitment to monetary union
Sectarianism
Sunni cleric opposes Shia entry to Ulemaa council
Sheikh Adil Al-Kalbani, appointed last year as imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, has bluntly dismissed calls for the admission of Shiite scholars to the Supreme Council of Ulemaa. With a jarring directness that can hardly have pleased King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz, Al-Kalbani used an interview with the BBC’s new Arabic satellite TV channel to dismiss Shia clerics as “heretics”.
Issue 853, 15 May 2009. more
Also see Issue 848, 27 February 2009. Messages of tolerance and modernisation from Abdullah’s reshuffle, but sectarian tensions persist; Issue 831, 13 June 2008. Interfaith programme gets off to cautious start
Security
Questions about AQAP’s return as Saudi arrests point to ambitious jihadist plans
Eleven alleged Al-Qaeda fighters arrested just north of the Yemeni border in early April were experienced jihadists who carried with them the components for a staggering 35 suicide vests. This raises the alarming prospect that jihadist activity may be poised to burst out again, with this group emerging as the tip of the iceberg as Saudi security forces set to work investigating their ties in the search for a suspected network of safe houses and arms caches.
Issue 851, 17 April 2009. more
Also see Issue 854, 29 May 2009: Gunman attacks foreigners near Jubail; Issue 842, 5 December 2008. Terrorist and gun crime jitters as Hajj approaches
Succession
Security veteran Nayef is the coming man, but not yet an assured successor in Saudi Arabia
Promotion to become second deputy PM is a key step towards a throne the interior minister has long coveted, but reports that, with Crown Prince Sultan ailing, Prince Nayef is the anointed successor seem premature as King Abdullah’s true intentions remain unclear.
Issue 851, 17 April 2009. more
Also see Issue 855, 12 June 2009. Crown Prince Sultan: Plenty of visitors but no news; Issue 848, 27 February 2009: CP Sultan goes back to America; Issue 845, 16 January 2009.Saudi succession issues surface once more as Sultan rests after US medical trip; Issue 842, 5 December 2008: Succession manoeuvres with Sultan in US for tests; Issue 829, 16 May 2008: As Sultan convalesces, it’s time for a Saudi generational rethink; Issue 828, 2 May 2008: Sultan health fears add impetus to Saudi elite politicking
Women's rights
Businesswomen ‘restricted by conservative views’, princess
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s much-criticised circular informing Saudi businesswomen of the need to appoint a male general manager is not the law, “but [it is] what is happening in Saudi Arabia”, Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal Bin Abdelaziz told GSN. The issue came to the fore after Aliya Banja closed her IT company 2 The Point in protest at the directive (GSN 853/15).
Issue 854, 29 May 2009. more
Saudi princess speaks out on domestic violence
King Abdullah’s increasingly high-profile daughter Princess Adila has spoken about family violence in the Kingdom (GSN 841/6). She is deputy chairperson of the National Family Safety Programme, and speaking at an event to mark the signing of a MoU between two Saudi organisations, said that the negative picture of human rights in the Kingdom cannot be denied.
Issue 845, 16 January 2009. more
Also see Issue 854, 29 May 2009: Hussa Bint Trad: Campaign for improved women’s situation enters new phase; Issue 822, 1 February 2008. Saudi women: will an end to the driving ban herald a wider breakthrough?
TOP
| Perspectives: from the GSN archive |
King Abdullah’s governor son will feel pressure as land promise raises Najrani hopes
Mishal Bin Abdullah has stepped into one of the Kingdom’s most sensitive domestic government positions, facing expectations and suspicions.
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. more
Defaults and ratings downgrades point to deep problems for major Saudi investors
The authorities remain confident that it’s all just a blip, but with some previously well-regarded companies defaulting on payments, the impact of the credit crunch is being felt in Saudi Arabia. The shock downgrading or removal of Al-Gosaibi and Maan Al-Sanea’s ratings has rattled bankers and investors across the region.
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. more
Crown Prince Sultan: Plenty of visitors but no news
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Prince Nayef flew to Morocco on 4 June to visit his full brother Crown Prince Sultan. Accompanying him were senior princes Khalid Bin Abdullah, Khalid Bin Fahd Bin Khalid and Khalid Bin Saad Bin Fahd, all of the Al-Abdelrahman branch, Faisal Bin Saud Bin Mohammed, Sattam Bin Saud Bin Abdelaziz, Mohammed Bin Faisal Bin Saud, Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Musaid, and Nayef’s grandson Abdelaziz Bin Saud.
Issue 855, 12 June 2009. more
Abdullah woos the UAE after central bank spat highlights lack of trust in the GCC
Rarely do GCC disputes get more public, and it will take more than warm words from Riyadh to win back the Al-Nahyan into the currency union fold. For Abu Dhabi, bank location is the deal-breaker.
Issue 854, 29 May 2009. more
Alse see Issue 853, 15 May 2009. Choosing Riyadh as a base shows GCC commitment to monetary union
Risk management report
GSN Risk Grade — C/2: Kingdom postpones municipal elections, King Abdullah gives interviews
Issue 854, 29 May 2009. more
Sunni cleric opposes Shia entry to Ulemaa council
Sheikh Adil Al-Kalbani, appointed last year as imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, has bluntly dismissed calls for the admission of Shiite scholars to the Supreme Council of Ulemaa. With a jarring directness that can hardly have pleased King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz, Al-Kalbani used an interview with the BBC’s new Arabic satellite TV channel to dismiss Shia clerics as “heretics”.
Issue 853, 15 May 2009. more
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