Saudis Are Talking To Amazon, Alibaba Over New City, Prince Says
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East|November 01, 2017

Ambitious robot city is attracting investment in the hundreds of billions of dollars

Alaa Shahine, Erik Schatzker, Vivian Nereim, & Glen Carey
Saudis Are Talking To Amazon, Alibaba Over New City, Prince Says

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is in talks with some of the world’s biggest companies to develop technologies that will power life in the $500 billion city he’s planning to build on the Red Sea.

Neom, as the project is known, is due to open for business by 2025, with limited operations expected as early as 2020, Prince Mohammed told Bloomberg News in an interview in Riyadh last month. Amazon. com Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Airbus SE are already involved in discussions, he said.

“We are talking with everyone,” said the 32-year old prince, heir to the throne of the world’s biggest oil exporter. “We have the ‘who’s who’ from around the world engaging in this.”

Prince Mohammed is trying to steer Saudi Arabia away from oil-dependence, something that few major economies have managed. And he keeps moving the goalposts -- to make the plans more ambitious.

The social and economic changes outlined since 2015 already include selling a stake in oil giant Aramco, and ending a longstanding ban on women driving cars. This week, Prince Mohammed announced the city project, and also said he’ll transform the religious basis of Saudi society and make its austere version of Islam more “moderate.”

Esta historia es de la edición November 01, 2017 de Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 01, 2017 de Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK MIDDLE EASTVer todo
Golfing With The Enemy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Golfing With The Enemy

Did Donald Trump's executives violate the Cuban embargo?

time-read
10+ minutos  |
August 16, 2016
Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End

Actor, author, playwright. Gill Pringle tries her hand at unravelling the mystery behind this enigmatic multi-hyphenate

time-read
10+ minutos  |
July 01, 2016
Pam Codispoti
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Pam Codispoti

The mastermind behind the industry-shaping Chase Sapphire Reserve Card sets her sights on banking

time-read
2 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
This Time It's The Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

This Time It's The Economy

President Rouhani’s budget sets offprotests from people angry about unemployment and inflation

time-read
5 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens

State-worker salary increases appeal to the people, but policy may throw the budget off track

time-read
3 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy

The government has resisted pressure to lift a ban on land sales, despite pressure from the IMF and investors

time-read
4 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year

The turbulence of 2017 couldn’t destroy a market for betting against disasters

time-read
3 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom

Increased consumer lending is creating a bubble in the West Bank

time-read
3 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin

Speculative fervour makes the cryptocurrency clumsy for commerce

time-read
3 minutos  |
January 16, 2018
What If The President Loses His Party?
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

What If The President Loses His Party?

Trump has to figure out a way to work with Republicans in Congress, or the global economy may be at stake

time-read
6 minutos  |
August 16, 2017