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Savvy Commits Major Investments to Boost Gaming Industry in Saudi Arabia  

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of the Saudi Esports Federation. (SPA) 
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of the Saudi Esports Federation. (SPA) 
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Savvy Commits Major Investments to Boost Gaming Industry in Saudi Arabia  

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of the Saudi Esports Federation. (SPA) 
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of the Saudi Esports Federation. (SPA) 

Saudi Arabia is placing the gaming and esports sector at the heart of its economic transformation, allocating billions of dollars to build the Kingdom into a global hub for creativity and investment in digital entertainment. Backed by a national strategy, the Kingdom aims to position itself as a leader in game development, publishing, and competitive esports.

A clear demonstration of this ambition came with the Esports World Cup, hosted in Riyadh, which drew more than 2,000 players from 200 clubs from over 100 countries. The seven-week tournament concluded on Sunday night with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, awarding Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons as champions of the 2025 edition.

Spanning 25 competitions across 24 different games, the event featured record-breaking prize pools of more than $70 million, redefining the scale of global esports contests and underscoring the Kingdom’s ability to combine innovation and creativity in a rapidly expanding industry.

Speaking at the New Global Sport Conference, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, President of the Saudi Esports Federation, emphasized that “games will always remain at the core of this industry - whether in development, esports, or content creation.”

He noted that gaming revenues in the Middle East and North Africa reached $6 billion in 2024, with Saudi Arabia accounting for more than a third of that figure. The region, he added, encompasses 22 countries and over 250 million gamers.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, awards Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons as champions of the 2025 edition of the Esports World Cup. (SPA)

The role of Savvy

At a press conference in Riyadh, Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, outlined the company’s pivotal role in attracting international partners.

Global outreach tours led by Prince Faisal, he explained, are part of the national gaming and esports strategy that has no parallel elsewhere in the world.

Savvy has already invested around SAR 50 billion ($13 billion) in game development and publishing, securing high-profile deals with Scopely and Niantic, while also establishing local studios in Riyadh.

Walter Driver, CEO of Scopely, which was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in July 2023 for $4.9 billion, shared details of the company’s recent performance. In 2024 alone, Scopely recorded over 5 billion hours of gameplay, with half of its active players logging in daily.

He revealed that its titles have been downloaded more than one billion times worldwide, generating cumulative revenues of over $10 billion in 2024.

Since 2019, the company has maintained a compound annual growth rate of 53 percent, far outpacing the global industry average. Flagship titles such as Monopoly Go, Pokémon Go, and Star Trek Fleet Command have each surpassed $5 billion in revenues individually.

Saudi Arabia’s rise in the global gaming and esports arena is part of its broader Vision 2030 to diversify the economy and foster creative industries. By 2030, the sector is expected to contribute more than 50 billion riyals to GDP and create nearly 39,000 new jobs.

The Kingdom also plans to establish 250 new local gaming companies, cementing its role as a key player in an industry now valued at more than $200 billion globally.

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Business

Asian Shares Rise, Tracking Wall Street Gains as Trump Backs Down on Greenland

Traders work in front of screens at Hana Bank in Seoul (EPA)
Traders work in front of screens at Hana Bank in Seoul (EPA)
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Asian Shares Rise, Tracking Wall Street Gains as Trump Backs Down on Greenland

Traders work in front of screens at Hana Bank in Seoul (EPA)
Traders work in front of screens at Hana Bank in Seoul (EPA)

Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, after US President Donald Trump walked back from imposing tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland and ruled out using military force to take control of the territory.

The future for the S&P 500 gained less than 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually flat on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7% to 53,688.89, with technology stocks leading gains. SoftBank Group jumped 11.6% and equipment maker Disco Corp. soared 17.1%. Advantest, which makes testing equipment for computer chips, surged 5%.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.9% higher at 4,952.44 after crossing the 5,000 mark for the first time, as traders cheered. Technology-related stocks drove the rally. Shares of chipmaker SK Hynix picked up 2%, while Samsung Electronics rose 1.9%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged less than 0.1% higher to 26,600.68. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher to 4,122.58.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.8% to 8,848.70.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.6%, while India’s Sensex added 0.2%.

US markets logged their biggest losses since October on Tuesday as investors reacted to Trump’s threat over the weekend to slap tariffs of 10% on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland for opposing US control of Greenland, sparking concerns over worsening relationships between the US and its European allies.

But Trump, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, backed down on Wednesday and said he would not use force to acquire Greenland. The US president also said in a post on his social media site that he had agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland and on Arctic security.

The easing tensions drove Wall Street optimism. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 6,875. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2% to 49,077.23, while the Nasdaq composite also rose 1.2%, to 23,224.82.

Halliburton, the oil field services company, jumped 4.1% following stronger-than-expected profits for the latest quarter. United Airlines rose 2.2% also after better-than-expected quarterly profits. Netflix fell 2.2% even as it reported a stronger profit than expected, as investors focused on factors including a slowing growth of subscribers.

The price of gold fell 0.2% to $4,828.70 per ounce, reflecting investors’ reduced worries, after passing the $4,800 mark ahead of Trump’s reversal of stance on Greenland as many flocked to safe-haven assets.

In the bond market, US Treasury yields also eased following lessened fear among investors as well as a calming of Japan’s bond market turmoil. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.25% from 4.30% late Tuesday.

Japan’s long-term bond yields surged to records earlier this week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to call a snap election in February. That sparked concerns over her pledges to cut taxes and increase spending, which could hinder efforts to rein in government debt.

The US dollar rose to 158.75 Japanese yen from 158.27 yen, prompting analysts to speculate that authorities might intervene if the yen falls any further.

The euro rose to $1.1692 from $1.1687.

US benchmark crude oil shed 16 cents to $60.46 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 24 cents to $65.00 per barrel.

Business

Goldman Sachs Raises 2026-end Gold Price Forecast to $5,400/oz

A customer waits his turn to trade gold behind a glass window displaying gold prices at a gold shop in Bangkok (EPA)
A customer waits his turn to trade gold behind a glass window displaying gold prices at a gold shop in Bangkok (EPA)
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Goldman Sachs Raises 2026-end Gold Price Forecast to $5,400/oz

A customer waits his turn to trade gold behind a glass window displaying gold prices at a gold shop in Bangkok (EPA)
A customer waits his turn to trade gold behind a glass window displaying gold prices at a gold shop in Bangkok (EPA)

Goldman Sachs has raised its end-2026 gold price forecast to $5,400 per ounce from $4,900/oz earlier, noting private-sector and emerging market central banks' diversification ​into gold.

Spot gold climbed to a peak of $4,887.82 per ounce on Wednesday. The safe-haven metal has climbed more than 11% so far in 2026, extending a blistering rally that saw it jump 64% last year.

"We assume private sector diversification buyers, whose purchases hedge ‌global policy ‌risks and have driven the ‌upside ⁠surprise ​to our ‌price forecast, don't liquidate their gold holdings in 2026, effectively lifting the starting point of our price forecast," the brokerage said in a note dated Wednesday.

The brokerage also expects central bank buying to average 60 tons in 2026 as ⁠emerging market central banks are likely to continue diversification of ‌their reserves into gold.

Commerzbank, last ‍week, raised its ‍gold price forecast to $4,900 by the end ‍of this year, citing increased safe-haven demand.

Business

Saudi Arabia’s National Insurance Strategy: A New Engine for Non-Oil GDP Growth

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
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Saudi Arabia’s National Insurance Strategy: A New Engine for Non-Oil GDP Growth

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet approval of the National Insurance Strategy marks a major milestone for the Kingdom’s financial sector, with experts describing it as a transformative step that could reshape the role of insurance in the national economy.

Analysts say the strategy is designed to increase the insurance sector’s contribution to non-oil gross domestic product (GDP), shift the Saudi market from a largely consumer-based model to a regional insurance hub, and build a dynamic sector capable of generating economic and investment value. In this sense, insurance is positioned as a key pillar in achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The announcement has already had a positive impact on the Saudi stock market, where insurance companies recorded broad gains.

Fadl Al-Buainain, a member of the Saudi Shura Council and economic adviser, said the insurance sector is among the most important financial sectors due to its close links with all areas of the economy. He noted that the strategy will help unlock the sector’s potential, strengthen its foundations, and enhance the competitiveness, efficiency, and financial resilience of the Saudi insurance market, ultimately positioning it as a regional insurance center in line with Vision 2030.

Al-Buainain added that insurance is a key driver of development and economic growth, which explains the government’s focus on launching a strategy aligned with other sectoral plans. He emphasized that the initiative will improve market performance, product quality, and institutional solvency, while also prioritizing the development of national talent and the localization of insurance jobs to strengthen the sector’s contribution to national development goals.

From Regulation to Investment Powerhouse

Financial analyst Hussein Al-Raqeeb, founder and director of the ZAD Consulting Center, described the strategy as a qualitative shift in the role of insurance, from a limited regulatory function to a powerful economic and investment engine within Vision 2030.

He explained that the strategy seeks to modernize the regulatory and supervisory framework through the Insurance Authority, enhancing market efficiency, financial stability, and the protection of policyholders and beneficiaries. It also focuses on expanding insurance products for individuals, businesses, and specialized risks, moving beyond traditional offerings with limited impact.

Al-Raqeeb noted that raising public awareness of insurance remains a major challenge, as the strategy aims to reposition insurance as a tool for risk management rather than a financial burden. He added that clearer and more stable regulations will make the sector more attractive to domestic and foreign investors, boosting the regional competitiveness of the Saudi market.

The strategy also places strong emphasis on developing national capabilities through skills training, job localization, and integration with technology and innovation, particularly in the field of InsurTech. According to Al-Raqeeb, these measures will help create a more efficient and balanced insurance market that aligns profitability with consumer protection and long-term financial sustainability.

Strategic Goals and Key Targets

The National Insurance Strategy is built around three core objectives: strengthening insurance protection for individuals and businesses, developing a sustainable and efficient insurance market, and ensuring adequate coverage for national risks.

Implementation will be led by the Insurance Authority in partnership with stakeholders, through 11 strategic programs and 72 initiatives designed to deliver nine key outcomes aligned with Vision 2030 targets.

These programs cover health insurance, motor insurance, property and casualty insurance for individuals and companies, protection and savings products, reinsurance, market capacity and retention, uninsured risks, regulatory frameworks, technology and artificial intelligence, and human capital development.

Among the strategy’s most ambitious targets are expanding the size of the insurance market, increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP to 3.6 percent by 2030, doubling risk-based capital, and raising retention rates in property and casualty insurance.

The strategy also aims to increase the number of health insurance beneficiaries to 23 million, the number of insured vehicles to 16 million, and the number of jobs for national talent in the insurance sector to 38,500.

Ultimately, the strategy seeks to drive a comprehensive transformation of the Saudi insurance sector, moving it beyond a secondary service role to become a central pillar of economic growth, investment, and financial stability in the Kingdom.