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NEOM Forms its Global Advisory Board

Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)
Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)
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NEOM Forms its Global Advisory Board

Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)
Visitors watch a 3D presentation during an exhibition on NEOM in Riyadh. (Reuters)

NEOM, the destination for the future of living being developed in the Northwest of Saudi Arabia, announced on Tuesday its global Advisory Board. The Board brings together experts in key sectors to provide industry insight, advise on key milestones and forge strategic connections for NEOM.

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: “We welcome the global and diverse expertise of the Advisory Board and are confident that each of them will make huge contributions to the development of NEOM. The Advisory Board will help shape NEOM’s future through its detailed knowledge and connections with potential long-term strategic partners.”

The members of the Advisory Board come from backgrounds in urban planning, architecture, design, technology, sustainability, energy and manufacturing. Those members have previously been engaged with NEOM in a meeting held in New York, USA in August 2018 to review NEOM’s strategy and discuss updates on the project.

Each of the Advisory Board members has been carefully chosen for their expertise and has demonstrated relevant experience, a global business background, familiarity with large-scale projects, senior board-level roles, international influence and enthusiasm for the aims of NEOM.

The members of the Advisory Board are:

- Sam Altman, President of YC Group and Co-Chairman of Open AI. Altman is an American entrepreneur, investor, programmer and blogger. He was named the top investor under 30 by Forbes in 2015 and one of the "Best Young Entrepreneurs in Technology" by Businessweek in 2008. Altman is also the Chairman of two energy companies, Helion and Oklo.

- Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder and General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen is a pioneer in the tech world. He founded software companies like Opsware, Mosaic, Netscape and Ning. Andreessen sits on the board of directors of Facebook, eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise among others. Andreessen was one of six inductees in the World Wide Web Hall of Fame announced at the First International Conference on the World-Wide Web in 1994.

- Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO. IDEO focuses on the value of design thinking to business people and designers. Brown discusses this around the world, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos and through TED Talks. He is an industrial designer by training and has earned numerous design awards, as well as advising senior business leaders.

- Timothy Collins, Founder and CEO of Ripplewood Advisors, L.L.C. Collins founded investment firm Ripplewood in 1995, with previous experience at Onex Corporation, Lazard Freres & Company, Booz Allen Hamilton and Cummins Engine Company. He has served on a number of corporate boards and is currently Chairman of the Yale SOM Advisory Board.

- Alexandra Cousteau, Senior Advisor to Oceana. Cousteau is an expert in environmental issues and is currently a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, filmmaker and global oceans expert.

- Dan Doctoroff, Founder and CEO of Sidewalk Labs. Before taking over Sidewalk Labs, Doctoroff was President and CEO of Bloomberg L.P., with previous roles including Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding in New York and Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners. He serves on the boards of the University of Chicago, World Resources Institute, the US Olympic Committee, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Human Rights First. He also helped found several charitable organizations.

- Lord Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners. Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design. Notable projects include Reichstag in Berlin, the Great Court of British Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Headquarters of Apple, Bloomberg and Comcast and airports in Hong Kong and Beijing. He is also the President of the Norman Foster Foundation.

- Jean Fréchet, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Fréchet is a Professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and Vice President for Research at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. He is a leader in developing strategies and managing resources to support interdisciplinary, collaborative research bridging science and engineering. Professor Fréchet is the author of over 800 publications with more than 106,000 citations and 200 patents.

- Travis Kalanick, CEO of City Storage Systems, a holding company focused on redeveloping real estate assets to fuel urban job creation and neighborhood rejuvenation. Kalanick is also Co-Founder and former CEO of Uber. During his seven years leading Uber, the company grew to operate in more than 70 countries, employed over 15,000 people and provided 3 million drivers with flexible work opportunities to complete over 5 billion rider trips. Prior to Uber, he founded Red Swoosh, a networking software company.

- Neelie Kroes, Former Vice President of the European Commission. Neelie is a former EU Commissioner, the first term as EU Commissioner for Competition Policy and the second term as Commissioner in charge of the Digital Agenda for Europe. In the last term, she was also Vice President of the European Commission. Before that, Neelie Kroes was Minister for Transport, Public Works and Telecommunication in the Netherlands. Currently, she serves on various international company boards.

- Andrew Liveris, Former Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical and Executive Chairman of DowDuPont. Liveris ran Dow, a producer and marketer of chemical, materials, plastics and specialty chemicals for over 14 years and was responsible for transforming Dow and DuPont into the largest chemical company in the world. He has advised two US presidents, written a seminal book on the criticality of manufacturing to economic development and is on the boards of Saudi Aramco, WorleyParsons and IBM, and an advisor to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

- Ernest J. Moniz, President and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative. Moniz served as the 13th United States Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017. He is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President. Dr. Moniz is CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and of the Energy Futures Initiative and the inaugural Distinguished Fellow of the Emerson Collective.

- Marc Raibert, Founder and CEO of Boston Dynamics. Raibert leads the development of some of the world's most advanced robots. Before founding Boston Dynamics in 1992, he was a professor at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

- Carlo Ratti, Professor of Urban Technologies and Planning Director at MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Ratti is an architect and engineer by training and currently teaches at MIT. He has co-authored over 500 publications and patents.

- John Rossant, Founder and Chairman at the NewCities Foundation. Rossant founded the NewCities Foundation in 2010 with an aim to shape the future of urban projects. He was previously responsible for the production of global forums, such as the e-G8 in Paris and the World Economic Forum in Davos and is also the CEO and Chief Curator of LA CoMotion, the annual conference and event on future mobility. He is a board member of the Fondation Tocqueville in Paris and Humanity in Action in New York.

- Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. Son founded SoftBank, a global technology company that aspires to drive the Information Revolution in 1981 and has expanded its business to cover a range of technologies, including telecommunications, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy. In 2017, SoftBank announced the first major close of the SoftBank Vision Fund to support the transformational companies at the forefront of the Information Revolution.

- Rob Speyer, President and CEO of Tishman Speyer. Speyer has grown Tishman Speyer into a leading global real estate company with $50 billion in assets. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and in 2013 became the youngest-ever Chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. He currently serves on the advisory council of EXOR as well as several charitable ventures.

- Peter R. Voser, Chairman of ABB Group. Before taking up his position as Chairman of the Board of technology giant ABB, Voser served as CEO at Shell, amongst other positions with the company. He currently serves as a board member at Roche, IBM and Temasek, as well as several non-profit organizations.

Additional members of the Advisory Board will be announced as they are appointed.

NEOM’s emphasis on sustainability and innovation makes it a core pillar of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious blueprint to diversify its economy and enable wider societal transformation. NEOM forms part of the Saudi Giga-Projects Investment Pool for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The giga-projects are integrated economic ecosystems that will support the economic transformation of the Kingdom and act as a catalyst for investment across various sectors, and in addition to NEOM include The Red Sea Project, and Qiddiya.

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Business

Saudi Economy Grows 2.8% as Non-Oil Sector Drives Expansion

A container ship at a Saudi port (SPA)
A container ship at a Saudi port (SPA)
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Saudi Economy Grows 2.8% as Non-Oil Sector Drives Expansion

A container ship at a Saudi port (SPA)
A container ship at a Saudi port (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s economy maintained positive growth despite regional tensions and oil market volatility, reflecting strong fundamentals and the continued impact of diversification efforts. Expansion in non-oil activities remained the key driver, supporting stability and strengthening the economy’s ability to adapt to global shifts.

The General Authority for Statistics said in flash estimates that real GDP grew 2.8% in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, with non-oil sectors contributing about 60% of the increase.

All major sectors posted gains. Non-oil activities rose 2.8%, the oil sector grew about 2.3%, and government activities increased 1.5% year on year.

Growth momentum

Economists told Asharq Al-Awsat the first-quarter expansion highlights the Kingdom’s structural shift, with oil no longer the main engine of growth. Non-oil sectors now lead, accounting for roughly 60% of the expansion.

They said the figures show diversification policies are delivering tangible results, strengthening economic stability and improving resilience to global and regional volatility. Sustained momentum, they added, reflects successful policies to build a broader, more durable production base and support long-term growth.

Mega projects

Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank, said the economy is moving toward a more diversified and sustainable model, with growth set to accelerate as reforms continue and mega projects expand.

“All indicators point to a positive outlook in the medium and long term. Despite geopolitical events, the consumer confidence index in March showed an expansionary trend, as did the Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers' Index in April, along with private sector optimism, signaling a faster recovery in growth momentum in the coming quarters,” he said.

Al-Ghaith said the data confirm strong progress in diversification driven by non-oil growth, adding that the economy is building solid foundations away from oil volatility. He said government policies have opened new investment opportunities in sectors including tourism, entertainment, technology, energy and infrastructure.

He added that the state continues to invest billions in mega projects to generate future revenues, alongside efforts by the Public Investment Fund to accelerate diversification through targeted local and international investments.

Geopolitical challenges

Hisham Abu Jameh, senior adviser at Naif Al Rajhi Investment, said the first-quarter performance reflects a balance between growth and the ability to absorb temporary external pressures, with GDP maintaining a positive pace despite geopolitical risks and energy market swings.

He said the economy is no longer heavily reliant on oil and is better positioned to absorb shocks thanks to more diverse income sources.

Abu Jameh said the non-oil sector remains a key stabilizer. Despite slower growth than in previous periods, it continues to expand, supported by sectors such as tourism, services and logistics.

He said this reflects the success of reforms under Saudi Vision 2030 and of ongoing efforts to boost investment and private-sector participation.

Sector contributions

Data from the General Authority for Statistics showed non-oil sectors led growth, contributing 1.7 percentage points, followed by oil at 0.7 percentage points and government activities at 0.3 percentage points. Net taxes on products added 0.2 percentage points.

Seasonally adjusted data showed GDP fell 1.5% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by a 7.2% drop in oil activities. Non-oil sectors grew 0.8%, while government activities rose 0.2%.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, oil activities were the main drag, cutting 1.7 percentage points from growth. Non-oil and government activities each added 0.1 percentage points.

Business

Oil Prices Whipsaw while US Stocks Glide Near their Record Heights

Facilities of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Schwedt, northeastern Germany, are seen at the company's plant on April 30, 2026 - (File Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Facilities of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Schwedt, northeastern Germany, are seen at the company's plant on April 30, 2026 - (File Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
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Oil Prices Whipsaw while US Stocks Glide Near their Record Heights

Facilities of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Schwedt, northeastern Germany, are seen at the company's plant on April 30, 2026 - (File Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Facilities of the PCK Schwedt refinery in Schwedt, northeastern Germany, are seen at the company's plant on April 30, 2026 - (File Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Oil prices whipsawed on Thursday and surged toward their highest levels since the war with Iran began, only for the leaps to quickly vanish. The US stock market, meanwhile, is gliding following more strong profit reports from big companies like Alphabet.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and is a bit below its all-time high set earlier this week, as companies continue to deliver fatter profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected despite high oil prices and uncertainty about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 413 points, or 0.8%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower, Reuters reported.

Alphabet led the way and rose 5.8% after the owner of Google and YouTube reported profit for the latest quarter that almost doubled analysts’ expectations. Investments in artificial intelligence “are lighting up every part of the business,” CEO Sundar Pichai said.

The steadiness on Wall Street followed manic swings in the oil market, where prices surged overnight on worries that the Iran war will affect the flow of crude for a long time. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, keeping them pent up in the Arabian Gulf and away from customers worldwide, while a US Navy blockade is preventing Iran from selling its own oil.

Traders are always buying and selling contracts for different kinds of oil, going out for many months. In the most actively traded part of the market for Brent crude, the international standard, the price got as high as $114.70 overnight for a barrel of Brent to be delivered in July. It then regressed to $109.80, down 0.6%, which is still well above the roughly $70 per barrel that Brent was selling for before the war.

So far during the war, the peak price for the most actively traded Brent contract is $119.50, which was set last month.

In a less actively traded corner of the Brent market, the price for a barrel to be delivered in June briefly went above $126 overnight before pulling back toward $114.

That easing, along with the continuing flood of better-than-expected profit reports from US companies, helped to keep Wall Street stable near its records.

Caterpillar, Eli Lilly, O’Reilly Automotive and Royal Caribbean all rallied more than 6% after delivering profits for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. That’s crucial for investors because stock prices tend to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

Still, a better-than-expected result isn’t always enough to boost a stock’s price if it’s already shot much higher.

Meta Platforms tumbled 9.9% even though the company behind Facebook and Instagram made more profit last quarter than expected. Investors focused more on Meta’s increased forecast for how much it will spend on data centers and other investments this year as it builds out its AI capabilities, up to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion.

Doubts are still high among some investors about whether all the AI spending by Meta and other companies will produce enough profit and productivity to make it worth it.

Microsoft fell 4.5% after it likewise raised its forecast for investments and other capital spending. But analysts also said accelerating trends at its Azure business were encouraging.

Amazon slid 0.8% after blowing past analysts’ expectations for earnings in the latest quarter.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices gave up their big overnight gains. Reports also suggested that US economic growth accelerated by less in the first three months of the year than economists expected, while a measure of inflation worsened in March by about as much as expected.

A separate report said that fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in an indication of fewer layoffs even though companies are announcing large cuts to workforces.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.38% from 4.42% late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed.

London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.3% after the Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold.

Germany's DAX returned 0.7%, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2% after the European Central Bank also held its own interest rates steady. That followed similar decisions by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of Japan on Tuesday to keep their rates unchanged.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.3%, while stocks added 0.1% in Shanghai after a report said China’s factory activity slowed slightly in April but remained in expansion territory for the second month.

Business

Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product grew 2.8% in the first quarter, year-on-year, preliminary government estimates showed on Thursday.

Non-oil activities grew 2.8% in the quarter, and oil activities increased 2.3% from the prior-year period, the General Authority of Statistics data ⁠showed.

On a quarterly basis, growth shrank 1.5% in the three months to March 31 compared to the fourth quarter, driven by a decline in oil activities.

Oil activity decreased 7.2% from the fourth quarter, while non-oil activity was almost flat.