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Saudi POS Transactions up 28% in September

Saudi Arabia's GDP growth is expected to pick up in 2018 and 2019, according to Moody's. Reuters
Saudi Arabia's GDP growth is expected to pick up in 2018 and 2019, according to Moody's. Reuters
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Saudi POS Transactions up 28% in September

Saudi Arabia's GDP growth is expected to pick up in 2018 and 2019, according to Moody's. Reuters
Saudi Arabia's GDP growth is expected to pick up in 2018 and 2019, according to Moody's. Reuters

Point-of-sale (POS) transactions in Saudi Arabia rose 28 percent to SAR19.3 billion (USD5.1 billion) in September from SAR15.1 billion (USD4 billion) a year earlier, figures from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) showed.

Data showed that 88.5 million transactions were processed through nearly 339,000 points-of-sales in shopping malls, retail stores and pharmacies.

Based on the main economic indicators issued by SAMA on Sunday, the Saudi economy achieved during the second quarter a growth of 1.61 percent, greater than the growth rates achieved in the first quarter of this year.

Saudi Arabia’s economic growth is set to rise to 2.5 percent by the end of this year and 2.7 percent in 2019, according to new forecasts from Moody’s Investors Service, instead of its previous expectations of 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent for the same period.

Moody’s has given Saudi Arabia an A1 stable rating with a stable outlook.

It expects developments in the non-oil sector to contribute to stronger GDP growth. In its recent review, Moody’s noted that plans to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil are likely to contribute to the country’s medium and long-term growth.

These revised numbers from Moody’s even exceed the forecasts of the Government announced in the preliminary statement of the 2019 budget announcement.

Public debt is expected to remain well below 25 percent of GDP in the medium term and small relative to the government’s robust financial buffers.

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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has made history by uniting the 193 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to adopt the Riyadh Treaty on Design Law. This landmark achievement, realized after two decades of deliberation, underscores the Kingdom’s leadership in enhancing the global intellectual property system.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty, a rare event for WIPO, which has not held a diplomatic conference outside Geneva for more than a decade. It was also the first such event hosted in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, representing the final stage of negotiations to establish an agreement aimed at simplifying and standardizing design protection procedures across member states.

Over the past two weeks, intensive discussions and negotiations among member states culminated in the adoption of the Riyadh Treaty, which commits signatory nations to a unified set of requirements for registering designs, ensuring consistent and streamlined procedures worldwide. The agreement is expected to have a significant positive impact on designers, enabling them to protect their creations more effectively and uniformly across international markets.

At a press conference held on Friday to mark the event’s conclusion, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem highlighted the economic potential of the new protocol.

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwailem noted the substantial contributions of young Saudi men and women in creative design. He explained that the agreement will enable their designs to be formally protected, allowing them to enter markets as valuable, tradable assets.

He also emphasized the symbolic importance of naming the convention the Riyadh Treaty, stating that it reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing influence as a bridge between cultures and a global center for innovative initiatives.

The treaty lays critical legal foundations to support designers and drive innovation worldwide, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s vision of promoting international collaboration in the creative industries and underscoring its leadership in building a sustainable future for innovators.

The agreement also advances global efforts to enhance creativity, protect intellectual property, and stimulate innovation on a broader scale.

This achievement further strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing creativity, safeguarding designers’ rights, and driving the development of creative industries on an international scale.

The Riyadh Diplomatic Conference, held from November 11 to 22, was hosted by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and attracted high-ranking officials and decision-makers from WIPO member states.