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Riyadh Season Witnesses over $41Mn in Financial Operations

Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
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Riyadh Season Witnesses over $41Mn in Financial Operations

Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)
Fireworks light up the Saudi capital as part of the Riyadh Season. (SPA)

The Riyadh Season helped revive financial operations in the Saudi capital with more than 333,000 transactions made through more than 200,000 bank cards at the event, revealed official statistics from the Saudi Payments Network (Mada).

These transactions have amounted to more than SAR156 million (approximately $41.5 million), five percent of which were made by foreign visitors despite their preference to pay in cash.

The Riyadh Season has exceeded economic expectations and helped attract a large number of tourists as demonstrated in the unprecedented high hotel occupancy. Some 100,000 tourists and 5.6 million visitors had attended the festival, said Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority(GEA) Turki Al Sheikh.

Riyadh Season was organized by 280 Saudi companies. It provided 24,000 seasonal jobs and more than 22,000 part-time jobs, he added.

“The Riyadh Season is a national project that has social and economic dimensions,” remarked Economic Advisor Dr. Amer al-Husseini.

He stressed that it is one of the Kingdom’s soft power tools that shows the world the extent of investment opportunities.

Its partnership with international companies promotes the localization of the entertainment and tourism industry in the Kingdom, he noted.

“This festival is one of the great opportunities that can be invested to bolster the national economy and develop financial resources from the productive sectors.”

Husseini added that it also contributes to the creation of permanent and temporary job opportunities, which have a significant role in refining youth skills and enhancing their functional capabilities.

Moreover, he stressed that Saudi Arabia’s emergence on the map of global events will play a role in boosting its relations with other countries.

This openness will allow tourists to learn about the indigenous Saudi national culture and promote partnerships among peoples, he noted.

Riyadh Season ends on December 15.

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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after inflation across the UK fell below its target rate of 2%.
The bank said its rate-setting panel lowered the benchmark rate to 4.75% — its second cut in three months — though its governor Andrew Bailey cautioned that interest rates would not be falling too fast over coming months.
“We need to make sure inflation stays close to target, so we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” he said. “But if the economy evolves as we expect it’s likely that interest rates will continue to fall gradually from here.”
In the year to September, UK inflation stood at 1.7%, its lowest level since April 2021 and below the central bank’s target rate of 2%, The Associated Press reported.
Central banks worldwide dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs.
As inflation rates have recently fallen from multi-decade highs, the central banks have started cutting interest rates.
Economists have warned that worries about the future path of prices following last week's tax-raising budget from the new Labour government and the economic impact of US President-elect Donald Trump may limit the number of cuts next year.
The decision comes a week after Treasury chief Rachel Reeves announced around 70 billion pounds ($90 billion) of extra spending, funded through increased business taxes and borrowing. Economists think that the splurge, coupled with the prospect of businesses cushioning the tax hikes by raising prices, could lead to higher inflation next year.
The rate decision also comes a day after Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election. He has indicated that he will cut taxes and introduce tariffs on certain imported goods when he returns to the White House in January. Both policies have the potential to be inflationary both in the US and globally, thereby prompting Bank of England policymakers to keep interest rates higher than initially planned.