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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 Arabia Approves Unified Consumer Protection Law, with Fines of Up to $2.1 Million

A shopper at a store in Riyadh. (SPA)
A shopper at a store in Riyadh. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Approves Unified Consumer Protection Law, with Fines of Up to $2.1 Million

A shopper at a store in Riyadh. (SPA)
A shopper at a store in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia has approved a unified consumer protection law aimed at strengthening market oversight, curbing unfair commercial practices and consolidating regulations governing relations between consumers and businesses.

Approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the legislation introduces broader safeguards covering contracts, warranties and price disclosure. Violators face fines of up to SAR 8 million ($2.1 million) and prison sentences of up to two years.

The Kingdom’s first comprehensive consumer protection law covers products and services and will be implemented in coordination with more than 20 government agencies.

It seeks to protect consumers from harmful, defective or noncompliant products and services, guarantee compensation for damages, simplify dispute resolution and encourage sustainable consumption.

Addressing legislative gaps

The law addresses shortcomings in the existing framework, where consumer protection provisions are scattered across multiple regulations, creating inconsistencies and weakening consumer and investor confidence.

It complements other legislation, including the General Authority for Competition’s efforts to combat collusion and monopolistic practices.

The framework covers consumer safety, contractual terms, product liability, unfair commercial practices, warranties, repairs and maintenance.

It draws on UN consumer protection guidelines, Sustainable Development Goals, OECD documents, G20 principles and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s unified consumer protection law, alongside legislative practices from 11 countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Japan.

Unfair practices

The legislation targets practices that influence consumer decisions unfairly, including burdensome restrictions, pressure and additional fees for certain payment methods.

It prohibits fabricated reviews, manipulated consumer comments and misleading advertisements, including promotions for unavailable products, false scarcity claims and undisclosed advertising.

During crises, pandemics or other exceptional circumstances, authorities may impose price controls, cap profit margins or require prior approval for price increases, subject to Cabinet authorization and applicable procedures.

Transparency and consumer rights

Contracts concluded outside business premises will be subject to safeguards similar to those governing e-commerce.

Businesses must disclose their details, contact information and payment methods, while consumers may cancel such contracts without giving a reason within seven days, subject to applicable conditions.

Service providers must clearly disclose prices and inform customers about maintenance work, its duration and cost.

The law also seeks to invalidate unfair contractual provisions that exempt businesses from liability for negligence or allow them to amend or terminate agreements without consumer consent.

Special protections cover children, older adults and people with disabilities, including restrictions on advertisements that could endanger children’s health or safety.

Minimum statutory warranties are set at two years for new products and one year for services and used products, with longer periods possible depending on their nature.

Dispute resolution

Comparative advertising will be permitted provided it is fair, transparent and free from misleading claims or attempts to damage competitors’ reputations.

Competitions and their advertisements will require prior authorization. Businesses will be prohibited from placing competition coupons inside products, requiring purchases for participation or raising prices during promotional competitions.

The law also introduces simplified procedures for minor claims before competent courts, allows consumer associations to seek compensation for harm to collective interests and provides for alternative dispute resolution.

Enforcement

The legislation establishes graduated enforcement measures, beginning with orders requiring businesses to correct violations and remedy their consequences within specified deadlines.

Serious violations may result in the suspension of products, services or contractual provisions, the blocking of offending websites or the withdrawal of unlawful advertisements.

Cases may be closed under specified conditions when businesses correct violations and settle with affected consumers.

Additional administrative measures include suspending business activities, seizing noncompliant products and issuing consumer warnings.

Government coordination

Article 73 preserves the existing powers of regulatory and supervisory authorities, while maintaining additional consumer rights and guarantees established under other laws or international agreements.

Relevant agencies will oversee compliance, conduct inspections, document violations and enforce the law. A designated committee will examine objections. A dedicated center will handle consumer inquiries and complaints through the unified number 935.

The legislation is expected to strengthen consumer confidence, encourage fair competition, protect vulnerable groups and promote sustainable consumption while reducing waste and harmful products.

It will replace three existing laws 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette: the 2008 Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, the 2019 E-Commerce Law and the 2002 Commercial Data Law.

Business

Saudi Commerce Minister: Consumer Protection Law Guarantees Rights, Ensures Justice

The Saudi Cabinet meets in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
The Saudi Cabinet meets in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
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Saudi Commerce Minister: Consumer Protection Law Guarantees Rights, Ensures Justice

The Saudi Cabinet meets in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
The Saudi Cabinet meets in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Kassabi stressed that the Cabinet's approval of the Consumer Protection Law on Tuesday is a significant legislative step toward strengthening consumer rights in the Kingdom.

The step establishes clear regulatory guarantees, regulating the relationship between consumers and commercial establishments, and promoting fair trade practices, he added.

Al-Kassabi explained that this is the first comprehensive consumer protection law in Saudi Arabia, integrating the jurisdictions of more than 20 government entities in its implementation to boost oversight efficiency and strengthen the protection of consumer rights.

He noted that the law includes provisions regulating contracts and compensation for damages, as well as protecting the most vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. It also includes measures to curb abnormal price increases during crises and extraordinary circumstances, which helps ensure market stability.

The law will take effect 180 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. It will replace the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, the E-Commerce Law, and the Commercial Data Law.

Protection against abnormal price increases

The law established exceptional measures to protect against abnormal price increases during extraordinary circumstances, crises, and pandemics, including price fixing, setting a cap on profit margins, and obtaining prior approval from the competent authority before raising prices.

The Ministry of Commerce said the law addresses commercial practices that influence consumer decisions, such as imposing burdensome restrictions, threatening or coercing consumers, or charging them fees for using a specific payment method.

The ministry added that the law prohibits misleading practices or attempts to engage in them, including providing false information that leads to deception, concealing relevant information, presenting it ambiguously, or offering adulterated products with the intent of supplying them to consumers.

Enabling consumers to compare products and services

The law permits comparative advertising among economic operators to help consumers compare products and services fairly and transparently. It also strengthens consumer protection for off-premises contracts by subjecting them to safeguards similar to those applied in e-commerce.

The ministry noted that the law established special provisions to protect the most vulnerable groups and prohibited advertisements directed at children from containing any messages that could be harmful to them.

The law imposes strict penalties on violators, including fines of up to 8 million riyals ($2.1 million), prison sentences of up to two years, suspension of business activities, seizure of non-compliant products, and the publication of consumer warnings. It also introduces streamlined dispute resolution mechanisms for small claims to ensure swifter access to justice.

Business

Oil Rebounds as Hormuz Shipping Attacks Blunt Hopes for Iran Truce

Oil storage tanks and facilities of a Sinopec plant in Shanghai, China, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Oil storage tanks and facilities of a Sinopec plant in Shanghai, China, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Oil Rebounds as Hormuz Shipping Attacks Blunt Hopes for Iran Truce

Oil storage tanks and facilities of a Sinopec plant in Shanghai, China, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Oil storage tanks and facilities of a Sinopec plant in Shanghai, China, March 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Oil prices rose on Wednesday from the previous session's two-month lows, as the market swung between hopes for a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and concerns about attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Also on Wednesday, a regional governor said a drone attack caused a fire in the port area of Ust-Luga by the Baltic Sea in northwest Russia, injuring three workers.

Brent futures climbed $1.04, or 1.1%, to $92.53 a barrel at 0420 GMT. US ‌West Texas Intermediate ‌crude rose 67 cents, or 0.8%, to $86.71.

Recent data showed little ‌sign ⁠of fewer attacks ⁠in November, after 37 ships were attacked in October, the highest monthly total since the start of the Middle East war, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"There has been an increase of vessel attacks in the Gulf shipping lanes amidst uncertainty of the diplomacy talks," said June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities.

"With the US midterms well over and more crude flows out of the Middle East, there seems ⁠to be more bearish tones to the oil price."

She added that ‌the top driver for oil is the ‌extent to which Iran will come to the table with US demands to reach a diplomatic agreement.

A ‌tanker was struck northeast of Lima in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade ‌Operations agency said on Tuesday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a separate statement on Tuesday that two tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines on the "unauthorized route" in the strait.

"Even in the event a deal is struck, an increase in flows through the waterway would still depend ‌on mine clearance, insurance costs and whether or not shipowners would even be willing to take the risk," LSEG Oil Research ⁠said in a ⁠November 10 note.

In the previous session, oil prices initially fell by more than $3 a barrel after US officials downplayed the need for further military strikes against Iran, though some of the losses were clawed back after an Iranian security official said no talks were taking place between the two sides.

Meanwhile, US crude oil stocks rose in the latest completed week, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Crude stocks rose by 9 million barrels for the week that ended on November 6, the sources said.

In Russia, oil refining capacity has been reduced by about 30% since late October following renewed Ukrainian drone attacks, industry sources said.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first peace talks since February as US President Donald Trump's envoys launched a fresh push to end the war.