Saudi markets imported pearls and precious stones worth more than SR19 billion in 2013 compared to SR11 billion in 2012, or an increase of 73 percent, local media said.
Based on 2012 data, Switzerland and the UAE topped the list of countries mostly exporting pearls and precious stones to the Kingdom in 2012 in terms of value where Switzerland captured 62 percent of all Saudi imports at SR 6.8 billion, followed by the UAE at 18 percent (SR1.9 billion), an analytical study conducted by Al-Eqtisadiah daily said.
In terms of quantity, the Saudi markets imported 5,000 tons of pearls and precious stones in 2012, of which 3,700 tons or 80 percent, were imitated ornaments and jewelry. China alone exported 2,500 tons of imitated ornaments and jewelry, or 67 percent, to the Kingdom, the report said.
Despite the big amount of pearls and precious stones coming from China, their value stood at only SR 231 million because 78 percent of the Chinese exports to the Kingdom, or 2,500 tons, are imitated items, the report said.
Going into details, the pearls and precious stones sector contained a variety of types, notably gold bullion, of which the Saudi markets imported some 42 tons at the value of SR8.5 billion, or 78 percent of total values, the report said.
Other types of pearls and precious stones sector imported by Saudis were as follows: Gold at the value of SR 1.6 billion (14 percent), platinum valued at SR443 million (4 percent), imitated ornaments valued at SR163 million (1 percent); silver valued at SR65 million (1 percent), ordinary metal plated with precious metal valued at SR61 million (1 percent), metal works of ordinary or precious metals valued SR44 million, silver valued at SR 26 million, gold works valued at SR24 million and silver alloy at SR11 million, the report added.
KSA imports of pearls, precious stones hit SR19bn
KSA imports of pearls, precious stones hit SR19bn
Work suspended on Riyadh’s massive Mukaab megaproject: Reuters
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has suspended planned construction of a colossal cube-shaped skyscraper at the center of a downtown development in Riyadh while it reassesses the project's financing and feasibility, four people familiar with the matter said.
The Mukaab was planned as a 400-meter by 400-meter metal cube containing a dome with an AI-powered display, the largest on the planet, that visitors could observe from a more than 300-meter-tall ziggurat — or terraced structure —inside it.
Its future is now unclear, with work beyond soil excavation and pilings suspended, three of the people said. Development of the surrounding real estate is set to continue, five people familiar with the plans said.
The sources include people familiar with the project's development and people privy to internal deliberations at the PIF.
Officials from PIF, the Saudi government and the New Murabba project did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimated the New Murabba district would cost about $50 billion — roughly equivalent to Jordan’s GDP — with projects commissioned so far valued at around $100 million.
Initial plans for the New Murabba district called for completion by 2030. It is now slated to be completed by 2040.
The development was intended to house 104,000 residential units and add SR180 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP, creating 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, the government had estimated previously.
(With Reuters)
