RIYADH: Economic experts have attributed the fall in remittances made by foreign workers in the Kingdom to lower economic growth and the suspension of some government projects, among other factors.
Foreigners working in the Kingdom sent home SR10.77 billion ($2.87 billion) in February 2017, 15 percent less than the same time last year, according to data released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA).
Remittances made by Saudis fell to SR4.13 billion in February, 30 percent lower than the same period last year, the SAMA report said.
Experts said the drop of remittances made by foreign workers could be attributed to a decline in economic growth, a drop in activities of small-and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) and the slowdown seen in several business sectors.
Such factors led to the service termination of some foreign workers, driving some to work in the black market, according to Dr. Fahd bin Jumaa, Shoura Council member and economic expert.
When foreign workers are laid off, cases of concealment increase, and a bigger proportion of salaries are remitted through unofficial means rather than banks, Jumaa told local media.
The economic expert said this hidden economy has a negative impact on the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Economic expert Yasir Al-Mazid attributed the decline in foreign remittances to many factors including the suspension of some government projects.
This has led to a drop in the foreign workforce, a consequent fall in the volume of regular remittances, and a boost in the amount of money sent abroad via non-official channels, he said.
The economic expert said government controls have to be activated to monitor channels undertaking remittance operations illegally and enabling foreign workers to smuggle money out of the Kingdom.
Economy, project suspensions ‘hit Saudi expat remittances’
Economy, project suspensions ‘hit Saudi expat remittances’
Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA
- KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football
RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.
KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.
The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.
The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.
This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.
The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.
These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.
