CAIRO: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans on Tuesday to launch a second national airline as part of a broader strategy to turn the Kingdom into a global logistics hub as it seeks to diversify from oil.
The creation of another flag carrier would catapult Saudi Arabia into the 5th rank globally in terms of air transit traffic, official state media reported, without giving details on when and how the airline would be created.
Prince Mohammad has been spearheading a push for Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and the largest country in the Gulf geographically, to boost non-oil revenues to about 45 billion riyals ($12 billion) by 2030.
Making the Kingdom a global logistics hub, which includes the development of ports, rail and road networks, would increase the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to 10 percent from 6 percent, state news agency SPA said.
“The comprehensive strategy aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub connecting the three continents,” Prince Mohammed was quoted as saying in the SPA report.
“This will help other sectors like tourism, Hajj and umrah to achieve their national targets.”
The addition of another airline would increase the number of international destinations from Saudi Arabia to more than 250 and double air cargo capacity to more than 4.5 million tons, the SPA report said.
With current flag bearer Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the kingdom has one of the smallest airline networks in the region relative to its size. Saudia has struggled with losses for years and like global peers, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media reported earlier this year that the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, (PIF), planned to build a new airport in Riyadh as part of the new airline launch, without giving further details.
The fund is the main vehicle for boosting Saudi Arabian investments at home and abroad as the young prince, known in the West as MbS, seeks to diversify the Kingdom’s oil-heavy economy through his Vision 2030 strategy.
Saudi Arabia plans new national airline as it diversifies from oil
https://arab.news/b8kst
Saudi Arabia plans new national airline as it diversifies from oil
- Prince Mohammad has been spearheading a push for Saudi Arabia to boost non-oil revenues
- The addition of another airline would increase the number of international destinations from Saudi Arabia to more than 250 and double air cargo capacity
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.
On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.
The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.
Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.
Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34.
On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.
Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent.
United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent.
Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.
