UAE Open Banking Mandate 2026: The End of the ‘Walled Garden’ for Banks
The deadline has arrived. As of Q2 2026, banks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are legally required to share customer data with third-party…
Saudi Arabia Desk
The Saudi Arabia Desk is a collaborative Telegraph Middle East editorial desk responsible for saudi policy, vision 2030, investment and economic transformation. Reporting is developed from official statements, regulatory records, company disclosures, recognised data sources and attributable expert commentary. The desk distinguishes confirmed developments from projections and updates material information when reliable new evidence becomes available.
Coverage: Saudi policy, Vision 2030, investment and economic transformation.
GCC Unified Tourist Visa 2026: The ‘Gulf Schengen’ Era Officially Begins
The borders have blurred. As of this week, the long-awaited ‘Grand Tours’ visa is operational, allowing tourists to visit all six Gulf…
Hexagon Data Centre: Construction Begins on Saudi Arabia’s $2.7 Billion ‘Digital Fortress’
The foundation stone has been laid for the world’s largest government data center. We take a deep dive into the 480MW project that will…
Jeddah Tower Construction Update 2026: The ‘Ghost Tower’ Returns to Life
For five years, it stood silent, a concrete stump in the desert. In 2026, the cranes are moving, the lights are on, and the…
The ‘Unicorn’ Class of 2026: Why This Year is the Ultimate Test for Gulf Fintech
The venture capital era is ending, and the public market era has begun. With regional giants Tabby and Tamara finally filing for their long-awaited…
Saudi Landbridge Project 2026: The $7 Billion Rail Revolution Connecting Coast to Coast
The design phase is over. With the official issuance of main construction tenders this month, the Kingdom’s most ambitious logistics project, a 1,500km…
The Riyadh Rush: Why Foreign Investors Are Targeting Al Malqa in 2026
The legal firewall has fallen. As of January, the ‘Non-Saudi Property Ownership Law’ is fully operational. For the global investor, the…
The Hydrogen Export Era: Is NEOM Finally Competitive with Natural Gas?
The theory is over. As the first commercial tanker of Green Ammonia departs the Port of NEOM for Rotterdam this week, the “Energy Transition”…
The Trillion-Dollar Race: Saudi Arabia vs. UAE in the Battle for Data Sovereignty
The new “oil” is compute power. As Riyadh and Abu Dhabi pour billions into data centers and GPU clusters, a fierce economic rivalry is…
The Borderless Gulf: GCC Launches ‘One-Stop’ Visa Pilot, Paving the Way for a Schengen-Style 2026
The era of the ‘Grand Tours’ has officially begun. With the pilot phase launching this December, we analyze how the Unified Tourist Visa will…