NEOM’s propaganda
Dubai was shock by the treason of its ally in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman, whom Dubai helped promote for “Neom” internationally. MBS used this propaganda to spread another lie on transferring Riyadh into an economic capital, thus wrestling the crown of Dubai.
The sudden Saudi announcement, which obligated international companies to move their headquarters to the Kingdom by 2024, caused a great shock within the decision-makers in Dubai. İt also raised questions regional and international on the consequences of this and on Riyadh’s ability to extract the crown of the economic capital of its Gulf neighbour.
The social networking websites celebrated Saudi Arabia’s decision, and launched several hashtags to express their support for the decision “which was much delayed”. They demanded the immediate implementation of the program instead of waiting four years.
And last week, the Saudi Minister of Finance announced that, starting from 2024, the government will stop granting government contracts to any foreign commercial company that has a regional headquarters in the Middle East in any country other than Saudi, without providing more details.
The Royal Commission for Riyadh said on its official account on Twitter “Attracting the headquarters of regional companies to Riyadh will add to the national economy a value of 61 to 70 billion riyals by about 2030, through salaries, operating and capital expenditures for those companies, which will result in a growth in local content across many important sectors.”.
The most prominent gains from attracting regional headquarters to international companies is the opening of more than 35 thousand job opportunities for Saudis, noting that the Middle East and North Africa region has regional headquarters for approximately 346 international companies, and the Saudi market contributes approximately 40-80 % of the sales and revenues of these companies.
The economy expert Amr El-Sayed pointed out that the attraction factors for international companies to move their regional headquarters to Riyadh are not only related to the investment environment, but also to the social environment and lifestyle that is suitable for executives and senior foreign employees at the regional headquarters of these companies,
adding that “Dubai offers a social and leisure lifestyle that suits those of bars, nightclubs, etc. Will Riyadh make concessions to break the conservative lifestyle in order to attract regional headquarters for international companies?”
Saudi tweeters questioned “Saudi’s ability to implement this step given that it has a conservative majority that may not accept the changes that will accompany the arrival of foreign companies, in addition to the absence of adequate infrastructure, especially in the financial sectors.” .
Others expressed their confidence in the ability of their country to compete with the world’s largest capitals in hosting giant foreign companies.
The US Agency stated in a report, that moving the headquarters will cost companies millions of dollars, and the sudden change in policy and arbitrary legal provisions means that companies should consider the risks of moving to Saudi Arabia, based on potential promises by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reform the economy.
However, the director of a Dubai-based multinational company that is the commercial hub in the Gulf said: “The big companies know that the political current in Saudi Arabia may change quickly. The lack of legal recourse exposes companies to danger, as they will be contracting with the state. The companies cannot claim their money if the state did not pay”.
more: Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Secure NEOM What is bin Salman Afraid Of?