A half-trillion-dollar sustainable megacity in the desert widely seen as one of the world’s most complex construction projects. A new integrated economic zone that offers tax-free operations for up to 50 years and aims to turn an oil-rich kingdom into the Middle East’s leading logistics hub. A plan to build one of the world’s largest airports, capable of handling up to 185 million travellers a year, part of a trillion-dollar bet on becoming a top tourism destination.
The scale of ambition of these, just some of the projects currently underway in Saudi Arabia, speaks to the scale of opportunity for professionals across a wide spectrum of industries in the rapidly transforming country.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has called the Middle East “the new Europe”. As the region’s biggest economy, Saudi Arabia does represent an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise still-doomy global outlook. It is on course to be the fastest growing G20 economy in 2022 and 2023, with expected GDP increases of around 8.5 percent and 6 percent respectively, driven by healthy output in both the oil and non-oil sectors. The latter economy grew 6 percent in Q3 2022.
The country is in the midst of reinvention on a level rarely seen in today’s world, backed by $620bn worth of resources in the form of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). At the heart of this is Vision 2030, an economic and social modernisation programme now entering its seventh year.
Vision 2030 rests on multiple industrial and infrastructural pillars. It aims to diversify revenue streams by developing new sectors such as tourism, renewable energy and entertainment, as well as innovating more established ones such as finance and healthcare.
Having only opened the door to leisure travellers in 2019, Saudi Arabia sees tourism becoming the biggest source of private sector job creation to the tune of 1 million new jobs over the next decade and accounting for 10 percent of GDP by attracting a targeted 100 million foreign visitors annually. The proposed King Salman Airport in Riyadh, scheduled for completion in 2027, will have six runways in anticipation of the kingdom becoming a top-five global destination.
The strategy to achieve this incorporates both past and future. On the one hand is a push to open up heritage sites to the public. On the other are initiatives such as Neom, the wildly ambitious futuristic city and travel destination in the desert of Tabuk province, and the Red Sea Project, a similarly bold undertaking combining luxury and eco travel on the country’s western coast.
While oil remains key to the economy, Saudi Arabia aims to generate half its electricity through renewable energy sources including solar and wind by 2030. The country’s geography and climate is in its favour, with abundant empty space and sun.
Green hydrogen is seen as a further opportunity. Together with the UAE, the country aims to generate at least a quarter of global exports. International partnerships are an important part of the plan, and by December 2022 Saudi Arabia had signed 34 investment deals relating to energy and technology with China alone.
Other efforts within Vision 2030 include transforming the financial market into an advanced capital market, as well as embracing fintech innovation (the Saudi Central Bank licensed 18 such companies in 2021); sweeping healthcare reform that includes the expansion of digital health solutions; a national industrial development and logistics program designed to establish Saudi Arabia as an industrial leader and global logistics hub and attract foreign investment.
An example within this is the development of an electric vehicle brand, Ceer, in a joint-venture between the PIF and Foxconn, which is expected to create some 30,000 jobs.
In parallel, the creation of the Saudi Special Economic Zone in Riyadh gives multinational companies a strong incentive to establish their regional headquarters in the country. A number of financial sector companies have recently entered Saudi Arabia or increased their presence there, including BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC and Citigroup, attracted by investment opportunities in sectors earmarked as part of Vision 2030 such as renewable energy and infrastructure.
Then there is unprecedented focus on soft power. With a vision of turning the country into a regional media hub, the government has allocated $64bn to a fledgling film industry and asked that it turns out 100-odd films by 2030. There is also increased appetite for live music and sporting entertainment.
Saudi Arabia plays host to the Gulf’s biggest music festival, which includes a host of international stars. The LIV Golf tournament has made the country a key player in a sport with soaring global popularity. And there is even unofficial talk of bidding to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece.
In almost every project currently underway, Saudi Arabia aims to be a world-leading force. Massive financial support and ideological commitment make this realistic. To be sure, there are major challenges to overcome, not least the fact that industries such as tourism, entertainment and automotive are almost entirely new to the kingdom. The learning curve will be steep, and there is an obvious need for experienced international talent.
In terms of skillsets, management and P&L leadership, specifically in the context of these nascent industries, as well as areas such as mining and aviation, are in urgent demand. Outcomes will largely hinge on the ability to assemble highly functional teams, and to build high-level relationships to navigate both the industry platforms and public sector.
Qualities such as agility–which Heidrick & Struggles’ defines as key skills in a crisis: adaptability, resilience, learning and foresight–and entrepreneurial spirit are equally important given the scope and speed of the market’s transformation. Without the latter in particular, the vision will struggle to come to fruition.
While in-market talent can deliver on these needs to some extent, the expat community is likely to grow dramatically in the coming decade. The government is accommodating this in several ways. It has changed regulations to make it easier for high-calibre professionals to relocate with their families either on a permanent or temporary basis without the need for a local sponsor.
Its investment in infrastructure development, which includes education, healthcare and aviation among other areas, also bodes well for general quality of life. Moves to establish new flight routes means Saudi Arabia will connect to 250 global destinations by 2030.
From a talent perspective, the pace of development is both daunting and thrilling. It offers the chance to build companies, and in some cases the country, from the ground up. For those with ambition and adventurousness in equal measure, Saudi Arabia is currently a land of opportunity like no other on the planet.