Meet the consultant helping with KSA’s transformation strategy — and quest for happiness

Updated 18 July 2017
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Meet the consultant helping with KSA’s transformation strategy — and quest for happiness

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has been compared to a road map for the Kingdom’s future. It is intended to be a far-reaching, ambitious and transformational strategy that 13 years from now will have fundamentally changed the country’s economy, culture and society. But how will policymakers know, in the course of their journey, that they have not mistakenly taken a lengthy detour or strayed off the route altogether?
They will look to Esteban Gomez Nadal, the Dubai-based managing director of global consulting firm Palladium Group, for directions. The 54-year-old Spaniard is responsible for the performance management systems installed in the Kingdom’s government infrastructure to tell the leadership if it needs to go faster or slow down, or if it has got the pace of change just about right.
After a career as a top executive in the telecommunications and media sectors, which took him from his native country to New York, he joined Palladium in 2002. “I’m one of these strange consultants who had executive managerial experience before I became a consultant. Usually, it’s the other way round,” he said. That experience gives him an expert eye for strategy development and implementation.
He is in no doubt that the Saudi experiment deserves to succeed. “The transformation strategy, in my view, is the only way for Saudi Arabia to go. There are challenges, of course. The involvement of the private sector in the diversification strategy is crucial. You have to get alignment between priorities and the available skill set, which raises issues of education and gender,” he said.
Having worked on women’s empowerment projects worldwide, he believes this aspect of the strategy is crucial. “The incorporation of women into the strategy is a big opportunity. Saudi women are among the most talented, intelligent and hardworking I’ve come across anywhere in the world,” he said.
We met in Palladium’s offices in Dubai, located on Happiness Street in the Business Bay district. The address is appropriate because Palladium’s aim is to maximize happiness in societies and economies. The 50-year-old organization is a management consulting firm owing much to the influence of two top executive theorists, Robert Kaplan and David Norton — but with a difference, as Nadal explained.
“We focus on designing and managing complex multi-actor products with a view to implementation and execution. That’s key. It’s easy to sit down and think up a plan, but implementing it is the challenge. Execution should be an integral part of the management process,” he said.
Palladium’s guiding principle is “positive impact.” Nadal said: “We define this as ‘the intentional creation of enduring economic and social value,’ and each of those words is very carefully chosen. It’s not only about making money. You have to create the right conditions to be able to share that value with the communities you’re dealing with. There has to be a connection between competitive commercial advantage in the business world and corporate social responsibility.”
Palladium’s Saudi office in Riyadh has 48 permanent staff, of whom 70 percent are nationals. Saudi policymakers have hired an army of consultants and advisers such as McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group and others to help work out the strategy, but it has to be implemented at a local level.
It is essential, Nadal believes, to get buy-in from the national community and from the ranks of middle executives, who are generally responsible for implementation of a strategy that has been decided by senior management.
“The other key is that the plan has a better chance of success if it’s coming from inside the company, rather than being imposed on it from outside. So you have to try to enable the executives of the company to do it for themselves, to make them responsible and to take charge of it. We have to persuade people in Saudi Arabia to take responsibility for the transformation process. In my experience, they’re more and more willing to do that,” he said.
Nadal’s involvement in Saudi Arabia came via the Labor Ministry when Palladium was hired by then-Minister Adel Fakeih in 2008. When Fakeih later moved to the Ministry of Economy and Planning, he remembered the work Nadal had done on youth employment projects, and when the time came for work to begin on the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 and Vision 2030, Palladium was well-placed to help deliver the strategy.
A stream of consulting projects followed. “We also worked on the Affordable Housing Plan and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, as well as the Municipal Management System for Jeddah. We did some work for the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce on the role of the private sector in the Vision 2030 strategy, and for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) a couple of years ago on financial strategy and implementation,” said Nadal.
He is not, so far, involved in the Vision’s flagship initiative: The planned initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco. “I’d love to get involved in that. It’s so crucial,” he said.
Palladium’s main project regarding the transformation strategy is being done via Adaa (Arabic for “performance”), the National Center for Performance Management. “It’s designed to measure progress in implementation and achieving set milestones over monthly, quarterly and yearly timeframes. If there are, for example, 15 measurement criteria, Adaa will measure each one to see how much progress has been achieved toward reaching those targets,” Nadal explained.
Vision 2030 is not the first time Palladium has been called in to help with a national strategic plan. In 2006, Nadal was part of the team that worked for Abu Dhabi’s government to produce the Vision 2020 Plan, which also aimed to reduce the emirate’s economic dependence on oil. That led to other projects in the UAE, notably the implementation of the Emirates ID system of registering residents’ details on a central computer.
Now everybody living and working in the UAE has to have an ID card, which Palladium was instrumental in introducing. “We created the strategy from A to Z, and had such buy-in from the whole team that they were convinced they did it themselves,” said Nadal.
That led to Palladium’s involvement with Dubai’s plan for “smart city” status, an ongoing project designed to integrate communications and information technology into the emirate’s urban infrastructure. Launched in 2016, the plan will affect all aspects of life, from government services to transport and education.
“Dubai is actually pretty efficient compared to some other places in the region. It has managed the execution process better than some others,” he said
He related a story about Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, receiving reports from experts all recommending the introduction of an income tax, but he dismissed them all.
“He thought that if his officials came to rely on tax for their income, they’d cease to care about money and be less efficient. Smart Dubai is a typical multi-sector product that cuts across all groups and interests. It has a big database that allows the Dubai government to run the city efficiently,” added Nadal.
The end product of the “smart city” initiative is to increase happiness in Dubai. Last year, the UAE government launched its “happiness” initiative, which involved setting up a ministry to promote happiness as a goal of government strategy, complete with its own happiness minister. Skeptics worldwide derided the idea as a meaningless concept, but Nadal insists it is a practical strategy for organizing a political entity.
“It’s a customer-centric approach to running a country or a city. Traditionally, government and politicians tend to forget about their citizens and residents, but we’re taking that aim to the frontline of government action. It’s a bit like the sentiments behind the Gettysburg address (the famous speech by US President Abraham Lincoln during the civil war in the 19th century) — government of the people, by the people, for the people,” Nadal said.
On the cynical reaction to the happiness strategy, he added: “I don’t think the West really understands the Middle East. It’s impossible to measure what happens here with the same practices that take place in the West. I think we’ve already seen a change for the better. Dubai will survive and thrive if it can keep its citizens happy and attract permanent residents. It could be a bit like Miami.” But Nadal said the issues of retirement and residence would have to be resolved first.
Palladium’s role in the happiness project is to measure and evaluate the impact of government initiatives in six key areas: Information technology, the environment, productivity, social inclusion, quality of life and physical infrastructure. It will coordinate and collate data with reference to key performance indicators (KPIs) that will enable the project’s strategy head, Noora Al-Suwaidi, to assess progress toward its achievement.
While the idea of a “happiness meter” will be greeted with skepticism in some areas, it is becoming an increasingly important yardstick for policymakers and strategists worldwide. “Organizations, public or private, that make conscious, data-driven decisions to create positive impacts for their customers, employees, suppliers and communities are setting themselves up for sustainable economic prosperity and urban living,” said Nadal.
Sustainable economic prosperity is also the aim of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. “This is all part of the transformation that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, wants to promote. Can the Saudis achieve it all despite the challenges? Yes, I think they can do it because they have one key advantage: Leadership. They have all the elements for success, and now it’s in their hands. We’re pleased to be helping them,” Nadal said.


Oil Updates — crude set to log steepest weekly decline in 2 years as war premium vanishes

Updated 27 June 2025
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Oil Updates — crude set to log steepest weekly decline in 2 years as war premium vanishes

  • Brent, WTI down 12 percent this week, most since March 2023
  • No major supply disruption from Mid-East crisis, analysts say

SINGAPORE: Oil prices headed for their steepest weekly decline since March 2023 on Friday, as the absence of significant supply disruption from the Iran-Israel conflict saw any risk premium evaporate.

Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.52 percent, to $68.08 a barrel by 7:29 a.m. Saudi time while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 40 cents, or 0.61 percent, to $65.64.

That put both contracts on course for a weekly fall of about 12 percent.

The benchmarks are now back at the levels they were at before Isreal began the conflict by firing missiles at Iranian military and nuclear targets on June 13.

This week began with prices hitting a five-month high after the US attacked Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend, before slumping to their lowest in over a week on Tuesday when US President Donald Trump announced an Iran-Israel ceasefire.

At present, traders and analysts said they could see no material impact from the crisis on oil flow.

“Absent the threat of significant supply disruption, we still view oil as fundamentally oversupplied, with our 2025 balances indicating a roughly 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) surplus,” Macquarie analysts wrote in a research note on Thursday.

The analysts forecast WTI to average around $67 a barrel this year and $60 next year, raising each forecast by $2 after factoring in a geopolitical risk premium.

Small gains in prices later in the week came as US government data showed crude oil and fuel inventories fell a week earlier, with refining activity and demand rising.

“The market is starting to digest the fact that crude oil inventories are very tight all of a sudden,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with the Price Futures Group.

Also supporting prices was a Wall Street Journal report saying Trump planned to choose the next Federal Reserve chief earlier than usual. That fueled fresh bets on US interest rate cuts which would typically stimulate demand for oil.


Pakistani stocks decline by 715 points over profit-taking after two days of gains

Updated 26 June 2025
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Pakistani stocks decline by 715 points over profit-taking after two days of gains

  • KSE-100 Index closes at 122,046.46 points, witnessing a decline of 0.58 percent, as per stock market data
  • Profit-taking driven by fiscal year-end considerations, short-term portfolio rebalancing, says financial analyst

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bearish trend on Thursday after two days of gains, losing 715.18 points to close at 122,046.46 points, which a financial analyst attributed to profit-taking driven by fiscal year-end considerations.

The PSX closed at 122,046.46 points when trading ended on Thursday, witnessing a negative change of 0.58 percent. The KSE-100 had closed at 122,761.64 points on Wednesday and before that on Tuesday, it surged by 6,079 points or 5.23 percent to close at 122,246 points. Analysts attributed the surge on Tuesday to the ceasefire announcement between Iran and Israel.

As many as 473 companies transacted their shares in the stock market on Thursday, with 200 of them recording gains and 237 sustaining losses, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said, adding that the share price of 36 companies remained unchanged.

“After two consecutive sessions of strong gains, the local bourse witnessed a round of profit-taking today, driven by fiscal year-end considerations and short-term portfolio rebalancing,” Maaz Mulla, the vice president of equity sales at Topline Securities Limited, said in a statement.

Mulla said the benchmark KSE-100 index saw a “volatile ride“— climbing 656 points intraday before losing 715 points at close of business. He said the closing figure of 122,046 points reflected “a cautious investor mood” as the quarter draws to a close.

He said despite the decline at the end of the day, the overall market activity remained “vibrant.”

“Total traded volume clocked in at 750 million shares, with a traded value of PKR 29.8 billion,” Mulla said.

APP reported that the three top trading companies on Thursday were Pak Int. Bulk with 37,503,501 shares traded at Rs 8.52 per share, WorldCall Telecom with 33,285,442 shares at Rs 1.45 per share and Pervez Ahmed Co. with 32,962,174 shares at Rs 3.29 per share.


IMF raises Saudi growth forecast to 3.5% for 2025, outstripping global average

Updated 26 June 2025
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IMF raises Saudi growth forecast to 3.5% for 2025, outstripping global average

  • IMF highlighted pivotal role of Vision 2030 mega projects in sustaining Kingdom’s economic momentum
  • It projects Saudi economic growth will outpace global average of 2.8% in 2025

RIYADH: The International Monetary Fund has revised up its forecast for Saudi Arabia’s economic growth in 2025, raising it to 3.5 percent from the 3 percent projected in April.

In its concluding statement following an Article IV consultation, the IMF highlighted the pivotal role of Vision 2030 mega projects in sustaining the Kingdom’s economic momentum, noting its continued resilience amid lower oil prices and shifting international challenges.

The IMF projects Saudi economic growth will outpace the global average of 2.8 percent in 2025, as well as outstripping most of its Gulf peers.

“Robust domestic demand — including from government-led projects — will continue to drive growth despite heightened global uncertainty and a weakened commodity price outlook,” the IMF stated in its new report. 

The fund expected this momentum, supported by the scheduled phase-out of OPEC+ production cuts, to push growth even higher to 3.9 percent in 2026 before stabilizing around 3.3 percent in the medium term.

The Saudi Ministry of Finance welcomed the IMF’s concluding statement, highlighting its confirmation of “the strong resilience of the Saudi economy in the face of global economic shocks, supported by the expansion of non-oil sector activities, containment of inflation, and a historically low unemployment rate — all aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.”

The ministry noted the IMF’s praise for the government’s efforts to enhance public finance sustainability and resilience to shocks, as well as its recognition that strong domestic demand continues to support economic growth despite global uncertainty, reflecting the Kingdom’s continued implementation of Vision 2030 projects.

Non-oil gross domestic product growth, a key indicator of diversification success, is projected to grow at 3.4 percent in 2025. 

While slightly lower than the 4.2 percent achieved in 2024, the IMF attributed this sustained performance to “continued implementation of Vision 2030 projects through public and private investment, as well as strong credit growth, which would help sustain domestic demand and mitigate the impact of lower oil prices.” 

Medium-term non-oil growth is expected to approach 4 percent by 2027 before stabilizing at 3.5 percent by 2030.

The IMF also noted positive developments in the labor market and inflation. The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals fell to a record low of 7 percent in 2024, surpassing the original Vision 2030 target.

Headline inflation, despite a small rise to 2.3 percent in April, remains contained. 

“Inflation would remain anchored around 2 percent, supported by a credible peg to the US dollar, domestic subsidies, and an elastic supply of expatriate labor,” the fund projected.

On fiscal policy, the IMF deemed the anticipated higher spending in 2025, leading to a deficit above budget targets, as “appropriate.”

“Given the upfront adjustment and ample fiscal buffers available, staff believes that additional spending restraint in 2025— triggered by lower-than-budgeted oil prices— is not necessary as it would make fiscal policy procyclical and exacerbate the impact on growth,” the statement added.

However, it emphasized the need for gradual fiscal consolidation over the medium term, recommending measures like non-oil revenue mobilization, removing energy subsidies, and rationalizing spending.

The IMF highlighted the banking sector’s resilience but cautioned about the risks associated with strong credit growth. “Addressing strong credit growth and associated funding pressures would help mitigate risks to systemic financial stability,” the report urged. 

It welcomed the Saudi Central Bank’s recent introduction of a countercyclical capital buffer and ongoing efforts to enhance regulatory frameworks.

The fund strongly emphasized the need for continued structural reforms. “The current environment of heightened uncertainty underscores the importance of continued structural reform efforts to sustain non-oil growth and economic diversification,” the statement concluded.

It added: “The reform momentum should continue irrespective of oil price developments.” 

This includes strengthening anti-corruption frameworks, enhancing human capital, improving access to finance, fostering digitalization, and deepening capital markets.


Closing Bell: Saudi main index rises to close at 11,068

Updated 26 June 2025
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Closing Bell: Saudi main index rises to close at 11,068

  • Parallel market Nomu gained 215.80 points to close at 27,053.10
  • MSCI Tadawul Index rose 11.41 points to close at 1,418.88

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 94.29 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 11,068.27. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.72 billion ($1.52 billion), as 206 of the stocks advanced and 40 retreated. 

The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 215.80 points, or 0.80 percent, to close at 27,053.10. This comes as 54 of the listed stocks advanced while 31 retreated. 

The MSCI Tadawul Index increased 11.41 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 1,418.88. 

The best-performing stock of the day was Ades Holding Co., whose share price rose 6.97 percent to SR13.82. 

Other top performers included National Gypsum Co., whose share price increased 5.66 percent to SR22.40, as well as Zamil Industrial Investment Co., which rose 5.42 percent to SR42.80. 

Specialized Medical Co. recorded the most significant drop, falling 3.31 percent to SR23.36. 

Saudi Advanced Industries Co. also saw its stock price fall 2.55 percent to SR26.75. 

Al-Taiseer Group Talco Industrial Co.’s stock price declined 2.27 percent to SR43.10. 

Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co. has closed its 14th sukuk issuance, marking the tenth tranche under its USD-denominated Islamic Sukuk Program, with a total size of SR2.81 billion, the company said in a statement to Tadawul. 

The five-year sukuk, carrying an annual profit rate of 7.25 percent, was issued on June 25 and attracted strong demand from both regional and international investors. The order book reached SR10.8 billion, nearly four times oversubscribed, according to the bourse filing. 

The issuance comprised 3,750 sukuk units, each with a par value of $200,000.

Dar Al-Arkan appointed Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC, Alkhair Capital, Al Rayan Investment LLC, Arqaam Capital, Bank ABC, and Dubai Islamic Bank as joint lead managers for the transaction.

Also on the mandate were Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, J.P. Morgan, as well as Mashreq, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Warba Bank. 

Shares in Dar Al Arkan ended the session marginally lower, closing at SR19.22, down 0.10 percent. 

The board of directors of Sahara International Petrochemical Co., also known as Sipchem, has approved SR362 million in cash dividends for the first half of 2025, according to a statement published on Tadawul. 

The payout applies to 752 million eligible shares, translating to a dividend of SR0.50 per share, or 5 percent of the share’s par value. 

Shares in Sipchem closed the session higher at SR19.06, gaining 4.24 percent. 


Najran region’s business registrations jump 56% amid Saudi investment push

Updated 26 June 2025
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Najran region’s business registrations jump 56% amid Saudi investment push

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Najran region has recorded a 56 percent increase in commercial registrations over the past five years, signaling expanding economic activity and growth potential in the southern province.

According to government data presented at the Najran Investment Forum 2025, business licenses in the region reached 39,000, accounting for around 2.3 percent of the Kingdom’s 1.7 million total records.

The forum, held from June 25 to 26 under the patronage of Prince Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, brought together government officials and private sector leaders to highlight economic prospects in the region. According to organizers, the event featured 53 project opportunities valued at over SR639 million ($170 million).

The southern province is emerging as a regional development hub under Vision 2030. With its mineral wealth, fertile land, cultural heritage, and growing logistics capabilities, it is positioned as a gateway for trade and business in line with the Kingdom’s economic diversification goals.

Speaking during the forum’s opening session, Assistant Minister of Commerce Abdulaziz bin Saud Al-Duhaim said: “Najran is an important region that abounds with diverse investment opportunities, based on its geographical location, natural resources, and competitive sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing industries, tourism, and others.”

He added: “We have reviewed and developed more than 110 pieces of legislation over the past few years, most notably regulations on companies, franchises, e-commerce, bankruptcy, commercial registration, trade names, and others.”

The region’s light transport sector saw the largest increase in new registrations, up 124 percent year on year in the first quarter to 536. The logistics sector followed with 111 percent growth, totaling 345 records. Registrations in civil protection equipment installation and maintenance rose by 26 percent, while storage facilities climbed 31 percent, reaching 717 records.

During his participation in the forum, Al-Duhaim also emphasized that the Ministry of Commerce has strengthened market regulations to protect consumers, monitor prices, and combat fraud and commercial cover-ups.

“We are working on a comprehensive consumer protection system, established a reporting center and a summons center, and launched the ‘Emtithal’ electronic inspection and monitoring system,” he said.

The assistant minister also noted that the National Competitiveness Center has worked with more than 65 government agencies, in partnership with the private sector, to implement over 900 economic reforms and recommendations aimed at enhancing business competitiveness. 

He added that 21 branches of the Saudi Business Center have been established to facilitate business start-ups and operations.

“The Ministry is working to develop and implement comprehensive strategies for the wholesale, retail, and professional services sectors, and to develop the services sector by leveraging new technologies,” Al-Duhaim said.

During the event, 14 cooperation agreements were signed between the Najran Chamber and various public and private entities to support local initiatives and business development.

Abdullah bin Ali bin Mohammed Al-Ahmari, assistant minister of industry and mineral resources for planning and development, who also participated in the event, noted that Najran is one of the richest regions in mineral resources, with the estimated value of untapped reserves rising from SR145 billion to more than SR227 billion.

He also emphasized the importance of developing mining-related manufacturing industries to maximize added value and boost exports.

In the same context, Abdullah Al-Dubaikhi, assistant minister of investment, discussed the province’s competitive advantages, noting that the area offers promising opportunities in mining, specialized agriculture, tourism, and education — sectors that require coordinated efforts among relevant authorities to unlock their full potential.

He noted that total projects registered on the Invest in Saudi Arabia platform for the region amounted to approximately SR8 billion.

The forum aimed to showcase the area’s economic potential, attract quality investments, and provide an effective platform for engagement between local and international investors and government agencies.

“The ministry has been committed to addressing all challenges facing the business sector by developing legislation, facilitating procedures, and expanding financing programs and solutions that empower entrepreneurship and commercial establishments,” Al-Duhaim added.