How quickly, and slowly, times change in Saudi Arabia. A few years ago the Islamic extremist insurgency had many expatriate families fleeing for the safety and creature comforts of neighbouring Bahrain and Dubai. Embassies barred non-essential travel to the oil-rich kingdom as bombings and kidnappings targeting foreigners turned the dream of tax-free salaries into a macabre nightmare.
Now, business is booming again – and the memories of those darker days have receded. A six-year bull run in the energy markets has left the world’s biggest oil exporter with hundreds of billions of dollars in surplus revenues. A commitment to building infrastructure and reforming the economy has also opened the doors for foreign companies to do business in the Gulf market with the most untapped potential, from construction, engineering and finance all the way through to retail.
