Amazon.com is adding several jobs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, signalling chief executive Jeff Bezo’s desire to expand in the country following a closely watched meeting with the crown prince.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman met with Amazon’s chief executive officer in Seattle last week.
The 32-year-old heir apparent had planned to discuss a potential project with the Ministry of Energy for Amazon to build a data centre in the country, which would be the first in the Middle East for the world’s largest cloud provider, Bloomberg reported last week.
While the status of the data centre proposal is unclear, Amazon began advertising at least five new full-time positions for e-commerce and grocery operations in Riyadh this week. Amazon-owned Souq.com also added three others in Dubai since Tuesday.
Raf Fatani, Amazon’s head of Middle East and Africa, promoted the jobs on his Twitter account on Wednesday, which includes a key role for a government relations representative. Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Read more:
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Foreign investors pile into Saudi Arabia in March amid kingdom's FTSE upgrade
US investments in Saudi exceed 207 billion riyals
Google to expand offering in Saudi amid push to grow online Arabic content
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After ceding China to Alibaba Group Holding, Amazon is looking for a win in the Middle East. It is locked in expensive competition with home-grown online shopping sites in India, Brazil and elsewhere. Global expansion has been costly, with international operations losing $3 billion last year.
Amazon purchased Dubai-based retailer Souq.com last year to take out a main rival in the region. The Middle East has lagged behind the rest of the world in e-commerce, but mobile and online shopping is picking up in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other more developed countries, where smartphone penetration is higher. Online sales in the Middle East and Africa are expected to reach $49bn by 2021, up from $29bn this year, according to research firm EMarketer.
The US is the largest investor in Saudia Arabia, and Prince Mohammed’s three-week tour is designed to cultivate more deals, said Sam Blatteis, the former head of government relations for Gulf countries at Google who is now chief executive of the MENA Catalysts, a consulting firm for tech companies expanding to the Middle East.
The prince’s visit has been mostly free of controversy, despite international criticism that has surrounded the government’s recent moves, including a Saudi-led bombing in Yemen and the temporary jailing of top businessmen at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.
“The kingdom needs to increase foreign investment to help finance its ambitious reform and development agenda,” Blatteis said. “This heightening American technology interest in Saudi Arabia really matters.”
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
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Company%20Profile
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Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
WEST ASIA RUGBY 2017/18 SEASON ROLL OF HONOUR
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
