Based on ministry of justice registry data GaStat launches real estate index indicator On Monday 27th of  Rajab 1438 H corresponding to 24th of  April 2017, GaStat launched the Saudi real estate index indicator. This indicator is based on available registry data of the ministry of justice which are about real estate transactions . GaStat described this indicator as an essential tool that supports entities which make economic and statistical decisions  associated with real estate price movements and future expectations during different periods of time. The indicator includes three main sectors composed of many real estate classes: residential sector ( piece of land, building, villa, apartment, and house) , commercial sector (piece of land, building, shop, and commercial center), and agricultural sector ( agricultural lands).  Real estate price index indicator showed a decrease in the Saudi real estate prices during the first quarter of 2017. The indicator registered a decrease of (2.3%) compared to the previous quarter (fourth quarter of 2016). Whereas it registered a decrease of (9.9%) during the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same quarter of last year. The report attributed the decrease in the first quarter of 2017 (compared to the previous quarter) to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (1.8%), residential sector (2.6%), and agricultural sector (0.3%).  On the other hand,  the decrease in the first quarter of 2017 (compared to the same quarter of 2016) is attributed  to the decrease in all composing sectors: commercial sector (11.7%), residential sector (9.5%), and agricultural sector (1.3%).  GaStat indicated in a workshop ,held in " Restatex " exhibition in Riyadh city, that : as an official  reference of statistics and an organizer of the statistical sector in Saudi Arabia, one of Gastat tasks is following up the price movement of real estate composing units and recording the values of their transactions all over Saudi Arabia. In addition to monitoring their changes from time to time through the new statistical product " real estate price index" which relies on the data provided by ministry of justice. This represents the integration and cooperation between the different government entities which aim at moving sustainable development forward.  GaStat also stated that the new statistical product aims at founding distinct real estate statistical indicators that measure the Saudi real estate market performance and fill the gap of data in this sector. It is considered an essential tool that supports entities which make economic decisions in this field. This product's data benefit those who are interested in the economic and statistical analysis of real estate prices and the future expectations during different periods of time. GaStat has issued a complete bulletin about this index and its details.

Based on 3 Strategic Pillars Riyadh Announces 14 Recommendations at the Conclusion of the First GCC Statistical Forum The First GCC Statistical Forum held in Riyadh concluded by announcing 14 recommendations, co-drafted by decision and policy makers, academia, private sector, in addition to the leaders of the statistical data and information authorities, systems and centers in the GCC countries and international and regional organizations. The participants in the Forum, organized by the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia and the GCC Statistical Center, stressed the importance, moving forward, of strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of the ongoing efforts in the various related fields, based on three strategic pillars (Partnerships, Development and Harmonization, and Resources). The participants also agreed on the importance of holding the Forum on a regular basis ever two years, to monitor progress and achievements in the areas of joint work and collaboration, and discuss the latest developments in the demand for and the production and dissemination of official statistics. The next forum will take place, in Muscat, in March 2019. This announcement came along with the Forum participants’ acknowledgment of the extra burden put on the national statistical authorities, centers and systems by the ever increasing and evolving demand for better quality statistics. The recommendations on the Partnerships Pillar stressed the need to (i) Strengthen the cooperation and dialogue mechanisms between statistics users and producers at the national level, so that the needs of users are met and the priorities are set in a better way; (ii) Enhance coordination and cooperation between producers of statistics in countries, to share knowledge and best practice, avoid duplication of efforts, and increase the quality of official statistics; (iii) Improve coordination and cooperation at the regional and international levels, to keep pace with and ensure contribution to and benefit from relevant developments, and to exchange expertise and experiences; (iv) Explore the potential of public private partnerships in statistics, to increase the frequency of data and develop new data sources; and (v) Foster collaboration and partnerships with the academic community in the GCC region, to serve a wide array of objectives including improving statistical literacy, adding value to statistical production, increasing the correct use of data, and strengthening training and capacity development.    In terms of the Development and Harmonization Pillar, the participants recommended to (i) Improve the quality and comparability of official statistics, to meet the needs of users; (ii) Incorporate contemporary international statistical standards and classifications; (iii) Enhance the use of administrative registers to produce official statistics; (iv) Take full advantage of modern statistical tools and technologies; and (v) Promote the correct use of statistics and statistical awareness and culture in society. Finally, regarding the Sources Pillar, the participants’ recommendations included to (i) Operate statistical agencies in an efficient, cost-effective and results-based manner; (ii) Attract and keep qualified GCC nationals in the statistical work; (iii) Increase the effectiveness and coverage of capacity development programs; and (iv) Explore alternative sources of funding and cost sharing outside the framework of official statistics including with the private sector. For the recommendations of the first Gulf Statistical Forum | Press here

STC Business technical sponsor for the Gulf Statistical Forum Under the Royal hospice of  the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - and with the organization of the General Authority for Statistics and GCC Statistical Center, STC Business will participate, as an activities technical sponsor, in the Gulf Statistical Forum, which will be held under the theme "Enhancing Statistical partnerships to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC countries.", at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh during the period from March 20th to 22nd, 2017. The Forum will bring together 40 GCC and international speakers to discuss strengthening the statistical partnerships in view of supporting economic and development policies. They will discuss several key issues which are: requirement for data and statistical information ensuing from national development trends, the agenda for sustainable development and emerging global economic issues, provision of statistical products and services to support national development trends, and sustainable development in the GCC countries, in addition to conducting research on enhancing the statistical partnerships between users and producers of data to support the economic policies in the GCC countries. STC Business  pavilion accompanying the forum, will display a group of communication services and information technology solutions, with an explanation of the most important advantages and benefits that contribute to the success of statistical work and support digital transformation in the domestic and the Gulf region. This sponsorship comes within STC Business endeavor to support and meet the requirements and needs of their customers in both public and private sectors, through a variety of connectivity products based on mobile and fixed networks technology, providing integrated digital solutions, cloud computing , and managed services. STC Business Unit provides solutions and services, telecommunications and information technology in a way that meets the government and companies demands and requirements. This is carried out through the most advanced data centers distributed around the Kingdom. These centers are connected through a network of optical fibers whose length attains more than 147, 000 kilometers, and  are supported with a mobile network covering 96% of the populated areas in KSA, and uses technologies of the Second and Third Generation, while 96% of the network uses the Fourth Generation technology known as LTE. These national networks are linked to the world through a number of cross-border land and sea cables and an Internet gate which is the largest in the MENA region, where its communication capacity attains 1.5 Terabit / sec. and passes 12 Beta Bytes of data per day.

27 Scientific and Awareness-raising  Booths in the Exhibition accompanying the First GCC Statistical Forum The Forum events which  will be held in Riyadh under the theme " enhancing statistical collaborations to support economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region", under the patronage of the custodian of the Two Holly Mosques king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the general authority for statistics and the GCC statistical center on 21-23 Jumada second 1438 H corresponding to 20-22nd of March 2017, will be accompanied by an exhibition that contains 27 scientific and awareness raising booths, in collaboration with the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center, in addition to a number of establishments specialized in statistical and informational technology. Mr. Taiseer Almofarrej, the official spokesman of the General Authority for Statistics, stressed that the Forum welcomes visitors such as , specialists, academia, students and government entities leaders to know more about statistical methodologies in different fields; economic, social, energy and natural resources, open data, statistical awareness and sustainable development. The forum which will gather 40 speakers from the gulf region and other countries, data producers and users, and people from the academic sector, focuses on main axes which are: statistical data and information request resulted from the national developmental tracks, sustainable development agenda and international economic issues, discussing the provision of statistical products and services to support the national developmental tracks and sustainable development in the GCC region, in addition to discussing the statistical collaborations between data producers and users to support the economic policies and sustainable development in the GCC region. The events of the Forum will start with 4 sessions within two days, the sessions will start with discussing the first axe which is about statistical data and information request: the request from an international prospective and focusing on the international issues and their impact on policies and reforms all over the world in general and in the gulf region in particular. In addition to data needs and gaps, it will also discuss request from a national and regional perspective, a general session titles" producing and publishing statistics: the strategic motives of the national statistical entities' works", followed by  a general session about the third axe which is associated with collaborations " next steps: towards sustainable mechanisms and framework for cooperation between users and producers". Along with the forum activities, 6 workshops will be held: the first will discuss measuring the progress in achieving sustainable development goals, the second is about enhancing statistical knowledge. As for the third, it will be about the statistical media. In the fourth workshop, the participants will get to know the mechanisms of statistics development by using information and communication technologies. However, the fifth will discuss data revolution which will present cooperation between Arab countries to get benefited from data revolution in enhancing the production and publishing of statistics. After that, two presentations will be presented by one of the GCC countries and the GCC statistical center about the preparations and challenges. Regarding the last workshop, it will discuss the collaborations between the public and private sectors in the field of statistics.