(via Bloomberg) Citigroup Inc., the New York-based bank that sold its 20 percent stake in a Saudi Arabian lender six years ago, is applying to open an office in the kingdom, shareholder Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said. “Saudi Arabia welcomes the presence of a Citibank office here,” the Saudi billionaire, who owned 218 million shares [...]

At the Gulf Co-operation Council Summit in Kuwait, four of the six member nations agreed on Tuesday to setup a joint central bank and a single currency, which will be based in Riyadh.

16. Saudi Arabia 2009 rank: #16 2008 rank: #24Recent reforms in Saudi Arabia brought it up seven places from 24th position in last year’s overall ranking.    Starting a business got a whole lot cheaper after fees were reduced by 80%; a new computerized system made registering property title deeds twice as fast, taking two days rather than [...]