It is a mixed bag for Saudi Arabia in the foreign press this morning.

Jeddah gets a shout-out from Bloomberg on the back of its urban mobility readiness score rising, according to a new assessment.

The Kingdom’s recent currency swap with China — seen by analysts as emblematic of a growing trend of dedollarization in the region — gets a nod from Bloomberg as one a factor behind higher gold prices. And Sir Rocco Forte’s sale of 49% of his eponymous luxury hotel chain to the Public Investment Fund gets attention from the Guardian.

The kingdom’s growing influence on world of sports got a mention from NPR, while The Verge has a deep dive into Saudi’s global-scale push into video games, led by Gamer-in-Chief Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. The Kingdom’s timing is “impeccable, ” one analyst writes: “I think Saudi Arabia views esports, to a certain extent, as a distressed asset” — but one with great growth potential.

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