'Saudisation' strikes jewel trade

Some Saudis are wary of expats

Saudi Arabia has begun enforcing new rules which ban foreigners from working in its lucrative jewellery trade.

Inspectors began visiting shops in Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom, on 21 February, closing down some which still employed foreigners.

More than two thirds of Saudi Arabia's population is under 30 and unemployment is soaring to 20% or more.

The government fears the jobs situation may be making extremism more attractive to Saudi young people.

The 6,000 or so shops which make up the gold and jewellery business have about 20,000 foreign staff, mostly from Yemen and South Asia.

Travel firms are the next priority.

Expatriates galore

The ever-increasing numbers of school and university graduates flooding onto the job market are the catalyst for the government's 'Saudisation' policy.

It places gradually to replace many of the 6-7 million foreign workers with Saudis.

The process has thus far been slow, with some businesses saying the Saudi education system is failing to produce people with the skills they need.

A tacit hope is that the policy will also reduce the risk of internal terror incidents.

Expatriates have been a key target for recent attacks.

Despite its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia harbours considerable poverty.

For years the royal family, with its hundreds of princes and their entourages, has used oil revenues as their personal funds - although the largesse has also been liberally spread throughout the population.

Rapidly-increasing public debt has cut into the ability of oil money to create jobs.