Arabian Standard Time (Riyadh)

Arabian Standard Time (AST) is UTC+3 year-round, covering Saudi Arabia and several other Arabian Peninsula nations. Saudi Arabia does not observe daylight saving time. Riyadh, the capital, is the political and financial center of the world's largest oil exporter and the de facto leader of OPEC. The Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange) is the largest in the Middle East and operates on AST. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan is driving massive investments in tourism, entertainment, technology, and renewable energy. The NEOM megaproject on the Red Sea coast aims to build a futuristic city. Jeddah is the commercial capital and gateway for millions of Hajj pilgrims traveling to Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia's timezone (UTC+3) is the same as Moscow and East Africa, positioning the kingdom in a timezone band that spans from northern Russia to southern Africa. The Saudi work week is Sunday to Thursday. The kingdom's enormous sovereign wealth fund (PIF) manages over $900 billion in assets, making investment decisions that affect global markets from AST. The Aramco IPO in 2019, the world's largest, was conducted on Tadawul time.