Insight - As one Evergrande falls, another rises in the Saudi desert

Cause of collapse: A woman leaves the China Evergrande Centre in Hong Kong. Much of Evergrande’s downfall can be attributed to the way that it tried to buck organic trends for political reasons. — AFP

EVERYTHING about Neom – the futuristic city being developed near the shores of the Red Sea by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – seems fantastical.

From flying elevators to 100-mile long skyscrapers to a floating, zero-carbon port, it seems to owe more to Coruscant and Wakanda than to any urban forms outside of science fiction.