Saudi’s tilt fully toward Silicon Valley looks nearly complete as Bloomberg reports that Alat, the PIF’s advanced technologies platform, would divest from China if it were asked to do so by the United States.

“So far the requests have been to keep manufacturing and supply chains completely separate, but if the partnerships with China would become a problem for the US, we will divest,” the business information service quotes Amit Midha, CEO of the USD 100 bn platform, as saying.

Two partnerships with US companies are now in the pipeline, Midha said, and could be announced by the end of the year. “The US is the number one partner for us and the number one market for AI, chips and semiconductor industry,” he said.

IN CONTEXT- The US has been on a years-long drive to contain China’s emergence as a significant technology rival. Officials in DC are asking Riyadh to agree to limit the use of some Chinese technologies as part of a pact on AI and advanced tech that the two sides hope to sign. They’re simultaneously negotiating agreements on defense and nuclear power as part of a wider process that Washington hopes will see Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel.

It’s going to be a delicate balancing act: Riyadh and Beijing have been on a drive to build deeper ties. China is a critical crude oil market for Aramco, which is looking to invest more in Chinese refining capacity and petchems. The first China-based ETF of Saudi shares started trading late last year, Tadawul will host today the Hong Kong edition of its flagship capital markets conference. Gigaprojects are in play, too: Neom was on the road in China a few weeks ago and it’s courting Chinese bankers to help finance work there.

ALSO FROM PLANET FINANCE-

  • Uber earnings hit by legal costs: US ride-hailing company Uber reported an operating income of USD 172 mn in Q1 2024, missing analyst expectations of USD 600 mn by a wide margin due to ongoing regulatory expenses. The company’s shares fell the most out of all S&P 500 companies yesterday, dropping 5.7% by the closing bell. (Financial Times | Uber)

THE MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are truly mixed this morning, with the ASX 200 and Kospi each down less than 1% and the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and Shanghai Composite all up around 0.2% — with no obvious driver in sight backing this morning’s performance.

US equities futures were flat overnight after the Dow turned in its sixth straight day of gains, while European stock futures point to a weak (if positive) open for markets across the continent.

EGX30

25,989

-1.7% (YTD: +4.4%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 47.48

Sell 47.62

USD (CIB)

Buy 47.50

Sell 47.60

Interest rates (CBE)

27.25% deposit

28.25% lending

Tadawul

12,460

+0.8% (YTD: +5.2%)

ADX

9,177

+1.2% (YTD: -2.6%)

DFM

4,193

+0.9% (YTD: +8.6%)

S&P 500

5,188

0.0% (YTD: +8.8%)

FTSE 100

8,354

+0.5% (YTD: +8.0%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,038

+0.4% (YTD: +11.4%)

Brent crude

USD 83.77

+0.7%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.19

-0.9%

Gold

USD 2,322.30

-1.9%

BTC

USD 61,518.20

-2.3% (YTD: +45.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.7% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 4.3 bn (12.2% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net sellers. The index is up 4.4% YTD.

In the green: Talaat Moustafa Group (+7.5%), Elsewedy Electric (+4.0%), and Ezz Steel (+1.4%).

In the red: Qalaa Holdings (-12.8%), EFG Holding (-7.4%), and Egypt Kuwait Holding -EGP (-6.9%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Alexandria Container capital increase approved: Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling was given approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority to hike its licensed capital to EGP 2 bn, up from EGP 1 bn, and its paid-in and issued capital to EGP c.1.5 bn, up from EGP c.745 mn, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf).

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