Good morning, wonderful people. It’s another oddly quiet morning in the Kingdom, with only a small handful of big stories moving things along.

THE BIG STORY TODAY is the latest data from Gastat indicating that the Kingdom’s economy shrank at a slightly slower pace than was initially forecasted during the first quarter of the year, with the non-oil economy continuing to grow as oil activity declines.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Global EV and Mobility Tech Forum will get underway in a few hours at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The two-day event will bring together policymakers, NGOs, and startups.

ALSO- The Grand Hajj Symposium also kicks off today, hosting around 500 Islamic scholars.

WEATHER- Expect more of the same today, minus the thunderstorms: Riyadh will see a daytime high of 44°C which will drop towards 30°C at night. Dammam will experience some heat as well with a daytime high of 44°C and a low of 30°C during the night. AlUla is the cooler of the three, experiencing highs of 42°C and lows of 27°C.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Saudi will play against Jordan tomorrow in the AFC FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Al Awwal Stadium in Riyadh at 7pm. The Green Falcons have already secured their spot in the next round as they sit on top of their group with 13 points, followed by Jordan with 10.

PSAs-

#1- Today is the deadline to register for school bus services for the upcoming academic year. Parents can register for the services via the Education Ministry’s Noor e-platform for SAR 200 per year. Students with disabilities and children from social security families are exempt from transportation fees.

#2- Make sure your vaccinations are up to date before heading to Hajj: The Hajj Ministry is revoking Hajj permits from unvaccinated pilgrims and has issued a reminder for Hajj-goers to make sure they’ve received the meningococcal vaccine.

#3- The Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers (Taqeem) issued a warning against scam websites impersonating its platform for estimating vehicle damage, Taqdeer, state news agency SPA reports. Taqeem stressed that its appointment booking service does not charge a fee.

What to do: The authority thinks it best for customers to rely on Taqeem’s hotline (920011244) or the Taqdeer website as official information and communication channels and to immediately report suspicious sites to the relevant authorities.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A fresh tender for Madinah’s BRT infrastructure works + design: Al Madinah Region Development Authority has invited interested companies to submit qualification documents for the design and infrastructure works of the planned bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Madinah by no later than Wednesday, 26 June, it said in a post on X. It said it will start evaluating the qualification documents by bidders the day after.

We know a name or two from the list: Sources told Meed earlier this year that the authority issued requests for proposals for a contract to develop the network, with some of the prequalified bidders including European and local firms. Those include a consortium of French public transport operator Transdev and local firm Nesma and another between Spanish transport company Also and UK’s National Express. Other bidders include Saptco, Petromin, Hafil, France’s Keolis, and others.

What we know about the project: The Madinah BRT project is part of a plan to improve the city’s public transport system to help reduce traffic congestion during peak seasons and ensure access to safe transportation modes for residents and visitors. It aims to have up to 500 stations covering 80-90% of the city by 2030. Earlier this year, a consortium led by French engineering groups Egis and Systra was awarded the BRT network’s project management and construction management services contract.

#4- PIF-backed Jadwa Investment is launching its first regional blind-pool private equity fund this year, Argaam quotes Private and Institutional Client Investments Head Ghannam Suliman as saying. The fund will focus on high-growth companies in the region, Suliman said, without providing further details. The company has closed six fresh real estate funds and is on the verge of introducing another one, he added.

DATA POINT- Jadwa’s assets under management currently stand at SAR 85 bn, rising from SAR 79 bn at the end of 2023.

#5- Products sold by an unnamed Chinese e-commerce company were devoid of any toxic substances when tested by the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (Saso), Saso in a post on X. The announcement comes after the Seoul government said children’s goods sold by Chinese e-commerce giant Shein were found containing toxic substances exceeding those of acceptable limits. The Korean government sampled eight products which were found to contain high levels of the phthalates chemical, which has been linked to cause hormonal imbalance, some cancers, heart disease and other health issues.

#4- Aictec one step closer to main market transition: Advance International Company for Communication and Information Technology (Aictec) has submitted a request to move from parallel market Nomu to main market Tadawul, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The move comes months after Aictec’s board approved the transition in December last year. The upgrade is still subject to regulatory approvals.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The private sector accounted for a record 48.3% of GDP in 1Q 2024, equivalent to SAR 419.4 bn, Aleqtisadiah reports. This is 2.4 percentage points higher than its contribution during the same quarter last year, and marks a 1.5 percentage point increase on a quarterly basis. The government aims to increase the private sector’s share of total GDP to 65% under Vision 2030.

#2- Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) saw 8.09% y-o-y growth in cargo throughput in May, hitting 27.6 mn tons compared to 25.6 mn tons a year earlier, according to a press release. Exported containers boosted 13.61% to 255.3k TEU and imported containers gained 5.3% at 260k TEU. Meanwhile, transshipment container volumes dipped 46.77% at 132.5k TEUs.

#3- Saudi’s construction pipeline was valued at USD 1.5 tn, accounting for 39% of total unawarded projects pipeline value in the MENA region, according to a recent report (pdf) by real estate and investment management firm JLL.

#4- The total number of rooms in Makkah’s hospitality sector rose 38% y-o-y in 1Q 2024 to reach 227k rooms, Saudi Gazette reports. This includes 801 hotels, 12 serviced apartments, and 3 tourist inns.

SPORTS-

Tie-up between PIF-backed Liv Golf and the PGA Tour on track: Negotiations between the PIF-backed LIV Golf and PGA Tour enterprises “continue to progress,” most recently after a recent in-person meeting on Friday in New York with PIF boss Yasir Al Rumayyan and PGA’s negotiating committee, PGA Tour said in a statement. The statement said the two sides have been “meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential [agreement] terms…” without providing further details.

The PGA Tour wants to strike the perfect balance: “We want to get this right, and we are approaching discussions with careful consideration for our players, our fans, our partners and the game’s future,” the statement said.

***
DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt and the UAE?

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday before 7am Riyadh time — without charge, thanks to our friends at Cenomi.
***

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

With little to no business news in sight, the global business press is zeroing in on French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a snap election to be held in the next 30 days, after the far-right National Rally swamped his centrist Renaissance party in the 2024 EU parliamentary elections and sent alarm bells running through the halls of the Élysée. “I have confidence in our democracy, in letting the sovereign people have their say. I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered,” Macron said in a presidential address announcing the surprise election (watch, runtime: 5:05).

Also grabbing the headlines is news that “centrist” Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and his party has left Netanyahu’s emergency government, leaving Netanyahu ever more reliant on far-right and ultranationalist parties to keep his slim coalition majority in the Knesset.

MEANWHILE IN TRADE WAR NEWS- Swedish auto giant Volvo is moving its EV manufacturing out of China to Belgium as the EU gears up to follow the US in imposing harsher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

AND IN TECH NEWS- Siri may soon finally be useful, with Apple rumored to announce a new and improved version of the virtual assistant next week at its annual WWDC conference this week, writes The Verge.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The G7 Summit in which the Crown Prince is expected to take part will begin on Thursday, 13 June to Saturday, 15 June in Italy’s Borgo Egnazia resort in Apulia. Talks are set to focus on AI, energy, and addressing opportunities and challenges in Africa, China, and the Mediterranean.

Saudi Film Nights by the Film Commission will land in Australia this month with screenings of four Saudi films, state news agency SPA reported. Movie enthusiasts in Sydney and Melbourne can watch adventure movie Hajjan, short film Me & Aydarous, comedy film Alhamour H.A and animated short movie Saleeg between Wednesday, 26 June to Friday, 28 June.

The Global EV and Mobility Tech Forum will open its doors on Wednesday, 10 July to Thursday, 11 July at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will bring together policymakers, NGOs, and startups.

The Conference on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in Energy, Oil, and Gas will be held in GCC countries for the first time in 2025, coming off the signing of a partnership between the GCC Commercial Arbitration Center, the Scottish Arbitration Center, and the International Conference on Law, according to state news agency SPA. The conference will bring together experts in international arbitration to discuss the legal, geopolitical, economic, and security aspects and challenges related to energy disputes in the GCC.

Tags: