Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This hump day is proving to be somewhat of a news dump day, bringing us a healthy mix of IPO news, big investment plans, some M&A, and startup funding to round things out.

But before we get started: We’re exactly a week away from this year’s EnterpriseAM Finance Forum in Cairo, taking place on Tuesday, 24 September. We’ll be joined for the first time on stage by a senior government official, who’s joining us to outline a vision for where we’re going as a community and as an economy. The keynote interview will get underway at 9am sharp, and you won’t want to miss our exclusive networking breakfast from 8am.

Among the topics on the agenda, which you can view here:

  • Welcome to the hot seat — top industry CEOs set the tone by addressing the biggest (and toughest) questions of the day.
  • Looking from the outside in — what foreign investors and strategics think about Egypt right now.
  • The only asset class in town — It’s real estate or nothing. We’ll get into the ins and outs of the industry, how it’s financing itself, which areas (and price points) are next, and more.
  • Gazing into that crystal ball — The outlook for dealflow in 2025, from M&A and IPOs to securitization, FX and more.
  • A once in a generation opportunity? — A deep dive into the promise and pitfalls of the emerging energy economy.
  • Do we really love banking SMEs? — With NBFIs and fintech players staking their claims, banks are starting to take the SME market seriously.
  • The NBFI panel — The resilience of the Egyptian consumer is the business story of the decade. How are banks and NBFS players building sustainable businesses? What are the opportunities — and credit worries — in the B2B space?

Haven’t requested an invitation yet? Do it today — space is limited. Tap or click heretolet us know you’re interested.

** IMPORTANT NOTE — If you’ve already received your invitation on email, you *must* click through to confirm you’re attending.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Shares in homegrown glass maker Arabian United Float Glass (UFG) will begin trading on Tadawul’s parallel market Nomu tomorrow, according to a Tadawul statement. UFG’s shares will be allowed to trade within a ±30% range for the first three days before being capped at no more than 10% up or down when circuit breakers kick in. All shares on Tadawul are subject to the 10% up-or-down rule.

REFRESHER- The company is floating a 7% stake at SAR 54 per share, aiming to raise some SAR 64.3 mn.

WEATHER- Riyadh’s mercury will peak at 41°C, before dropping to a low of 28°C. Meanwhile, Jeddah will continue to see some rainfall, with a high of 37°C, and a low of 32°C.

PSAs-

#1- Jaheziya 2024 results are out: The Education and Training Evaluation Commission released the 2024 results of its Jaheziya program, which is designed to improve higher education graduates’ readiness for the job market, the commission said in a post on X. The average scores for students in specialized fields were the highest in Strategic Management, Integrated Marketing Communication, and Principles of Marketing, while students scored the lowest in the MIS Foundation and Technology, Business Finance, and Economic Foundation.

About Jaheziya: The program is in collaboration with the Council of Universities’ Affairs, and aims to evaluate academic programs in the Kingdom, across 50 universities and colleges and more than 450 programs.

#2- Arabic-speaking writers will have until the end of this month to submit their literary works for the Golden Pen Award, according to Asharq Al Awsat. The awards are grouped into six categories, with a total award pool of USD 740k. A preliminary shortlist of finalists will be out on 30 November, followed by a final list on 30 December. The awardwinners will be announced next February.

#3- You no longer need a visa to travel to Pakistan: Under Pakistan’s newly amended visa policy, citizens of GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain) are now eligible for a visa-on-arrival in Pakistan, valid for 90 days with possibility for renewal, according to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Saudi’s first ETFs investing in the Hong Kong equities market are set to debut on Tadawul by year-end, the FT reports. This follows last year’s listing of the first Saudi-focused ETF on the Hong Kong exchange, with the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF seeing its assets boosted to some USD 1.3 bn since listing on the back of strong interest from institutional investors. The fund’s manager CSOP was mulling a cross-listing on the Chinese mainland at the time of launch. Hong Kong is eyeing “some reciprocal moves” from Saudi’s capital markets including the listing of a pair of Hong Kong-focused ETFs on Tadawul in response, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said, according to the salmon-colored paper.

#2- The Kingdom plans to step up its nuclear oversight and has submitted a request to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), and withdraw from the less-strict Small Quantities Protocol (SQP), Reuters quotes Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as saying during the IAEA annual General Conference. The new agreement is scheduled to be in place by the end of the year, the minister said.

What this means: Implementing the CSA would allow for more thorough inspections into the Kingdom’s nuclear facilities to ensure they are used only for peaceful purposes. The move, which follows a formal request made by Riyadh in July, plays into the government’s long-term nuclear ambitions, which include sensitive uranium enrichment. Saudi qualified for the SQP — which exempts states with less nuclear advanced technology from certain obligations and inspections — because it has not yet launched its first nuclear reactor.

REMEMBER- Cooperation with the US is also on the cards: Members of the US Congress were briefed on a proposed Saudi-US nuclear agreement back in June as part of what officials hope will be a landmark series of agreements between Riyadh and Washington. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also signed an energy cooperation roadmap earlier in May with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm including a nuclear energy pact.

#3- Saudi real estate financing firm Areeb Capital purchased a 32 mn sqm plot in Dammam for SAR 12 bn to develop a multi-use project, according to Asharq Business. The purchase was made through one of Areeb Capital’s investment funds and is one of the Eastern Province’s largest real estate acquisitions to date. The land plot is located in the Al Naseem district on King Faisal Road, the land will be developed into a multi-use project. The agreement was financed by major investors and Shariah-compliant facilities from a group of local banks.

#4- The Commerce Ministry cracked down on 44 businesses for running promotional events and offering price cuts without proper licensing, it said in a news release. The cases, referred to the Public Prosecution for further action, could face up to three years in prison, fines as high as SAR 1 mn, or both for violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.

#5- Architects have until Monday, 30 September to register in Roshn’s Sedra Pedestrian Spine competition to redesign key community spaces. The designs should include key spaces like mosques, convenience centers, and parks, emphasizing local materials and cultural elements. Participants will submit their designs between 15 October and 20 January, 2025, with the top redesign plan set to be announced in February. Registration is open until the end of the month here.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Saudi crude production fell 12.9% y-o-y to 61.7 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) in 1H 2024, according to the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative. Demand for Saudi oil products inched down 0.6% over the same period to 13.9 mn bbl /d of observed gross inland deliveries.

#2- Some 90% of industrial and mining companies in Saudi are SMEs, Mubasher quotes Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef as saying. “The industry is no longer limited to big players, and there is great integration in the system through the services provided, from licensing to financing,” Al Khorayef said.

#3- Islamic banking has an 85% market penetration rate in Saudi Arabia, with strong growth potential in the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar, according to a Moody’s report. Moody’s also forecasts that the profitability of Islamic banks across the GCC will remain robust over the next 12-18 months.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Away from the wall-to-wall coverage trying to figure out who the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump is and what drove him, the business papers and corners of the international press are gearing up for the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, set to begin today.

Naturally, all eyes are on Wall Street in the run-up to the Fed’s decision, with the S&P 500 closing essentially flat yesterday while the Nasdaq fell slightly. The S&P’s tech index saw the steepest declines among the S&P’s 11 major sectors yesterday, with some commentators chalking up the drop to investors’ desire to generate quick returns selling high-value tech stocks ahead of the Fed’s rate-cut decision.

Analysts remain torn between the arguments for a 25 bps cut and a more aggressive 50 bps cut amid persistent inflation and a cooling job market. Market expectations tilted toward a larger cut over the weekend, buoyed by signals from former Fed officials — meaning the central bank has the chance to take bold action without spooking investors.

WHILE IN BIG ENERGY NEWS- BP is now taking offers for its USD 2 bn bp Wind Energy, its onshore wind business in the US, as the energy giant seeks to offload underperforming assets and focus on its upcoming solar project Lightsource bp.

AND OVER IN AVIATION NEWS- Over 30k Boeing workers are on strike for the first time since 2008 after rejecting the terms of the company’s proposed contract, in a move that could cost the company over USD 100 mn in daily revenue, Reuters reports. A prolonged strike may also mean a credit rating downgrade, the “big three” credit ratings agencies have warned, making accessing financing even more expensive for the already indebted airplane manufacturer.

PLUS- Amazon has informed its staff that all employees will be expected to work from the office five days a week beginning next year — one of the starkest reversals of pandemic-era remote work policies seen in the corporate world thus far. In an internal memo, CEO Andy Jassy justified the move by saying that “We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture” in a work environment more similar to the one that existed pre-Covid.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Saudi Women’s Premier League kicks off on Friday, 27 September with the return of Al Nassr, Al Ahli, Al Shabab, Al Qadisiyah, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Eastern Flames. New to the League are AlUla, Al Taraji, and Al Amal.

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