Good morning, wonderful people. We have a packed issue today with a flurry of local and international news, amid Trump’s inauguration and Gaza prisoner exchange.

The big stories at home: The World Bank revised down its forecasts for Saudi growth prospects in 2025, a healthy IPO pipeline for the Kingdom, and Gastat is out with its latest real estate index (spoiler: Riyadh is off the charts). Let’s dive in.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting will kick off tomorrow in Davos, Switzerland. The event will address global challenges, including geopolitical tensions, economic growth, technological advancements, and energy transitions.

Saudi Arabia at the WEF: A Saudi delegation led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will be present at the WEF meeting, with ministers of tourism, investment, finance, economy and planning, industry and mineral resources, and communications and information technology (CIT), according to state news agency SPA. A session titled Saudi Arabia’s Economic Shifts will take place on Thursday, where the Saudi ministers of economy, finance, and CIT will take the podium.

The Kingdom will also debut its first standalone Saudi House pavilion, hosting over 15 sessions, including 10 WEF-accredited discussions on trade, logistics, investment, sustainable tourism, and the global economy, SPA reports.

WEATHER- Riyadh is in for a crisp day with a high of 20°C and a low of 8°C today, while Jeddah will see highs of 29°C and lows of 22°C. Makkah’s mercury will see a 31°C high and a 21°C low.

PSAs-

#1- Government employees who voluntarily retire ahead of the retirement age will be eligible for Saudi Arabia’s new Golden Handshake program, which will offer severance packages to long-serving employees “with lower qualifications,” according to Okaz. Severance packages are expected to range from 12 to 60 months of salary, based on tenure and qualifications, with priority given to employees with lower qualifications, according to Asharq Alawsat. Retirement-age employees are not eligible for the program.

By the numbers: The initiative, with a three-year budget of SAR 12.7 bn, aims to reduce salary-related expenses for “long-serving” government employees whose skill sets are incompatible with the country’s digital transformation. The public sector in Saudi Arabia, excluding the military, employs 1.2 mn people, with 40% of the 2024 budget (SAR 544 bn) allocated to salaries and compensation.

#2- Citizens and residents have until 18 April to benefit from a 50% waiver of traffic fine payments, the Saudi Gazette reports, citing a General Department of Traffic statement. The reduction applies to fines incurred before 18 April and allows for payments in full or per violation through the SADAD and Efaa platforms. Certain violations, including drifting and extreme speeding, disqualify offenders from receiving the discount.

#3- Property owners in 28 Makkah districts have until 25 April to register their properties online through the Real Estate Registry website, according to state news agency SPA. The districts include Al Safwa, Dar Al Salam, Al Naseem, Tarwiyah, Al Rashidiya, Kawthar, and Tebah, among others.

#4- The Municipalities and Housing Ministry issued updated guidelines for entertainment facilities requirements, covering their location, size, design, and operational standards, including adherence to the Saudi Building Code, according to the updated guidelines (pdf) published by the ministry. Key guidelines include regular maintenance of storefronts, the installation of surveillance systems, the implementation of insulated roofs, ensuring proper waste management, and the provision of digital payment options.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Saudi Arabia’s holdings in US Treasuries dropped 2.6% m-o-m by the end of November to USD 135.6 bn, according to the US Treasury Department data.

#2- Saudi Arabia leads the Arab car market, accounting for 45% of sales, as total car sales across 12 Arab countries are expected to exceed 1.8 mn in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023, state news agency SPA reports, citing Dhaman data. Vehicle sales in the region are expected to grow by 5% in 2024, surpassing 2.3 mn vehicles (2.4% of global sales) and reaching 3 mn by 2028. Sales are concentrated in five countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Morocco, and Kuwait — which account for 75% of the total.

#3- Some 522k commercial registers were added by the Commerce Ministry in 2024, up 60% y-o-y, bringing the total number of registers in the Kingdom to 1.6 mn, according to a post on X.

#4- The National Water Company completed 118 water and environmental projects in 2024, costing over SAR 5 bn and benefiting 1.8 mn people, state news agency SPA reports. These projects included installing 3.2 mn meters of water and sewage networks, boosting wastewater treatment capacity to 478k cubic meters per day, and building 51 water tanks with a total capacity of more than 250k cubic meters. In addition, the company said it kicked off 376 new projects worth over SAR 28 bn aiming to increase coverage of water and sewage services across the Kingdom.

#5- Saudi Arabia is the world’s top producer of desalinated water, with an annual capacity of 4.2 mn cubic meters, supported by a 14.2k km pipeline network and a daily transmission capacity of 19.4 mn cubic meters, according to the Environment Water and Agriculture Ministry. The Kingdom also operates the largest mobile desalination station (50k cubic meters per day) with the lowest energy consumption at 2.3k kWh per cubic meter.

SPORTS-

FROM THE RUMOR MILL- Liverpool’s Mo Salah could reportedly receive an undisclosed lucrative offer from Al Hilal as the latter seeks a high-profile star to replace Neymar, whose contract expires at the end of the season, according to Sky Sports.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a busy day around the world as international media outlets focus equally on day 1 of the Gaza ceasefire and Donald Trump’s inauguration this evening — two events that observers believe are not coincidental. The first day of the Gaza ceasefire saw the exchange of three Israelis held by Hamas for 90 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. This came amid joyous celebrations by Gazans and a remarkable reappearance of Qassam Brigades militants on the ground. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | New York Times)

Trump’s immediate impact was also felt on TikTok, which returned to life in the United States hours after it was shut down. The Chinese app had stopped operating in the US early yesterday in compliance with a US Supreme Court ruling, before Trump announced that he would issue an executive order on Monday giving TikTok a “period of time” to reach an agreement with the new administration that would address US concerns about national security. The app restored the service in the US a few hours later and thanked the incoming president by name, adding that it will work with Trump “on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.” TikTok CEO Shou Chew will reportedly attend Trump’s inauguration, which is scheduled to begin at 7:30pm KSA time tonight. (Bloomberg | BBC | CBS)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- The three-day Real Estate Future Forum kicks off on 27 January at the Four Seasons, Riyadh.

#2- The two-day Global Labor Market Conference kicks off Wednesday, 29 January at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. The event brings together business leaders, policymakers, regulators, and researchers to chew over the prospects and challenges facing global labor markets with a focus on youth employment and innovative initiatives to boost youth participation in the global economy. Register here.

#3- The UFC returns to the Kingdom on 1 February, kicking off its 2025 collaboration with Riyadh Season, according to Forbes. The main event will see former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya face Nassourdine Imavov. The co-main event will see Shara Magomedov square off with Michael “Venom” Page. The card also includes several ranked fighters, with matchups spanning multiple divisions.

#4- LEAP 2025 will take place between 9-12 February at the Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center in Malham. The tech event will bring together over 1.8k global tech brands, 1k experts and some 680 startups. LEAP 2025 will feature over 300 hours of content across 17 tracks, covering AI, fintech, edtech, smart cities, and more. Co-located with LEAP is DeepFest, a major AI-focused event bringing thought leaders and innovators under one roof.

#5- The eight-day Big 5 Construct Saudi will take place from 15-18 February and 24-27 February at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center. The Kingdom’s largest construction event will feature over 2k exhibitors from more than 60 countries, showcasing innovations across the sector. The event is expected to attract over 75k participants.

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