Good morning, ladies and gents. We’re rounding out the week with a bang, as the Fed leaves interest rates unchanged, sparking a standoff with President Trump. On the home front, EFG Hermes-backed Spark Education Platform snapped up a stake in Riyadh’s Qimam El Hayat Int’l School, while Jazan unveiled SAR 4.7 bn infrastructure projects.

PLUS: Tadawul published its Quarterly report on debt markets, and a flurry of Saudi banks are out with their 2024 earnings. Let’s dive in.

IN MEMORIAM-

EnterpriseAM KSA extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, the late former governor of the Eastern Province. Prince Mohammed played a pivotal role in the region’s development, driving growth in manufacturing, tourism, and infrastructure, as well as the expansion of export hubs to some of the Gulf’s largest ports.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Global Labor Market Conference is on its second and final day at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. The event brings together business leaders, policymakers, regulators, and researchers to mull prospects and address challenges facing the global labor markets, with a focus on youth employment and their participation in the global economy.

WEATHER- Riyadh is expected to see a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 31°C and as low as 19°C. Makkah will see a 32°C high and 19°C low.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Senior Advisor to the Palestinian president Hussein Al-Sheikh to discuss peace efforts in the region, Axios reports, citing two people it says are familiar with the matter. Witkoff headed to Israel after, visiting Gaza and inspecting the Netzarim corridor, before sitting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “alone for more than two hours,” Reuters reported.

BACKGROUND- Witkoff’s visits to the region come as talks for a normalization of ties between the Kingdom and Israel are nearing a “breakthrough,” Israel’s ambassador to the US claimed recently. Efforts led by the Biden administration last year to secure the agreement — which was originally designed to include a defense pact and cooperation on nuclear technology and AI — fell through due to the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The Kingdom has publicly insisted on assurances for a credible path to Palestinian statehood before normalizing ties with Israel.

#2- Neom’s The Line will begin vertical construction by year-end, Saudi Gazette quotes Neom Chief Development Officer Denis Hickey as saying at Davos. Infrastructure development is already underway for the project’s 20 mn sqm first phase. Designed to accommodate 9 mn residents in a high-density, car-free environment, the city spans 170 km in length and 1.2 km in width.

The Line faced some hurdles: Neom’s flagship project — which is projected to cost anywhere between USD 100-200 bn — is now expected to be home to fewer than 300k people by the end of 2030, down from an initial forecast of 1.5 mn residents, due to a slowdown in construction, according to unconfirmed media reports last April. Only 2.4 km of the project are expected to be completed by the end of the decade.

#3- The Kingdom has launched a heritage project tracing Prophet Mohammad’s migration path, General Entertainment Authority Chair Turki Al Alshiekh said in a post on X. In the Prophet’s Steps will recreate the migration route from Makkah to Madinah, spanning 470 km with 41 restored landmarks, interactive stations, and a Migration Museum. With eight educational stops, 30 dining areas, and 50 shops, it will host up to 12k visitors daily. The six-month initiative begins in November.

#4- The government plans to extend the deadline for receiving applications from proptech firms that want to join the experimental regulatory environment by two months, Spokesperson for the Real Estate General Authority Tayseer Al-Mufarrej told Aleqtisadiyah. The Kingdom eyes raising the number of proptech companies it houses to 1.5k over the next five years, up from 270 firms currently, Al-Mufarrej revealed.

#5- Riyadh-based Alshehili’s shares climbed 6.9% on their first day of trading on Nomu yesterday, closing at SAR 85.5 apiece, up from their IPO price of SAR 80. The heavy equipment manufacturer raised some SAR 40 mn in IPO proceeds, with the final pricing giving it a market cap of SAR 200 mn at listing.

REFRESHER- Alshehili took a 20% stake (500k shares) to market, pricing its Nomu IPO at the top of the range it was guiding on. Net proceeds from the sale will go towards funding Alshehili’s expansion and marketing efforts, as well as supporting the company’s working capital, including automating cooler box production and equipment procurement.

#6- Al-Khobar-based Twareat Medical Center’s (TMC) stock also rose 30% — the maximum price fluctuation limit allowed — on its trading debut on Nomu yesterday, settling at SAR 15.6 apiece, after opening at SAR 12. The medical equipment supplier sold an undisclosed amount of shares on Tadawul’s parallel market in a direct listing to meet liquidity requirements.

Background: The company previously sold a 7.45% stake (2.98 mn shares) in a private offering last year, with 55 new shareholders buying in.

PSAs-

Some 12 ready-built factories in Jeddah’s First Industrial City are now up for grabs via Modon’s new early booking service, Modon said in a post on X. Applications can be submitted here. Modon rolled out the early booking service earlier this week.

FACT CHECK-

No need to stockpile cigarettes or vapes: The Kingdom has no intention to ban smoking products, even as global restrictions tighten, Saudi Gazette reports, citing Saudi Food and Drug Authority CEO Hisham Al Jadhey.

OIL WATCH-

Opec+ plans discussions to address Trump’s oil policies: Saudi Arabia will join Opec+ in a coming meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump’s push to increase US oil production and form a joint response, Reuters reports, citing Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister. Trump has called for speeding up permits and easing environmental rules to boost US production, while also urging Opec+ to lower oil prices.

Opec+ has been facing growing pressure from Trump, who has recurrently criticized the group’s policies and called for lower oil prices, Bloomberg highlighted in an opinion piece. With the oil group planning to start increasing oil output in April, it faces the challenge of balancing supply and demand while navigating Trump’s demands and global economic factors. Trump would consider a price range of USD 60-70 per barrel to be an acceptable target, down from the current level hovering around USD 78, the article estimates.

SPORTS-

#1- Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to offer a five-year, EUR 1 bn contract to sign Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. in the summer transfer window, according to AS. In addition to the EUR 200 mn per season package, Saudi Arabia would pay an additional EUR 300 mn transfer fee to Madrid, surpassing the current transfer record held by Neymar’s EUR 222 mn move to PSG. The EUR 1 bn contract would make Vinicius one of the highest-paid athletes globally.

It’s been tried before: The PIF attempted a similar bid for Vinicius last year, which was rejected. Madrid is likely to again insist on his release clause of EUR 1 bn, while also offering a contract extension beyond 2027 and a salary increase to retain him.

#2- Al Nassr has yet to make a decision on whether to pursue Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface or Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran as they seek to sign a new striker, The Athletic reports. The club has a verbal agreement for Boniface, but the agreement is not finalized. Meanwhile, the option to add Duran has been on the table. Boniface was left out of Leverkusen training as talks continue, and Villa could reportedly part ways with Duran for around GBP 80 mn.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

AI is on everyone’s minds this morning after Meta and Microsoft reported their earnings for 2024, and as the DeepSeek craze continues.

#1- Meta’s shares rebounded on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comments that Meta AI will become the most widely used AI in the industry this year, despite the company giving a disappointing sales forecast that had weighed on the stock earlier. The question now is again whether the company’s AI investments will pay off — especially after Chinese AI startup DeepSeek proved it is possible to create an AI model with a fraction of the cost. (Bloomberg | CNBC)

Speaking of DeepSeek, OpenAI said it has found evidence that the Chinese AI startup used its proprietary models to train its own large-language model, according to the Financial Times. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is looking at ways to further curb chip exports from Nvidia to China, Bloomberg reports.

#2- Microsoft’s shares tumbled 5% in afterhours trading after the tech giant reported slower growth than expected for its cloud business, despite the company beating revenue estimates. (Wall Street Journal | Barron’s)

In other earnings news, Tesla’s shares also rebounded on an optimistic forecast for growth in 2025, despite missing estimates for the fourth quarter of 2024. (Bloomberg | CNN)

OVER IN THE US, the White House revoked its freeze of federal aid due to legal challenges, though the administration still plans to cut spending to programs opposed by Trump. (Reuters)

AND IN SYRIA- The Syrian rebel group that ousted Bashar al Assad named its leader Ahmed Al Sharaa as the country’s new president for a transitional period, after the group dissolved the parliament, the military, and constitution. (Bloomberg | New York Times | AP)

ALSO- Former US Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty in a corruption case that saw him act as a foreign agent for Egypt. (FT)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Small and medium enterprises regulator Monsha’at will host the sixth stop of its Franchise Tour between 3-4 February at the University of Tabuk, according to a statement. This is one of the stops of the larger tour which kicked off in Khobar back in August and is set to have 14 stops in total, featuring companies that want to drum up interest in their franchises.

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