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INFRASTRUCTURE-
#1- Al-Babtain Power and Telecom inked a SAR 622 mn contract to supply steel overhead transmission towers to Saudi Services for Electro Mechanical Works for the third portion of the 500 kV LCC HVDC overhead transmission line for the COA-SOA Interconnection Link, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The 24-month contract includes design, testing, manufacturing, and supply.
Al-Babtain has been busy: Earlier this month, Al Babtain Power and Telecom signed a SAR390 mn contract with Larsen & Toubro to supply steel towers for the 500kV COA-SOA interconnection line. The company also secured a SAR 777.2 mn contract with Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C) in November to supply 500kV HVDC overhead transmission lines.
#2- PIF-owned National Water Company (NWC) launched 4 projects worth a combined SAR 323 mn in the Taif governorate, it said in a statement. The water and environmental projects included an 18 km sewage transmission line worth upwards of SAR 202.3 mn, a SAR 65.7 mn reservoir with a 100k cubic meter capacity, and two sewage feeder lines networks — a 34.8 km network worth over SAR 36.5 mn and a 16.5 km network that costs over SAR 19.1 mn.
ICYMI- NWC rolled out 20 projects in Jazan last month valued at SAR 607 mn, featuring 10 water infrastructure initiatives costing SAR 238 mn, such as raw water intake at Jazan Valley Dam and network expansions. In December, the company launched water and sanitation projects worth SAR 11.6 bn across the Kingdom’s Aseer, Qassim, and Al Baha provinces.
INVESTMENT WATCH-
MIS divests from OpenAI stake with USD 3.4 mn gain: Tadawul-listed Al Moammar Information Systems (MIS) fully exited its investment in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, selling its entire stake for USD 8.4 mn, it said in a disclosure to the exchange. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed. The transaction — executed at a USD 3.4 mn gain on the tech firm’s initial USD 5 mn investment — will be reflected in MIS’s 1Q results.
The rationale: The divestment is in line with the company’s broader strategy to reallocate capital into new investments, like its newly-set-up SAR40 mn AI fund.
FOOD-
Balady Poultry awards EUR 7 mn contract for poultry waste treatment to Harslev: BaladyPoultry Trading Co. has contracted Danish poultry waste treatment firm Harslev to supply and install solid waste treatment lines for its new slaughterhouse and meat factory under a EUR 7 mn contract, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The 60-week contract covers waste treatment for 500k birds per day.
REMEMBER- The slaughterhouse and meat factory are part of a SAR 1.1 bn expansionplan laid out by Balady Poultry earlier this month to boost its poultry production over five years. The plan also includes 600 broiler chicken coops and two hatcheries with an annual capacity of 100 mn sauces each.
STARTUP WATCH-
Bahrain-based cake-ordering app Lola raised USD 1.3 mn in a pre-seed investment round in partnership with Vision Ventures, Plus VC, and unnamed strategic angel investors, according to a press release. The funds will support the startup’s expansion into Jeddah, the Eastern Province, and other GCC markets, following successful launches in Riyadh and the UAE. Proceeds from the round will also go towards improving the startup’s platform, recruitment, and improving logistics.
