Good morning, ladies and gents. We welcome the second day of Ramadan with a brisk issue, which bodes well for the first couple of mornings without coffee.

Leading this morning’s news well: Umm Al Qura for Development prices IPO at SAR 15, standing to rake in SAR 2 bn in proceeds in Tadawul’s biggest listing so far in 2025. Also: PIF eyes stake in aerostructure unit of Italy’s Leonardo, and SNB offloads SAR 3.4 bn mortgage portfolio to Saudi Real Estate Refinance.

When do we eat? Maghrib is at 5:56 pm today in Riyadh. You’ll have until fajr prayers at 4:56 am tomorrow to finish your sohour.

WEATHER- Expect a windy day in Makkah, Madinah, and parts of Riyadh and the coastal areas, with a chance of rainfall on Jazan.

  • Riyadh: 21°C daytime / 8°C overnight
  • Makkah: 33°C daytime / 20°C overnight
  • Madinah: 25°C daytime / 10°C overnight

PSAs-

Riyadh transport hours during Ramadan: The Riyadh Metro will run during Ramadan from Sunday to Thursday between 8 am and 2am, on Fridays from 12pm-3am, and on Saturdays from 10am-2 am. Meanwhile, Riyadh buses will operate daily from 6:30am-3am, Riyadh Public Transport said in a post on X.

The Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) will increase the Haramain High-Speed Train’s daily trips by 21% to 3.4k and available seats by 18% to 1.6 mn during Ramadan, SAR said in a post on X. SAR will offer 100 trips per day during the first week of Ramadan, rising to 120 by the 14th of the holy month and 130 during peak days. The 25 high-speed trains h will travel along a 453 km line connecting Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, King Abdulaziz Airport, and King Abdullah Economic City.

The next round of e-invoicing: Companies that recorded more than SAR 1.3 mn in revenues subject to VAT in 2022, 2023, or 2024 will need to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with Zatca’s Fatoora platform by 30 November, according to a statement from Zatca. This is the latest phase of an e-invoicing rollout that began in late 2021.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly banning PwC from securing advisory and consulting contracts from the fund and its subsidiaries until February 2026, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The one-year ban does not apply to PwC’s auditing services, according to Bloomberg’s sources. The reason for the ban remains unclear, with the business information service saying that the PIF “did not explain reasons behind the move in messages sent to its portfolio companies.”

IN CONTEXT- The move comes two years after PwC set up its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, where it employs over 2k people. Saudi Arabia holds the largest consulting market in the region, valued at some USD 3.2 bn in 2023 — an 18.2% increase from 2022 — according to Al Monitor.

Lebanon looks to reactivate USD 3 bn military aid from Saudi: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun will request the reactivation of a USD 3 bn aid package to the Lebanese army when he visits the Kingdom next week, the president said in an interview with Asharq (watch, runtime: 47:53). The aid was halted in 2016 after Beirut failed to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Saudi-Lebanese relations back on track? Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan visited Lebanon in January, marking the first visit by a Saudi FM to the country in 15 years. Earlier that month, a “last minute push” by the Kingdom was reportedly the deciding factor in Aoun’s pick as Lebanon’s new president.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry issued 1.3k new industrial licenses in 2024, with combined investments of more than SAR 50 bn, it said in a post on X. Meanwhile, some 1.1k factories with investments worth north of SAR 48 mn became operational throughout the year.

#2- Saudi national airlines have collectively placed aircraft orders exceeding USD 100 bn at list prices, Flynas’ CEO Bandar Al Mohanna told Asharq Al Awsat, without specifying the timeframe. Al Mohanna sees these orders as an important prospect for local banks to provide financing solutions for airlines.

REMEMBER- Air traffic across Saudi airports increased 15% y-o-y to 128 mn passengers in2024. The Kingdom’s airports also saw 11% y-o-y growth in flight numbers to 905k during the same period, with a 16% y-o-y rise in air connectivity to 170 global destinations.

#3- Some 81.6% of those aged 15 years and above have attended at least one cultural event or venue in 2024, while 85.3% attended at least one entertainment event or activity, according to the Household Culture and Entertainment survey. The majority of the population (86.1%) spend their down time playing sports or engaging in entertainment activities, with walking cited as the most popular leisure activity (66.1%), followed by football (17.6%). Some 65.8% of respondents said they visited parks and gardens during the year, while literary gatherings and poetry evenings were cited as the least-visited cultural activities (2.5%).

OIL WATCH-

Aramco expected to lower April Arab Light Crude price for Asia: Aramco may cut the April official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light crude to Asia by c. USD 0.20 to USD 0.65 / bbl, according to a Reuters survey of four Asian refining sources. The pricing would place it at a premium of USD 3.25-3.70 / bbl over Oman/Dubai, down from USD 3.90 in March, which was the highest pricing in over a year. A separate Bloomberg survey suggests an average drop of USD 0.10 / bbl, though estimates range from a modest USD 0.15 decline to as much as USD 1 / bbl, according to Asharq Business.

The March OSPs for other Saudi crude grades are also expected to decline, with Arab Extra Light and Arab Medium projected to have a drop of at least USD 0.65 / bbl, while Arab Heavy is expected to fall between USD 0.10-0.65 / bbl, Reuters said.

REMEMBER- Opec+ has been mulling another delay of a series of monthly supply increases that are set to begin in April, with some fearing that global markets are too unstable to absorb a production increase. This would mark the fourth time that the group has decided to put off the roll back of production caps which first came into effect in 2022.

SPORTS-

Australia walked away with the AFC U-20 Asian Cup after Saudi Arabia lost 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the final match yesterday following a 1-1 draw, according to a post on X.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

We could see the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire extended after Israel approved a US-brokered proposal. The agreement — pushed by Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff — would see the first phase of the ceasefire agreement — which was supposed to end last night — extend through Ramadan and Passover (which ends on April 20). The extension would also see Hamas releasing half of the Israeli hostages held on the first day of its implementation. The rest would be released following an agreement on a permanent ceasefire. Israel has reserved the right to resume fighting after passover if negotiations to reach a permanent agreement stall. Hamas has so far rejected Israel’s proposed extension of the current truce but has yet to comment on Witkoff’s plan. (Bloomberg | Reuters | AP | CNN)

Before Israel accepted the proposal, Hamas had already rejected Israel’s attempt to extend the first phase of the agreement by six weeks, insisting on the second phase coming into effect with Israel completely withdrawing its troops. (Bloomberg | The Guardian | Washington Post)

MEANWHILE- The aftermath of Trump and Zelenskiy’s meeting is making headlines: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s high-stakes White House meeting with Donald Trump over the weekend unraveled into a public spectacle, leaving Ukraine scrambling for support. Trump dismissed Zelenskiy’s pleas for security guarantees, telling him to “come back when he is ready for peace,” hinting US aid could dry up entirely. Trump told reporters, “Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out. And if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty, because without us, he doesn’t win.”

What happened next: “We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X. In a long thread, he mentioned how Ukraine and the US remain strategic partners "despite the tough dialogue” and that "it will be difficult without the US support.”

European leaders rushed to contain the fallout, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirming Britain’s “full” backing and sealing a GBP 2.26 bn loan for Ukraine’s military. (Reuters | BBC | Bloomberg | New York Times)

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