Good morning. It’s shaping up to be a calm day as the Ramadan slowdown continues. The big story here today is the latest inflation numbers from Gastat, showing inflation held steady in February as analysts predicted.

Also in the news well, below: We caught up with our good friend Saud Altassan, CEO of EFG Hermes Saudi Arabia, to discuss the firm’s approach to navigating market dynamics and its positioning in an increasingly evolving and competitive industry. We also delved into Capital Market Authority’s latest quarterly bulletin to gauge the market’s performance for 4Q 2024. Let’s dive in.

When do we eat? Maghrib is at 6:03pm today in Riyadh. You’ll have until fajr prayers at 4:41am tomorrow to enjoy suhoor.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Shares of Arabian Company for Agricultural and Industrial Investment (Entaj Foods) will begin trading on Tadawul’s main market today, according to a statement. The company’s shares will be allowed to fluctuate within a ±30% band, with a static fluctuation band of ±10% on the first three days of trading. Starting from the fourth day, shares will be allowed to trade at ±10% as circuit breakers take effect, and the static fluctuation limit will be removed.

REFRESHER- The Riyadh-based poultry producer priced its IPO at the top of the range it was guiding on — at SAR 50 per share — after the institutional tranche of the offering was 208.4x oversubscribed. Entaj is floating a 30% stake in a secondary offering, whereby its sole owner Arabian Agriculture Services (Arasco) is raking in some SAR 450 mn in proceeds.

⚠️WEATHER- Moderate to heavy rains are expected to hit some regions of the Kingdom today, the National Center of Meteorology warned in a report (pdf).

  • Riyadh: 29°C daytime / 17°C overnight
  • Makkah: 38°C daytime / 22°C overnight
  • Madinah: 33°C daytime / 21°C overnight

PSA-

Riyadh’s public bus network now includes the Diplomatic Quarter, with buses running daily from King Saud University Station to the area from 6:30am to midnight, according to a post on X by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Investors shift to Riyadh’s outskirts as real estate prices rise in the capital: With prices climbing to record highs in the capital city due to a demand-supply gap, investors shifted their gaze toward high-potential alternatives in the city outskirts in an attempt to anticipate future market trends, Aleqtisadiah reports, citing real estate experts.

What gives? Demand has long eclipsed supply in Riyadh with population growth far outpacing urban expansion — which has been significantly ramped up under Vision 2030, Emaar Advanced Chairman Ayed Al Harfi told the news outlet. This is pushing investors to snap up cut-price land and property across the capital’s peripheries.

Plugging the gap: The National Housing Company (NHC) has been tasked with building affordable housing options to close the 1.2 mn housing units gap needed to achieve a 70% home ownership target by 2030. The NHC may add another 100k housing units this year to the 200k already in the pipeline, Knight Frank Mena Chief Economist Christopher Payne estimates.

REMEMBER- The real estate price index rose 2.3% y-o-y in 2024, while apartment and villa prices rose by 10.6% and 6.3%, respectively. The rise in housing costs, particularly rent, was the primary driver behind the rise of the Kingdom’s annual inflation last year, reaching a peak at 2.0% in November.

The Kingdom is working on a unified national platform for consumer complaints, to protect consumer rights and improve market fairness, Executive Director of the Consumer Protection Association Ahmed Al Mehliki told Aleqtisadiah in an interview. No further information was disclosed.

DATA POINTS-

The total value of re-exported goods from Saudi Arabia increased 42.3% y-o-y to SAR 90 bn in 2024, with smartphones accounting for 27.5% of re-exported goods, according to Gastat data seen by Aleqtisadiah. Ships (13.4%), lightships (12.1%), cars (4.3%), and tugboats (3.9%) followed.

SPORTS-

Al Ittihad beats Al Riyadh to remain four points ahead at the top of the SPL as we head into another FIFA fixture, after Saleh Alshehri scored 11 min into stoppage time to clinch a 2-1 victory. Second-place Al Hilal kept pace with the league leaders after scoring two goals against Al Taawoun, while Al Nassr jumped to the third spot after seeing off Al Kholood 3-1, leapfrogging Al Qadisiyah which fell to a one-nil loss at Damac.

More highlights from matchday 25:

  • Al Shabab routed Al Orobah with 6 clean goals;
  • Al Ahli fell to Al Akhdoud 2-1 away from home;
  • Al Fateh saw off Al Raed 3-1 at home;
  • Al Wehda and Al Feiha secured 2-0 away victories at Al Khaleej and Al Ettifaq.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a quiet Monday morning in the global press, with the US dominating the few headlines worth noting.

US vows to continue “unrelenting” attacks on Yemen’s Houthis until they stop attacking vessels crossing the Red Sea, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said yesterday. “I want to be very clear, this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence,” he said, adding that the US will stop its attacks when the Houthis say they will stop shooting vessels in the Red Sea. Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi vowed to “continue the escalation” and keep targeting US vessels in the Red Sea as long as they “continue their aggression.” (Bloomberg | AFP | Reuters)

AND- The Trump administration has deported over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, defying a federal judge’s order to halt the deportations. The White House dismissed the ruling, arguing the order had “no lawful basis.” (New York Times | AP | Reuters | FT)

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