Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a rather slow final workday of Ramadan, sending us into the last weekend of the holy month on a calm note. Leading this morning’s news well is Miahona landing a SAR 1 bn contract from Modon to upgrade an industrial wastewater plant, as well as the latest set of proposed regulatory amendments from the Capital Market Authority on special purpose entities.

** EnterpriseAM Saudi will celebrate Eid Al Fitr throughout next week. We’ll be back in your inboxes at the appointed hour on Sunday, 6 April. We wish you all a happy and restful Eid with family and friends.

⚠️WEATHER- Most regions of the Kingdom are expected to see thunderstorms through next Friday, the National Center of Meteorology warned.

  • Riyadh: 27°C daytime / 15°C overnight
  • Makkah: 39°C daytime / 25°C overnight
  • Madinah: 33°C daytime / 18°C overnight

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- UPDATE- Al Othaim Investment plans to offer 30% of its shares in an IPO on Tadawul, CEO Bander Albohiry told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 7:10). The majority of the offering will be through newly issued shares, while the other part will be offered by existing investors, he said. The offering is slated for execution within six months after receiving the approval of the Capital Market Authority (CMA). Al Othaim Markets, also a subsidiary of Al Othaim Holding, is listed on Tadawul.

A do-over: In March 2022, Othaim Investment got the thumbs up from the CMA to IPO 30% of its shares but shelved its plans in June of that year, deciding to wait for a better time, according to a statement. That September, Abdullah Al Othaim Markets sold 13.65 mn shares in the company for SAR 846.5 mn.

ICYMI- We reported earlier this week that Al Othaim Investment is planning to debut on the stock market this year, having enlisted Saudi Fransi Capital as advisor on the planned transaction.

IN OTHER IPO NEWS- CMA approves Specialized Medical Company IPO: SpecializedMedical Company secured CMA approval to offer 30% of its capital — good for 75k shares — on the stock market, the authority said in a statemen t. A prospectus for the offering is yet to be published.

#2- Tesla will begin selling its EVs in Saudi Arabia in early April, marking its entry into the Kingdom’s market after operating in other Middle Eastern countries for years, Reuters reports. A launch event will be held in Riyadh on 10 April to showcase Tesla’s electric vehicles, solar-powered products, and new technology, including an autonomous taxi and humanoid robot.

#3- Egypt’s Arab African International Bank (AAIB) plans to open a branch in Saudi Arabia to support Egyptian investors expanding into the Kingdom, Asharq Business reports, citing two sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The bank has already secured regulatory approval in Egypt and is awaiting Saudi clearance.

#4- Falak for Space Science and Research is preparing to launch the Kingdom’s first space-based experiment on 1 April, it said in a post on X. The local nonprofit is collaborating with SpaceX on a five-day mission to study the response of eye bacteria to microgravity as part of the Falcon 9-powered FRAM2 mission. “It’s about understanding how space conditions affect human vision. The results may guide future treatments for eye health, both in orbit and here on Earth,” a Saudi ophthalmologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital said.

REMEMBER- Saudi Space Agency’s Chairman Abdullah Al Swaha and Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Bandar Alkhorayef met SpaceX leaders to talk about future space and technology collaborations last September.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Social Development Bank (SDB) handed out SAR 1.7 bn in loans during 1Q 2025, Zawya reports. A total of 1.8k small and large businesses took facilities worth SAR 505 mn, while the remaining SAR 1.2 bn went to support some 20k entrepreneurs.

REMEMBER- The SDB handed out a total of SAR 8 bn in credit facilities in 2024, allocating some SAR 2.8 bn to freelancers and productive families (76k beneficiaries), SAR 2.6 bn to entrepreneurs and small businesses (7k beneficiaries), and SAR 2 bn to social finance (39k beneficiaries).

#2- Total donations during the National Campaign for Charitable Work reached SAR 1.43 bn as of yesterday, state news agency SPA said in a post on X. Willing to make a contribution? Visit the Ehsan platform.

SPORTS-

#1- Saudi PFL featherweight champ defends title at home: Abdullah Al Qahtani (12-2-0) is set to take on Egypt’s Islam Reda (12-1-0) in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) MENA set for 9 May in Jeddah, Al Arabiya reports. You can tune into the fight on Starzplay, with the streaming service having partnered up with the PFL to stream all of its content.

ICYMI-Al Qahtani came out on top at the 2024 PFL MENA Featherweight Championship last November.

#2- Saudi Arabia is considering hosting the EA Sports FC Supercup as part of a previous agreement in which the Kingdom secured the right to host two of the tournament’s next four iterations, La Sicilia reports.

REMEMBER- Riyadh hosted the tournament for the fifth time last January — when AC Milan took home the spoils following a 5-goal thriller against city rivals Inter Milan which ended 3-2.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The latest on Trump’s tariffs is dominating headlines this morning: US President Donald Trump said yesterday that a 25% tariff on all imported cars and light trucks will come into effect 3 April, he said during a presser at the White House, framing the move as a step to revive the domestic auto industry and raise revenues to support his tax cut agenda.

The reaction: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the move “bad for businesses, worse for consumers” and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney slammed it as “a direct attack” on Canadian workers. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union backed the measure as a win for blue-collar jobs. (Reuters | New York Times | AP | Axios | CNBC | Bloomberg)

AND- Gaza sees rare protests calling for Hamas to step down: Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets across Gaza yesterday in a rare wave of anti-Hamas protests, demanding the group relinquish control of the territory to help end the war with Israel. The demonstrations began Tuesday in Beit Lahiya and spread to Gaza City and central Gaza yesterday. (Bloomberg | Reuters | AP | Washington Post | BBC | New York Times)

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