Good morning, wonderful people. Business is back to taking a breather in this morning’s issue after last week’s flurry of activity.

In today’s (light) issue: The IsDB Group has committed bns in development financing for Algeria and Senegal, while Naif Alrajhi and Morocco’s biggest developer TGCC are set to collaborate on construction projects.

ALSO- Lunate and Brookfield have launched a USD 1 bn JV to invest in Saudi and UAE real estate. Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s capital markets are seeing significant growth, with assets under management surpassing SAR 1 tn for the first time.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Alinma Bank started receiving subscriptions for its USD-denominated sustainable additional tier 1 (AT1) securities yesterday, running through 23 May, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The offering comes under the lender’s USD 1 bn AT1 capital issuance program and features a minimum subscription rate of USD 200k, with the perpetual certificates callable after 5.5 years. Certificates will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.

ADVISORS- Alinma enlisted Alinma Capital, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Standard Chartered as joint lead managers.

#2- Qualified investors can subscribe to Anmat’s Nomu IPO starting today, with as little as 100 shares and a maximum of 2 mn shares each, according to the offering’s prospectus. The company is floating some 5 mn new shares, representing 11.63% of its post-IPO capital, with the subscription window wrapping up on Tuesday, 27 May.

ALSO- The subscription period for Al Kuzama’s 422.4k shares Nomu IPO wraps up today. Qualified investors can subscribe to a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 197.1k shares each.

WEATHER- Winds will keep on blowing through most of the Kingdom, kicking up dust and limiting visibility in parts of the Eastern Province, Riyadh, Qassim, Madinah, Makkah, Al-Baha, Asir, Jazan, and Najran. Riyadh is expected to see a high of 43°C and a low of 28°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 35°C and as low as 28°C. Makkah will see a 43°C high and 32°C low.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

The Saudi Fashion Awards will be held tomorrow in Riyadh, the Fashion Commission said in a post on X. The event will feature expanded categories and a judging panel of international industry figures, recognizing stylists, designers, models, and photographers.

PSAs-

Statistics graduates have until tomorrow to apply for the General Authority for Statistics’ (Gastat) Saudi Statisticians program. The program includes a 12-month training period, followed by fully funded postgraduate studies in statistics or data science at leading international universities, with comprehensive financial support, state news agency SPA reports. Interested applicants can apply and find more details here.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL-

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is planning for a USD 100 bn mixed-use “Project Paradise” in Riyadh’s southwest, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The fund is reportedly pulling back spending on some flagship projects and shifting toward others designed for faster commercial returns, the sources said.

The project is still in the early stages with no finalized design, but concepts include a golf course, residential, entertainment, and commercial zones, and a potential artificial lake in Wadi Laban reservoir. Nothing official from the PIF was out regarding the project.

ICYMI- Not the only Riyadh-based mixed-use development in the pipeline: The PIF’s subsidiary Tower District Real Estate Development Company received bids from multiple consultancy firms for a new business district on the outskirts of Riyadh, including the world’s next tallest tower.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Egypt’s Morpho Investments backs Agriventures: Egypt-based private equity firm Morpho Investments invested in Agriventures, a berry-focused precision agriculture company, to support its expansion into Saudi Arabia and Oman, according to a press release. The funding is intended to help Agriventures secure exclusive rights to grow, sell, and market berries in both countries.

The company is still in discussions regarding the exact locations, with three sites under consideration in Saudi Arabia and two in Oman, Morpho’s co-Managing Partner Ihab Rizk told EnterpriseAM. The company’s products are expected to be available for both local markets and export, Bloomberg reports.

What’s next? The firm will kick off the second close of Morpho Fund I in 4Q 2025, aiming to raise an additional USD 45 mn to hit the USD 100 mn mark, co-Managing Partner Ayman Soliman told us. The company also intends to broaden its limited partner base after 3Q 2025, with a focus on attracting investors from across the MENA region.

ICYMI- Morpho Investments’ inaugural fund reached a first close of USD 55 mn earlier this week. Soliman was the founding CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), prior to that he held roles at Gemini Holding and EFG Hermes, and Rizk was the investment director of education, agriculture, and food at the SFE.

Fragrance retailer Dkhoun National Trading's share price dropped 19.8% on its Nomu debut yesterday to close at SAR 97.10 apiece. The company’s IPO was 119.2% oversubscribed after it took a 20% stake to market in a secondary share sale.

ADVISORS- Dkhoun tapped Saudi Kuwait Finance House to be the financial advisor and lead manager on the transaction. Receiving agents included SNB Capital, Al Rajhi Capital, Saudi Fransi Capital, Alinma Investment, Riyad Capital, AlJazira Capital, Albilad Investment, Alistithmar Capital, AlArabi Investment, Alawwal Investment, Derayah Financial, Yaqeen Capital, Alkhabeer Capital, Sahm Capital, and GIB Capital.

Ivanhoe Mines is deploying its I-Pulse exploration tech in Saudi Arabia through its partnership with Ma’aden, Ivanhoe Mines head Robert Friedland told Bloomberg (watch, runtime: 7:50). This technology — which resembles CAT scans or MRIs for the Earth — non-invasively identifies mineral deposits, making exploration more efficient and less disruptive. Specific costs and discovery timelines were not disclosed

Why Saudi? Friedland considers Saudi Arabia a strategic “center of the world,” ideal for broader exploration into Africa and Asia. Ivanhoe currently has an ongoing partnership with the Kingdom for the exploration of 15k sq kms for copper, gold, and other raw materials.

REMEMBER- The Ma’aden-Ivanhoe Electric JV (Ma’aden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration and Development) began exploring 48.5k sq km in Saudi Arabia in December 2023. The partnership grants Ma’aden access to Ivanhoe’s proprietary technology for locating metals like copper, nickel, gold, and silver, and follows Ma'aden's earlier USD 127.1 mn investment for a 9.9% stake and a board seat in Ivanhoe Electric.

Flying taxi app coming to the Kingdom: The Transport Ministry and local air transport firm FlyNow Arabia are collaborating to launch the Kingdom’s first flying taxi application for freight and passenger transportation, FlyNow CEO Yvonne Winter told Aleqtisadiah.

The firm aims to deploy a pilot version project at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) this year, Winter added, without specifying a date. The new application is set to transport goods for up to 1 mn miles in its initial phase, before moving on to transport passengers across the Kingdom’s cities.

Flying taxis? FlyNow has several selections, including cargo transport with 200 kg payload capacity, a flight range of 50 km with a 130 km/h speed, and air taxis for two individuals.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT-

The State Properties General Authority dismissed rumors circulating on social media about the distribution of residential lands in Riyadh, it said in a post on X, adding that significant announcements will only be made through official channels. The chatter implied that the government was selling residential land plots at discount prices while ignoring eligibility conditions.

OIL WATCH-

Saudi to ramp up crude burn this summer: Saudi Arabia is expected to burn more crude oil for energy this summer than the last on the back of increased fuel oil prices and eased Opec+ supply controls, Reuters reports, citing Wood Mackenzie forecasts. The Kingdom could consume 465k - 470k bpd of crude this year for power generation, which is a 10k-15k increase from 2024, Wood Mackenzie estimates.

Putting worries at bay: The hike could settle concerns over the global oversupply of crude and lower prices after the group decided to increase production in April, May, and June. The drop in prices and higher gains for refiners producing high-sulphur fuel oil from Dubai crude — at a record USD 4.45 per barrel — are likely to sway power generation demand from fuel oil to crude burn, Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Priti Mehta told Reuters.

REMEMBER-Opec+ agreed to accelerate oil production increments for the second month in a row, adding 411k barrels per day in June, after years of cutting production. That’s three months' worth of supply increments that will be delivered all at once next month. The oil group could ramp up production rates to as much as 2.2 mn bbl / d by November.

NO WORRIES- Saudi Arabia’s fully prepared: The Kingdom has lined up multiple strategies including “long-term fiscal planning and medium-term frameworks,” to adapt to different scenarios for oil prices, Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al Ibrahim said at the Qatar Economic Forum (watch, runtime: 27:49) yesterday.

“Our budgets are no longer driven by oil, they’re driven by priority,” Al Faisal added, noting that Opec+ discipline remains essential as the Kingdom and other GCC nations restructure their economies to attract steady investment and ensure stability.

Gigaprojects are also moving ahead as Saudi Arabia focuses on diversification and talent development, with Expo 2030 and the World Cup now top priorities, Faisal added when asked if the Kingdom has room to cut back on its pipeline of big project.

DATA POINTS-

Consumer spending via point-of-sale (PoS) transactions in the Kingdom was down 5.5% w-o-w in the week ending Saturday, 17 May, reaching SAR 12.4 bn, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s report (pdf). The number of weekly transactions also fell 1.6% w-o-w to SAR 217.6 mn.

The details: Food and beverages made up the biggest chunk of spending in terms of value over the week, but experienced a 4.7% fall w-o-w to SAR 1.8 bn. Restaurants and cafés came in second place, but also fell by 7.2% w-o-w to SAR 1.8 bn. This was followed by gas stations spending, which fell by 1.7% w-o-w to just over SAR 929.7 mn, and healthcare, which fell 4.8% to SAR 790.2 mn.

Riyadh had the highest value of PoS transactions at SAR 4.5 bn, followed by Jeddah at SAR 1.7 bn.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

In a rare public rebuke by Israel’s allies, the British government announced it will not moveforward with discussions on free trade with Tel Aviv. The statement cited “egregious policies’ by PM Netanyahu, including the weeks-long blockade of aid and escalation of military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as well as the situation in the West Bank.

The EU followed with an announcement that it intends toreview its trade agreement withIsrael, a move supported by a majority of member states due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza. The looming famine has not yet been improved by Israel’s easing of the blockade, as the United Nations said yesterday no aid has been distributed yet despite some 100 trucks entering the enclave.

The global backlash is apparently not deterring Israel: US intelligence shows Tel Aviv is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, unnamed US officials told CNN. The potential strike would be a huge break with US President Trump’s policy of negotiating an agreement with Tehran.

OVER IN THE US- Elon Musk — one of the biggest backers of the US Republican Party — signalled yesterday he will pull back from political spending and focus on Tesla. The EV maker saw a dip in sales amid a backlash to Musk’s close involvement in White House policymaking under President Trump.

Also worth reading this morning-

  • Google is adding “AI mode” to its search engine and Chrome browser for all US users. The new feature will offer a conversational chatbot — similar to ChatGPT and Copilot — rather than a list of links.
  • Turkey arrested 22 Istanbul municipality employees on corruption charges yesterday, the latest development after the arrest of mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu back in March.
  • Qatar’s PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani denied that Doha’s USD 400 mn jet offered to Trump is an attempt to curry favor, calling it “a ministry of defense to department of defense transaction.”
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