Good morning, ladies and gentlemen — and welcome to the back half of the year. We’re kicking off July with what The Athletic is calling “the game of the tournament so far” in the Club World Cup, as Al Hilal delivered a 4-3 victory against Manchester United in Orlando. Al Hilal is now heading to the quarter finals on Friday, where the club will go head-to-head against Brazil’s Fluminese — which also had a stunning victory yesterday over Inter Milan.

With the close of a quarter and 1H 2025, our news well is rather heavily dominated by reports this morning, leading with the top 10 listed banks’ earnings performance in 1Q 2025, as well as net foreign asset levels across the banking sector.

PLUS- PIF’s 2024 bottom line dropped, despite the fund’s revenues and assets under management both rising during the year, as interest rates and impairments on some projects delivered a hit.

WEATHER- Riyadh is expected to see a high of 44°C and a low of 32°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 41°C and as low as 31°C. Makkah will see a 42°C high and 35°C low.

PSAs-

Public consultation on 21 economic and development projects is now open on the Istitlaa platform, state news agency SPA reports. The projects include updates to municipal fines, agricultural labor regulations, sidewalk permit rules, vocational training for individuals with disabilities, and a new ins. draft law.

GCC citizens and residents can now perform Umrah throughout the year with a permit from Nusuk, the Hajj and Umrah Ministry said on X. Beside the Umrah visa, GCC residents can apply for a transit visa, issued in coordination with Saudia and flynas, or a tourist visa through the Foreign Affairs Ministry-run website KSA Visa. Praying in Al Rawdah Al Sharifah also requires permission through Nusuk.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Factories in 46 industries are now permitted to set up shop within cities due to their low environmental impact, as part of new regulations and directives from the Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry on industrial zoning, the ministry said on X yesterday. Factories across another 972 industries are permitted on cities’ outskirts after obtaining safety and industrial permits. A breakdown of where different industrial activities are allowed to establish factories is available on the ministry’s website.

#2- The National Water Company is expected to award a construction contract for the Hail Region Water Networks project in 3Q 2025, Zawya reported yesterday, citing a source it said is in the know. The project, the tender for which was issued on 22 May and bidding ended on 19 June, involves laying around 105 km of water pipelines, installing a water tank, and building two pumping stations. Completion is scheduled for 2Q 2027.

#3- Abdulaziz Ahmad Altwijri Trading received the greenlight to offer 20% of its shares — comprising 1 mn shares — on Tadawul’s parallel market Nomu, according to a Capital Market Authority statement. The prospectus has not yet been published.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Middle East borrowers lined up a six-year high of USD 5.2 bn in loans syndicated in Asia Pacific in 2024, mainly drawn from Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese lenders, Bloomberg data shows. The Kingdom has increasingly taken out loans to finance Vision 2030 projects against a backdrop of falling oil prices. Most recently, the Saudi Electricity Company took a USD 1 bn loan, while Banque Saudi Fransi closed a USD 750 mn facility.

#2- Foreign tourist spending in Saudi Arabia hit a record SAR 49.4 bn (USD 13.2 bn) in 1Q 2025, up 9.7% y-o-y, Mubasher reported yesterday, citing data from the Saudi Central Bank. This inflow spurred a surplus of SAR 26.8 bn (USD 7.1 bn) in the travel balance of payments for the quarter, up 11.7% y-o-y. Meanwhile, spending by Saudi travelers overseas totaled SAR 22.6 bn (USD 6 bn) in 1Q 2025, marking a 7.4% y-o-y increase.

REMEMBER- International tourists spent an annual all-time high of SAR 168.5 bn in 2024, up 19% y-o-y, with an average spend per trip of SAR 5.7k. Meanwhile, domestic tourists spent a total of SAR 115.3 bn, inching up 1% y-o-y, with an average spend per trip of SAR 1.3k.

OIL WATCH-

Aramco reduced its official selling prices for propane and butane (LPG) for July, setting propane at USD 575 / ton and butane at USD 545 / ton, Arab News reports, citing an Aramco statement. The oil giant cut LPG rates between 1.6% and 11.2% in June from May prices to USD 600 / ton and USD 570 / ton for propane and butane, respectively.

The macro picture: China is moving away from US-sourced LPG cargoes due to high tariffs, opening the door for Middle Eastern suppliers to gain market share. The shift is benefiting exporters in the Middle East, who are stepping in to fill the supply gap left by the US. Some buyers across Asia, including Japan and India, are taking advantage of the lower prices to negotiate better supply agreements.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

All eyes are on the US Senate as they race to vote on amendments to US President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” — a sweeping legislation that aims to pass a trove of tax cuts and reduce spending on medicaid and clean energy tax credits — ahead of the president’s 4 July deadline. Senate Republicans are expected to vote throughout the night, after a day that saw discussions drag as they work to find a balance that would appease the bill’s opposers, and that could pass the House later. The Senate needs no more than three GOP Senators to reject the bill in order to still be able to pass it — and currently, two senators have already decided they are firmly against it.

What’s on the drawing board? Softening the phase-out of clean energy subsidies, changes to Medicaid, and changes to the rural hospital fund.

The story is leading front pages everywhere: Bloomberg | New York Times | Guardian | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times

PLUS- Trade talks between Canada and the US are back on track after Canada scrapped its plans to tax US tech firms, with an eye to complete talks by 21 July. (Guardian | Reuters)

AND- Netanyahu to visit Trump next week: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday to talk Iran, Gaza, Syria, and regional security. The visit comes as Trump presses Israel to end its war on Gaza and secure hostage releases. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Associated Press)

News of the visit came after Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza yesterday. The attacks came following fresh evacuation orders from the Israeli military in northern Gaza, as Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer travelled to Washington for talks on a possible ceasefire and hostage release agreement. (Reuters | The Guardian | BBC)

ALSO- Trump lifts US sanctions on Syria post-Assad: Trump signed an executive order yesterday terminating US sanctions on Syria to boost its war-torn economy and support its new government. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times)

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