Good morning, wonderful people. It seems the news cycle took our rumblings yesterday about a slow day to heart, and decided to give us a rather busy Wednesday to compensate. Leading our newswell this morning is the latest greenfield FDI figures for Saudi Arabia, which show an increase in both the tally of projects and their cumulative value in 1H 2025. Meanwhile, banks’ net income registered double-digit growth in 2Q 2025, and the Al Sadawi solar project led by the UAE’s Masdar has reached financial close.

The two-day retail subscription window for Marketing Home Group’s Tadawul IPO wraps today, allowing individual investors to subscribe to a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 250k each until tomorrow. The final allocation of shares is slated for next Sunday, 24 August.

REFRESHER- The company is floating a 30% stake (4.8 mn shares) in a secondary sale. The IPO was priced at SAR 85 per share — the top of its marketed range — after the institutional offering was nearly 10x oversubscribed. The offering is set to generate SAR 408 mn in total proceeds, giving the company an implied market cap of SAR 1.36 bn at listing, according to our math.

WEATHER- Thunderstorm and rain alerts remain in place as heavy rain is expected over Jazan, Asir, Al Baha, and Makkah through next Monday, National Center for Meteorology said in a statement yesterday. Madinah, Najran, Riyadh and the Eastern Province are expected to receive light to moderate rainfall by mid-next week. Riyadh will see a high of 43°C and a low of 30°C today, and Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 38°C and as low as 31°C. Makkah will see a 39°C high and 30°C low, while Madinah will see a 43°C high and 31°C low.

PSAs-

Birth and death certificates will now have QR codes and will be issued with the relevant data in English as well as Arabic, the ministry said in a statement. The QR code allows users to verify document information and print the certificates via the Absher platform.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Lenovo is setting up regional headquarters in Riyadh’s Al Majdoul Tower, deepening its footprint in Saudi Arabia as part of a broader tie-up with PIF-owned Alat, the Chinese PC maker said in a press release. Alat invested USD 2 bn in Lenovo in January and is also backing a 200k-sqm manufacturing hub in Riyadh’s Special Integrated Logistics Zone.

The Riyadh headquarters will anchor Lenovo’s regional push, encompassing retail initiatives, a customer center, R&D, marketing, and strategic collaborations. “Our initiatives in Saudi Arabia, including the RHQ, flagship retail space, and the Riyadh-based manufacturing facility are projected to contribute up to USD 10 bn to non-oil GDP by 2030,” Matt Dobrodziej, senior vice president and president of Lenovo EMEA, said.

Lenovo announced a series of senior leadership appointments in the Kingdom, naming Lawrence Yu (LinkedIn) as head of the new regional headquarters, Giovanni Di Filippo (LinkedIn) as vice president and general manager for Lenovo Saudi Arabia, and Zoran Radumilo as the company’s new CTO for Lenovo Saudi Arabia.

The story also got ink from Reuters.

#2- The National Water Company (NWC) issued an EPC tender for phase one of the Arafat main distribution water pipelines and operational storage project, covering the construction of 13 km distribution pipelines to serve Arafat areas 1, 6, and 7, Zawya reports, citing a source it said is in the know.

Meanwhile, NWC is expected to award the EPC contract for phase three of the Al Shabain area main water pipeline network project in 4Q 2025, Zawya reported separately. The project includes the supply, installation, and testing of ductile iron and carbon pipes — 855 meters in total. Bids for both projects are scheduled for 18 September, the sources said, adding that the completion date for Al Shabain is slated for 2Q 2027, while Arafat is expected in 3Q 2027.

In other infrastructure tender news: Saudi Water Partnership Company is expected to award the Arana Independent Sewage Treatment Plant project in Makkah by 4Q 2025, likely by November, Zawya reported separately, citing an unnamed source it said is familiar with the matter. The plant — to be developed under a public-private partnership — will have an initial capacity of 250k cubic meters per day, which can be doubled to 500k. It is scheduled for completion in 4Q 2028 under a 25-year build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) agreement.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Consumer spending via point-of-sale (PoS) transactions in the Kingdom fell 1.5% w-o-w in the week ending 16 August, reaching nearly SAR 13.5 bn, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s weekly report (pdf). The number of weekly transactions also declined 1.6% w-o-w to around 224.8 mn during the week.

The details: Food and beverages made up the bulk of consumers’ spending during the week in terms of value, despite dipping 2.5% w-o-w to just under SAR 1.9 bn. Restaurants and cafés came in second place, falling 3.6% w-o-w to just under SAR 1.7 bn, followed by professional and business services, which fell 3.9% to SAR 995.5 mn, while transportation rose only 0.2% to just above SAR 995.3 mn.

On the other hand, education transactions saw a 76.7% w-o-w jump to hit SAR 444.9 mn. The spike coincided with the start of the new academic year earlier this week, as some schools began opening their doors to students as early as this past Sunday.

Riyadh had the highest value of PoS transactions at about SAR 4.6 bn, followed by Jeddah at around SAR 1.8 bn.

#2- The Kingdom ranked third in Texas-based TRG Datacenters’ study on the World’s TopAI Superpowers in 2025, with a 7.2 mn H100-equivalent AI computer power, nine data center clusters, a total power capacity of 2.4k MW, and a 2.3% workforce AI engagement. The US topped the list with a 39.7 mn AI computer power, 187 data center clusters, and a total power capacity of 19.8k MW, followed by the UAE with a 23.1 mn AI computer power, eight data center clusters, and a total power capacity of 6.4k MW.

#3- The Absher platform processed 43.4 mn electronic transactions in July, serving more than 28 mn individuals and 1.8 mn businesses, the Interior Ministry said on X yesterday. Of the total, 40.7 mn transactions were carried out for individuals — including 33.4 mn via its digital wallet — while 2.8 mn transactions were carried out for businesses.

SPORTS-

Al Nassr marched into the Saudi Super Cup final with a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in Hong Kong yesterday, overcoming Sadio Mané’s first-half red card, Reuters reports. Mané had fired the opener with a crisp 10th-minute volley before Steven Bergwijn leveled, but the Senegalese star was dismissed in the 25th minute after a VAR review for a reckless challenge — continuing Al Nassr’s streak of red cards in three straight editions of the competition. Down to 10 men, new signing João Félix coolly slotted home from a Cristiano Ronaldo through ball in the 61st minute to seal the victory, with a second strike chalked off by VAR moments later.

Al Qadisiyah and Al Ahli will clash today at 3pm to book a date with Al Nassr in the Cup final next Saturday.

Juventus turned down a EUR 25 mn transfer offer from Al Ahli to sign midfielder Manuel Locatelli for the summer, sports journalist Fabrizio Romano said on X yesterday. Juventus rebuffed the offer, holding onto one of its key players. As Al Ahli is still in the hunt for a midfielder, it is reportedly in talks with Monaco’s star Denis Zakaria, Asharq Alawsat reports.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s a hodge podge of stories out there this morning, none of which are dominating headlines across the international business press. Among the stories of note:

The White House is “ironing out the details” of a potential acquisition of a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed yesterday, following reports of the potential agreement over the past few weeks. Leavitt’s confirmation also comes after SoftBank announced earlier this week that it’s acquiring a 2% stake in the chipmaker in an agreement worth USD 2 bn. The government appears to be looking to get the stake in Intel in exchange for grants the company received under the Biden administration, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying, “The stake would be a conversion of the grants and maybe increase the investment into Intel to help stabilize the company for chip production here.” (Reuters | Financial Times)

Air Canada is gradually resuming its flight operations after reaching an agreement with flight attendants over their pay, ending a four-day strike that caused the Canadian air carrier to cancel flights and retract its full-year earnings guidance. Air Canada reportedly agreed to compensate flight attendants for their work on the ground prior to the start of a flight — including boarding passengers — and will also enact immediate pay increases for flight attendants. (CBC | Reuters)

The US and NATO are working on putting together a package of security assurances for Kyiv after the end of Ukraine’s war with Russia, after Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this week. The package could take shape as early as this week, ahead of a potential meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Kids & Toys, Gifts & Homeware, and Stationery & Paper Expos will be held between 16-18 September at Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center. The trio will be held under the same roof, are slated to feature over 150 exhibitors from 23 countries — including China, Turkey, and Hong Kong — and are expected to attract more than 5k visitors.

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