STARTUP WATCH-

Homegrown digital real estate platform Tadawulcom Real Estate raised SAR 1.5 mn in a seed funding round led by an unnamed angel investor, according to a press release published on Monday.

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Where’s the money going? The platform — licensed by the Real Estate General Authority — will allocate the fresh funds to back its growth plans, along with ramping up product development and adding new tools to enhance user experience and increase operations nationally and regionally.

MANUFACTURING-

The government inked a cooperation agreement with China’s Hongjun New Energy to build a 6 GW heterojunction solar module factory in the Kingdom, according to a press release. The Chinese company, also known as SoleFior, was established in 2023 as a JV between Guangdong Fuhong Juneng, investment group Primavera Capital, and Chinese state enterprise Gree Group. The company has an operational portfolio of 8 GW of solar and 5 GW of modules at the Zhuhai base, as well as 4 GW of cells and 6 GW of modules at the Nantong base in the pipeline.

AVIATION-

The Kingdom inked agreements with 17 countries and regional organizations at the ICAO General Assembly in Montreal, covering air transport regulations, air safety standards, connectivity, and technical cooperation, according to a statement from the General Authority of Civil Aviation.

The breakdown: Bilateral air transport service agreements were signed with Antigua and Barbuda, South Africa, Finland, Latvia, and Saint Lucia. MoUs for technical and operational cooperation were established with the African Civil Aviation Commission, Brazil, Algeria, Belarus, Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Liberia, Georgia, Comoros, Seychelles, Lithuania, and China. Additionally, an MoU for technical cooperation was formalized between the Arab Civil Aviation Organization and the African Civil Aviation Commission.

RETAIL-

Alshaya to launch 100 stores at The Avenues Riyadh: Kuwait-based Alshaya Group signed a USD 150 mn agreement with Shomoul Holding, a subsidiary of Kuwaiti real estate developer Mabanee Company, to open 100 stores at The Avenues Riyadh, covering over 50k sqm of leasable space, according to a press release published yesterday.

REFRESHER- The Saudi arm of Mabanee signed two contracts worth a combined SAR 1.1 bn in February to develop towers in the second phase of The Avenues Riyadh megaproject.

Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister go online in Saudi: Majid Al Futtaim expanded its partnership with US retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. by launching dedicated Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister online stores in the Kingdom, with Qatar and other countries in the region to follow in the coming months, Gulf News reported yesterday. The agreement also gives Majid Al Futtaim rights to expand into Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

TECHNOLOGY-

Schneider Electric signed over 10 MoUs at its Innovation Summit in Riyadh last week, covering energy, infrastructure, digital transformation, real estate, food, and eMobility, it said in a press release (pdf).

The details: Schneider partnered with Power Center, Evostel, United Transformers Electric Company, Saudi Electro-Mechanical Technical and Refrigeration Air-Conditioning Appliances Company, Advanced Technical Services, and Subway Networks to collaborate on energy and industrial solutions. Meanwhile, Golden Energy Solutions joined Schneider’s BlokSeT Licensee Program to manufacture low-voltage equipment locally.

ALSO- The company partnered with Al Moammar Information Systems on data centers, Avalon Pharma on digitization, PCC Real Estate Developer and SNC Information and Communications Technology on smart buildings, Saudi Aquaculture Systems Factory and Panda Retail Company on food sector initiatives, and Solutions Valley, a subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company, on EV charging infrastructure.

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