Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a relatively busy Wednesday in the Kingdom, with the International Monetary Fund releasing its latest Regional Economic Outlook report and a handful of capital markets stories to sink your teeth into. The IMF raised its GDP growth forecasts for Saudi Arabia once again in its latest report, penciling in 4.0% growth in 2025 and 2026.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s first regulated e-trading platform for SAR-denominated bonds and sukuk is now live, courtesy of New York-based Tradeweb Markets. The platform saw its first handful of transactions yesterday, led by BlackRock, BNP Paribas, and Goldman Sachs.

^^ We have the details on these stories and more in this morning’s newswell, below.

ALSO WORTH YOUR TIME- The Saudi Pro League was the sixth-highest spending football league globally during the 2025 summer transfer window, but came in second overall in terms of revenues during the period. We have the breakdown of the figures in Sports, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Construction Technology ConFex KSA (CTF KSA) will kick off today at Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel, gathering over 1k industry leaders to address the role of AI, digital twins, BIM, and robotics in advancing the Kingdom’s USD 1.3 tn gigaprojects. It will run alongside the Data Center Technology ConFexKSA, which will feature over 60 exhibitors, 120 speakers, and an awards ceremony recognizing achievements in the construction sector.

The Private Capital Forum also kicks off today at the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center in Riyadh. The two-day event will bring together global investors, fund managers, and policymakers to talk about venture capital and private equity. The program will feature over 50 speakers and more than 15 talks and panels.

WEATHER- Clouds on the move: Thunderstorms are expected across Jazan, Asir, Al Baha, and Makkah today, bringing bursts of rain and gusty winds. Dust and sand may sweep through parts of Riyadh, Madinah, and Hail, while winds over the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf could stir up moderate waves along the coasts.

  • Riyadh: 33°C high / 20°C low,
  • Jeddah: 37°C high / 28°C low
  • Makkah: 38°C high / 27°C low
  • Dammam: 34°C high / 21°C low.

PSAs-

#1- Businesses subject to VAT with more than SAR 40 mn in annual revenues have until Friday, 31 October 2025 to file their 3Q and September tax returns, the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority said in a statement yesterday. Late submissions may incur fines ranging from 5-25% of the declared taxes.

#2- The Human Resources and Social Development Ministry issued a new guide on the rights and obligations of domestic workers, according to a copy obtained by Okaz. The guide prohibits employers from charging domestic workers any fees related to recruitment, profession change, service transfers, or work permits.

The guide also outlines key rights such as paid rest days, healthcare, fair wages, proper housing, and formal contracts. Violations could result in fines of up to SAR 20k and a three-year recruitment ban, while repeat offenses could see penalties doubled, potentially leading to a permanent recruitment ban.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Washington on 18 November to meet with US President Donald Trump and is expected to sign agreements covering AI, defense, nuclear energy, and trade, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing a source it said is familiar with the plans. The visit — the Crown Prince’s first to the US since 2018, during Trump’s first term — is expected to touch on normalization with Israel, though no breakthrough is likely, the source said.

IN CONTEXT- The visit — which comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire — is designed to firm up a handful of investment plans between Washington and Riyadh. The plans, announced during Trump’s regional tour in May, entailed Riyadh committing USD 600 bn in investments in the US, with that figure set to increase to USD 1 tn.

#2- Goldman Sachs is launching the first phase of its onshore private banking services out of its Riyadh office, expanding its wealth-management division in the Kingdom, Bloomberg reports, citing a statement from the company. The bank is looking to tap Saudi Arabia’s “exceptionally dynamic economy and…highly sophisticated investor base,” said its co-head of private wealth management for EMEA Rob Mullane.

IN CONTEXT- Last year, Goldman Sachs became the first major international bank to secure a regional headquarters license in the Kingdom. Other Wall Street giants, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan, have since obtained similar licenses to get their feet on the ground in the Kingdom. All has been a part of the Regional Headquarters Program that requires foreign firms to set up hubs in the Kingdom by 2026 to be eligible for government contracts.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Saudi Agriculture Exhibition drew in over SAR 3.5 bn in investments, split across 22 local and international agreements and six MoUs, the Environment, Water, and Agriculture Ministry said on X on Monday. The agreements aim to enhance food security, promote agricultural sustainability, and support the development of modern farming technologies while boosting local production efficiency and attracting domestic and foreign investments to the sector.

By the numbers: The agriculture sector currently contributes SAR 118 bn to national GDP, which the government plans to push to SAR 140 bn by 2030, acting Deputy Environment, Water, and Agriculture Minister Sulaiman Al Khatib told Arqaam yesterday. The sector now produces 16 mn tons of agricultural products annually, helping the Kingdom achieve self-sufficiency in several key products like eggs, dairy products, vegetables, fish, poultry, and meat.

#2- Short-term car rental contracts issued to individuals rose 21% y-o-y in 3Q 2025 to over 1.8 mn, the Transport General Authority said on X on Monday. The Riyadh region accounted for the largest share of contracts at 31.6%, followed by Makkah (24%), the Eastern Province (14.6%), Aseer (7.7%), and Madinah (5.8%).

#3- The number of trips booked through ride-hailing apps climbed 78% y-o-y in 3Q 2025 to over 39 mn, the Transport General Authority said on X on Monday. The Riyadh Province came at the forefront, accounting for 43.9% of the trips, followed by Makkah with a 22.1% share. The Eastern Province (14.5%), Madinah (5.8%), and Aseer (3.6%) came next, with the remaining 10% distributed across Al Qassim, Tabuk, Hail, Jazan, Najran, Al Jouf, the Northern Borders, and Al Baha.

#4- Saudi telecom giant stc connected over 125k homes to its fiber optic network and laid 1.1k km of new cables across key routes and residential areas, Asharq Business reported yesterday. The expansion also linked 616 public and private entities, data centers, and telecom firms, along with 566 mobile tower sites. Stc is also adding more than 2k new 5G sites, focusing on under-served regions.

SPORTS-

The Saudi Pro League’s (SPL) total spending during the summer 2025 transfer window hit USD 751.5 mn, rising around 42.2% y-o-y, according to an Asharq Mercato report (pdf). That placed the league in sixth place globally for total transfer spending, coming in behind the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, and France’s Ligue 1.

The breakdown by club: Al Qadsiah was the highest-spending club in SPL, spending USD 148 mn on transfers in summer 2025. Neom FC came in second with USD 136 mn, followed by Al Nassr (USD 125 mn), Al Hilal (USD 121 mn), Al Ahli Saudi (USD 92 mn), and Al Ittihad (USD 88 mn). Al Nassr was also the 10th highest-spending club globally during the season. Manchester City came in first, spending USD 438.8 mn.

SPL came in second place in terms of revenues during the summer 2025 season, behind the English Premier League, whose revenues came in at USD 1.8 bn. Turkey’s SuperLig trailed behind SPL in third place with USD 205 mn in revenues, followed by the Russian Premier League (USD 89 mn) and Serie A (USD 88 mn).

How Saudi clubs fared in terms of income: Al Ettifaq registered the largest net income during the transfer window with USD 21 mn. However, Al Ahli recorded the highest revenues from the transfer window at USD 46.7 mn. Al Qadsiah (USD 29.8 mn) came in second, followed by Al Ettifaq (USD 22.7 mn), Al Wehda (USD 15.3 mn), and Al Nassr (USD 13.9 mn).

CABINET WATCH-

The Cabinet approved the opening of a branch of the UK’s University of Strathclyde in Riyadh during its meeting yesterday, state news agency SPA reported. It also authorized the establishment of the Saudi-Sudanese Coordination Council, and permitted the Interior Ministry to apply municipal real estate regulations to its owned properties, including those within housing complexes, training cities, and facilities designated for health, education, or recreation.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a busy morning in the international business press, while a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire looks further from reach after Russia rejected US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal, and a planned Russia-US summit in Budapest was shelved. (New York Times | Reuters)

The biggest business headlines:

#1- Gold broke its record rally after seeing its steepest drop in years, as investors began to buy the dip in a rare pullback this year against the backdrop of a strengthening USD and easing trade tensions between China and the US. Spot gold fell 6% to USD 4.1k, after the precious metal climbed 28% YTD, with analysts now questioning whether this could mark the end of the metal’s brilliant run and the start of a correction cycle. (Financial Times | Reuters)

#2- OpenAI launched its own competitor to Google’s search engine, Atlas, built around ChatGPT, sending shares of Google’s parent Alphabet down 1.8% yesterday and intensifying competition between the two tech giants. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Guardian)

#3- Netflix’s shares also took a hit, falling more than 5% after missing its third-quarter earnings target due to a hefty tax expense in Brazil. (Reuters | CNBC | FT | Wall Street Journal)

#4- In M&A news, Warner Bros rejected a c. USD 60 bn bid from Paramount Skydance, though it is open to selling its assets, with interested parties including Netflix and Comcast. (WSJ | Reuters | FT)

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