MSGA starts trading tomorrow

Good morning, everyone. Our big story today dives into the domestic market’s performance during the first half of the year — TASI ended the six-month period up 3%, but value traded and the number of trades both fell over 10%.

Happening tomorrow

MSGA starts trading on Nomu tomorrow: The real estate developer’s shares will list with daily price fluctuation limits of 30% and static limits of 10%, according to a Tadawul disclosure. MSGA wrapped up its bookbuilding last month, offering a 10% stake to qualified investors at SAR 6 per share, targeting SAR 66.7 mn in proceeds and implying a post-listing market cap of SAR 667 mn.

Saudi anchor, foreign wallets

A new Saudi private equity fund built to pull foreign money into the kingdom is targeting a first close in 3Q 2026, an Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) spokesperson tells EnterpriseAM. Institutional investors are running due diligence on the fund and its agreement pipeline now, the spokesperson said. A&M, which helped structure the vehicle, has already put its own capital in and may increase its commitment.

The pitch is co-investment, not just capital. AGBI first reported that the fund will take controlling stakes in defensive, asset-backed sectors, including cold storage, warehousing, data centers, and healthcare. The fund will package “pre-wrapped” agreements so foreign investors can come in alongside a blue-chip Saudi partner rather than source and structure transactions themselves. A&M MENA regional leader Colie Spink told AGBI he expects the fund to drive equity deployment worth “a multiple” of its own size.

Why it matters: This is a live test of whether Saudi can swap private and foreign capital for state money. PIF has been pulling back, and FDI is still running below Vision 2030 targets. A vehicle that turns one Saudi anchor into several foreign co-investors could be the mechanism the kingdom’s FDI push has been missing.

AGBI quotes Spink on a USD 500 mn target. A&M declined to confirm the size, with the spokesperson telling us the company “has not formally announced a specific target size.”

Madinah is getting a Ferris wheel

The Kingdom is looking for private investors to build a SAR 511 mn (USD 135 mn) Ferris wheel in Madinah — listed on Invest Saudi as the Hijaz Eye — with a projected payback period of seven years, AGBI reports. The project would sit on a 33.7k sqm plot and is pitched as a pilgrim-facing attraction.

The logic: The Kingdom’s Umrah-plus strategy wants to encourage pilgrims to spend more time and money beyond the holy sites. Pilgrimage demand is less sensitive to economic conditions than typical leisure travel, CAPA’s head of analysis Richard Maslen has previously told us — and with 18.5 mn overseas religious visitors in 2025, the captive audience is substantial.

BUT- The region’s track record with large observation wheels is mixed. Ain Dubai has spent more time closed than open since its 2021 launch, and is currently shut.

SRC to issue USD-denominated sukuk

Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) plans to issue Reg S senior unsecured USD-denominated sukuk, Zawya reports. The offering, issued under SRC Sukuk Limited’s Trust Certificate Issuance Program, will comprise 5.5-year and 10-year tranches. Meanwhile, fixed-income investor meetings are set to begin on 6 July.

REMEMBER- SRC previously finalized the pricing of its second government-guaranteed USD-denominated international sukuk offering. The issuance — valued at USD 2.5 bn — was more than 5.5x oversubscribed. The firm’s first government-guaranteed international sukuk was wrapped up in February 2025, valued at USD 2 bn.

ADVISORS- HSBC and JPMorgan are acting as joint global coordinators, joint lead managers, and bookrunners alongside DBS Bank, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, KFH Capital, KIB Invest, Mizuho, Al Salam Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Oil Watch

Aramco slashed Arab Light crude’s selling price for Asian buyers in August by the largest margin in 26 years, Bloomberg reports, citing a price list. The company cut the price by USD 11 per barrel to a USD 1.5 reduction to the regional benchmark, exceeding the USD 8 per barrel cut analysts expected.

One major Asian buyer is stepping up crude orders: China placed orders for at least 26 mn bbl for delivery in July or August from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Iraq via tenders and one-off purchases from trading firms, the Financial Times reports, citing data from Argus. Beijing seeks to replenish domestic stocks — depleted during the regional war — that may have fallen to around 1 mn bbl / d in May and June. Beijing intentionally chose not to replace its missing Gulf oil with alternatives from elsewhere, forestalling fears of surging global prices.

The return of Beijing to Middle Eastern crude markets is a bullish signal, S&P director of oil trading research Zhuwei Wang told the FT. That said, a major rebound in Chinese crude oil purchases depends on Beijing lifting informal export restrictions on refined products like gasoline and jet fuel, Argus’ head of Asia crude pricing Fabian Ng says. These controls — put in place to protect domestic supply during the Iran war — cap the amount of raw crude China can currently import.

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The big story abroad

It’s an oddly quiet Tuesday morning on the foreign front pages, with no single story dominating headlines. Among those getting top billing:

#1- Iran’s military reportedly fired at least two missiles on commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of the morning, two US officials told Axios. The US “is likely to retaliate with strikes against Iranian targets,” according to Axios.

#2- Vertex Pharma will acquire drugmaker Crinetics Pharma for a total equity value of approximately USD 10 bn, diversifying its access to treatments that could generate ​more than USD 5 bn in annual revenues. The move is the latest in a surge of pharma dealmaking, as big pharma gains confidence in navigating regulatory scrutiny while racing to offset looming patent expirations.

#3- Major banks aim to skirt limits on debit card fees: A coterie of US banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo — are reportedly looking to bypass a federal law capping debit card fees by acquiring a network owned by the fintech player Fiserv. While these caps cost the industry bns annually, banks have long argued the limits restrict them from offering customer rewards and other services. The acquisition is still in early stages.

#4- And in the gaming world: Microsoft is letting go of 4.8k employees as part of a major restructuring of its Xbox division, as the gaming industry faces an intense hardware crisis. The company is pivoting to navigate a paradigm shift ushered in by advancements in AI.