THIS MORNING: Turki Al Alsheikh pulls out of Derby County deal

Good morning, friends. We’re closing the week with a major announcement from PIF, which has laid out its strategy for the rest of the decade. We also posed a few questions to the Real Estate General Authority to get a deeper understanding of how foreign ownership zones will function and change over time. Meanwhile, Acwa Power has once again set its sights on Indonesia — setting in motion the plan to build desalination infrastructure.

PLUS- Saudi Advanced Industries has tapped a new CEO — we take a look at that in today’s Moves, below.

Final whistle blown on Derby County takeover

The Derby County takeover has collapsed after General Entertainment Authority (GEA) boss Turki Al Alsheikh withdrew his proposal, Alsheikh said on X. The second-tier English club confirmed it is now off the market, and it will remain under the ownership of Clowes Developments.

Why? Regulatory clearance delays were cited as the primary reason for the withdrawal, which had left “no time to prepare the team or the club for the season ahead,” Alsheikh said.

Suspended

One-day suspension: TASI suspended trading in the shares of National Gypsum, Methanol Chemicals, Al Kathiri Holding, and Al Omran Industrial Trading for one trading day on 12 August, after the companies failed to announce their financial statements for 1H, according to an announcement.

What’s next? The four companies will resume trading for 20 sessions starting 13 August, and they must publish their financial statements by 9 September. If the companies fail to publish the statements within the 20-session period, trading in their shares will be suspended from 10 September until the financial statements are announced.

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The big story abroad

In the absence of a major update on the regional war, several stories from the business press took precedence on the front pages. Here are the most notable headlines:

US inflation in July was moderate: The consumer price index indicated that US inflation continued to ease last month, yet energy prices are still riding high since the US-Iran war erupted. The indicator rose 0.1% m-o-m and 3.4% annually, while core CPI (excluding food and energy) rose 2.5% over the year, potentially quelling the urgency of an imminent rate hike.

Bank of America has its eyes on the booming Indian economy, agreeing to acquire as much as 49.9% of Jio Financial Services’ lending unit for about USD 1.9 bn. The second-largest US lender will execute the investment through an allotment of shares and warrants in the Mumbai-based company, which is one of the region's fastest-growing financial firms.

Putting a price on the Truth (Social): US President Donald Trump has been hit with a lawsuit after his social media company Trump Media & Technology Group offered users a paid subscription that provides faster access to his Truth Social feed, through which he frequently signals policy changes. The service, called Truth API, charges a USD 100k monthly subscription and has been blasted by the plaintiffs as “profoundly corrupt” in a filing to a Manhattan federal court.