Cabinet ties land-transfer registration to settling White Land fees

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today we take a look at the Kingdom’s fiscal outlook and the evolving sports investment landscape. Forecasters remain split on whether Saudi Arabia's revenue cushion from oil export rerouting will be absorbed by capital and defense spending, leaving the final deficit call uncertain. Meanwhile, Al Shabab’s prime Riyadh real estate has added layers of complexity to its privatization, overshadowing its sporting value and postponing its inclusion in the state's club sale program.

No fees, no exit for idle landowners

Unpaid White Land fees now block transfers: Saudi Arabia will not register any property transaction that transfers ownership of land subject to the White Land and Vacant Real Estate Fees Law until applicable fees are settled, according to a Cabinet decision. The measure closes off the option of selling covered land without first clearing what’s owed on it, Municipalities and Housing Minister Majid Al Hogail said on X.

Why it matters: The White Land tax exists to push idle plots into development, but it only works if owners actually pay it. Tying documentation to settlement gives the levy teeth. An owner can no longer offload undeveloped land and pass the unpaid fees down the chain. It also plugs a collection gap for the state at a time when the fiscal backdrop is tightening, and reinforces the wider policy of forcing underused land into the housing supply, the same logic behind the expanded White Land tax and the government’s land-for-development model with private builders.

Aramco offers crude outside Hormuz

Aramco has offered additional crude oil cargoes for September loading outside the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing four unnamed sources, after selling at least 4 mn barrels to Chinese buyers this month.

The details: Aramco has offered Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude to Asian buyers for a second straight week, with cargoes available through ship-to-ship transfers off Fujairah in the UAE or Sohar in Oman, both outside the Strait. Bids were due Wednesday.

IN CONTEXT- Aramco is routing crude around both of the region’s threatened chokepoints as attacks disrupt shipping. Tankers carrying Saudi crude have switched off trackers and transferred cargoes off Sohar for delivery to China, while two Asian refiners recently shifted September loadings from Yanbu to Egypt’s Sidi Kerir amid Houthi threats in the Red Sea. Sidi Kerir exports more than doubled to around 2.3 mn bbl/d in August from about 1 mn bbl/d in July, with Saudi barrels driving most of the increase.

A new cover

Ladun Investment will begin trading on the main market on Monday, 31 August, with daily share price fluctuation limits set at 10%, following its transfer from the Nomu-Parallel Market, according to a Tadawul statement. The company received Tadawul’s approval earlier this month after resubmitting its application to move to the main market last month, having put the transfer on hold late last year.

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The big story abroad

Meta and Nvidia are taking up prime real estate on the business press’ front pages this morning, for two very different reasons. Facebook owner Meta is set to pay USD 18 bn in settlements to US states over the next decade to resolve lawsuits accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to to encourage compulsive use of social media among young users. Meanwhile, Nvidia forecasts a 70% y-o-y jump in sales of AI chips next year, after reporting USD 96.2 bn in revenues and USD 108 bn in sales for the quarter ending in July, beating Wall Street expectations.

On the geopolitical front, Iran and Oman are said to be finalizing an agreement on controlling movement in the Strait of Hormuz, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning an escalation of attacks on Ukraine as negotiations for a peace agreement reach a dead end.

Meanwhile, flash floods on the border of Nepal and China have killed at least 160 people and left hundreds missing, with search and rescue efforts still underway.