The Helicopter Company orders 12 jets, Saudi tenders 3.2 GW renewables, MSCI drops two Saudi stocks

THC adds business jets

PIF’s helicopter operator is moving into business jets. The Helicopter Company has placed a firm order for 12 Bombardier aircraft worth about USD 568 mn — five Challenger 3500s, five Global 5500s, and two flagship Global 8000s — with options for 48 more, the two companies said in a joint statement. The order firms up a July letter of intent and launches THC’s business-aviation arm. As part of the agreement, Bombardier committed to setting up a local footprint in the Kingdom.

Saudi tenders 3.2 GW more renewables

Saudi Power Procurement Company has opened the qualification round for the eighth batch of projects under the National Renewable Energy Program, it said in a statement. The projects include two solar plants — 900 MW at Tumair in Riyadh province and 1 GW at East Al Amoah in Aseer — and the 1.3 GW Al Mozeraah wind farm in Makkah province. The batch totals 3.2 GW, keeping the program moving toward its target of renewables contributing 50% of the power mix by 2030.

MSCI cuts two Saudi stocks

MSCI is dropping two Saudi names from its index. The index provider will remove Ades Holding and Makkah Construction and Development from its MSCI Saudi Arabia standard index, adding no new constituents in its November review of global equity indices, it said in a statement (pdf). The change takes effect after the close of trading on 30 November. MSCI gave no reasons, but its reviews are based on size, freefloat, and liquidity.

Digging deeper: The two stocks face selling as index-tracking funds rebalance out of them. AlJazira Capital (pdf) estimated passive outflows of USD 100-200 mn for each ahead of the review and flagged both stocks as exclusion candidates after their freefloat-adjusted market caps slipped below the index threshold, with Ades trading around 15% off its 52-week high.

A Saudi game studio raises funding

Homegrown game studio Lambda Studios raised USD 1.3 mn in a funding round led by Merak Capital, according to a statement. Founded nearly a decade ago in Makkah by Sari and Firas AlSaedi building games on Roblox, the studio is now moving onto new platforms, including Steam.

Adding to the gaming roster: Merak Capital also participated in a USD 1.45 mn funding round for Majestic Mind Games alongside Impact46 in August.

Humain moves into AI training

Humain is building an AI school in Riyadh. The company has unveiled Humain+, an applied-AI education arm opening at Majdoul Tower in 1Q 2027, it said in a statement. It will run four tracks: for executives, non-technical professionals, developers, and students. It will also run sector-specific labs covering government, finance, healthcare, and energy. Learners will train on Humain’s own models and infrastructure, with a tutor powered by its Allam model. The campus is designed for about 1.5k learners a year and will house GPU-equipped “Builder Labs.”

ALSO- Humain has partnered with immersive video technology company Vuz to build interactive AI learning into Humain+.

Saudi grant backs Bahrain bridge

Bahrain has signed the fourth-phase contracts for the Busaiteen Bridge, funded in full by a Saudi grant of more than SAR 937 mn, state news agency SPA reports. The Saudi Fund for Development is financing the bridge, which will link Muharraq Island to Manama. It adds to a nearly five-decade run of Saudi development finance in Bahrain spanning 34 projects worth more than SAR 10.9 bn in grants and soft loans.