PIF carefully kicks new strategy’s tires with investors

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

PIF is making sure the water’s fine before jumping in

Good morning, ladies and gents. The holy month is a few days away, and we’re loading up on our morning coffee like crazy to get ready (we know it doesn’t work like that, but still).

In today’s issue: Safanad sold home care operator HC-One — the largest in the UK — for USD 1.6 bn, a snapshot of GCC’s sovereign wealth investments in 2025, and Bahri’s bumper earnings in 2025.

BUT FIRST- The Public Investment Fund’s two-day Private Sector Forum wraps up today at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, and the fund is testing elements of its revised strategy by sounding out investors in its gigaproject pipeline on the sidelines, AGBI reports, citing sources it says are in the know.

The fund is still testing its draft strategy at the moment and gauging investor interest, with a final version due this spring, the sources said. New directives reportedly dictate that projects that do not meet strict internal rate of return thresholds or serve a designated trophy event will be deprioritized, with AGBI’s sources saying the fund plans to cut capex by some 15%.

The big fish: Attracting capital from major global asset managers will be a big focus under the new roadmap, unnamed sources told Reuters.

REMEMBER- PIF is set to refine its 2026-2030 investment strategy by concentrating capital on a tighter group of portfolio companies and scaling them into global champions across sectors such as manufacturing, AI, and aviation. Governor Yasir Al Rumayyan has already signaled that Neom is no longer the fund’s singular focal point, with the next phase organized around six priority sectors, including tourism and advanced manufacturing.

IN CONTEXT- Higher fiscal pressures — including lower oil prices, rising borrowing, and a widening deficit — are pushing the government to cut back on capital spending and prioritize time-sensitive projects and high-return sectors.

Happening today

The World Defense Show continues today and runs through Thursday, 12 February in Riyadh, bringing together defense officials, military leaders, and industry executives from across the globe.

WEATHER- Dust-laden winds will keep skies hazy over Al Jouf and the Northern Borders, while fog drapes parts of the Eastern Province and the highlands of Jazan, Aseer, Al Baha, and Makkah.

Riyadh: 29°C high / 17°C low;
Jeddah: 31°C high / 21°C low;
Makkah: 33°C high / 21°C low;
Dammam: 27°C high / 16°C low.

PSA

Tadawul is taking a few short breathers to celebrate the upcoming holidays. Here’s when you can (and can’t) trade:

Founding Day: The Exchange is taking Sunday, 22 February off. Trading resumes on Monday, 23 February.
For Ramadan, it’s business as usual. The trading schedule remains as is, opening at 9:30am and wrapping up the post-trade session by 4:00pm.
Eid Al Fitr: Tadawul will close shop at the end of Monday, 16 March and won’t be back until Tuesday, 24 March.

Watch this space

IPO — Saleh Abdulaziz Al Rashed & Sons priced its IPO at SAR 45 per share, giving it a market cap of around SAR 837 mn at listing, according to a news release (pdf). The construction materials and mining group is set to raise up to SAR 251 mn from the Tadawul main market offering — the first real test of 2026 after what has been a bruising year for Saudi equities.

Demand was strong: The orderbook came just shy of SAR 17 bn, leaving the offering roughly 67x oversubscribed.

What’s next? Retail subscription will run between 12-17 February for up to 30% of the 5.6 mn shares on offer. Final allocations are expected on 24 February.

SPEAKING OF RETAIL — Is 30% a bit much? Banks are reportedly urging the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to rethink guidance that nudges issuers to allocate a bigger chunk of IPOs to retail investors and mutual funds, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are in the know.

Why? The push — which can see as much as 30% of shares steered to individuals, up from roughly 10-20% — could backfire if retail investors added downward price pressure to an already cooling market. Retail investors traditionally flip shares for quick returns.

The friction point: While the CMA wants to broaden local participation, banks argue that squeezing out foreign institutions to favor retail buyers is hurting the Kingdom’s goal of deepening international capital flows, according to Bloomberg. Domestic mutual funds have also shown limited appetite for recent listings, leaving issuers caught between regulatory nudges and a lack of actual demand.

IN CONTEXT IPO momentum hit a wall last year, with listing volumes flat at USD 4.2 bn and only two of the 10 largest IPOs trading above offer. Names like EFSIM Facilities Management even scrapped IPO plans amid weak demand. Meanwhile, retail trading value slid to about USD 9 bn in December — the lowest since at least 2020 — as the TASI posted its worst year in a decade last year and continues to lag EM peers despite a recent rebound.

PRIVATIZATION — On the hunt for a private player to take on the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Airport project: Matarat Holding and the National Center for Privatization & PPP (NCP) is calling for expressions of interest for the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz New International Airport Project.

A tall order: The project’s scope will involve building a new passenger terminal, developing a runway, taxiways, and aprons. The chosen applicant will handle the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.

Interested? The project will be implemented under a build-transfer-operate (BTO) contract with a concession period of 30 years. Interested parties have until Monday, 23 February to submit their expression of interest.

REMEMBER-Matarat Holding and NCP have been on a privatization push, most recently announcing that several leading global consortia are in the running for the new Taif International Airport development project. We are also eagerly waiting to hear who they settle on for the Abha International Airport upgrade project, which will be awarded within weeks.

DEFENSE — Made-in-Saudi Gulf jet parts: Eurofighter Typhoon jets and other aircraft in the Gulf will soon use Saudi-manufactured military components, Vice President of Industrialization at BAE Systems Saudi Arabia Azzam Alhakbani told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 1:49) on the sidelines of the World Defense Show. BAE has already begun exporting Saudi Typhoon parts, now in use by fleets including the UK Royal Air Force.

The long play: The Kingdom is building the industrial track record needed to secure its long-desired seat at the table for the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). Japan has previously expressed reservations about Saudi Arabia’s technical contribution to the program’s sixth-gen fighter. Demonstrating that it can sustain the Typhoon could be Riyadh’s answer to these concerns.

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The big story abroad

No single story is capturing the attention of the foreign business pages this morning — among the few worth noting:

Google’s parent company Alphabet started shopping around a 100-year bond, which comes as part of a wider GBP-denominated issuance. We know the demand is there, with the tech giant wrapping up a 5x oversubscribed, USD 20 bn bond sale yesterday. It is also preparing a separate CHF offering, all in a bid to finance its AI ambitions.

Speaking of Big Tech, they might catch a break on tariffs, as US President Donald Trump plans to exempt companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from an upcoming streak of levies on chips. The move would spare imports from Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC, whose major clients include AI hyperscalers — a sector that Trump wants to protect while simultaneously remaining tough on imports.

The specter of AI haunts private credit: Private credit lenders remain rattled by potential disruption in the software sector — a favorite debtor among players — by advancements in AI. In light of Anthropic’s rollout of AI tools that automate tasks conventionally done via software products, shares of asset managers with large private credit activity saw a sharp drop.

Safanad frees up USD 1.6 bn after UK care home exit

Safanad sells UK care home giant to US REIT: Riyadh- and New York-based private equity firm Safanad fully exited HC-One — the UK’s largest care home operator — to the US-based healthcare REIT Welltower for north of USD 1.6 bn (GBP 1.2 bn), according to an SEC filing. The sale ends Safanad’s decade-long investment in the company and frees up capital for its healthcare push across the Kingdom and the wider GCC, it said in a separate press release.

Why it matters: HC-One now operates close to 300 care homes with roughly 15k residents. By round-tripping this international asset, Safanad wants to show it can build an institutional-grade business that attracts global exit capital — an experience it is now positioning for deployment closer to home.

Capital lines up for redeployment: Safanad has been actively deploying capital across the region under its USD 3 bn five-year investment program run through its Safanad KSA platform, targeting what it calls social infrastructure. Separately, Safanad operates the Nexus Gulf healthcare platform, which targets long-term care, diagnostics, and rehabilitation, alongside investments in education through Global School Management — with a USD 200 mn MENA mandate — and digital infrastructure, including a USD 1 bn US data-center platform aimed at linking capacity to rising GCC demand.

Our take

Scrutiny hasn’t killed buyer appetite: The UK care home sector has been under sustained regulatory and political scrutiny in recent years, particularly around leverage, ownership structures, and the role of private equity. Against this backdrop, the successful sale of a scaled operator like HC-One to institutional capital is notable, highlighting how mature platforms can still command buyer interest once operational and balance-sheet risks are stabilized.

Ashmore snaps up stake in Pharco KSA

London-based investment manager Ashmore acquired a minority stake in Pharco KSA, the Saudi arm of Pharco Pharma, through a primary capital increase, according to a statement (pdf). The transaction marks the inaugural investment under the Ashmore Saudi Industrial Fund and was anchored by the Saudi Investment Company.

ADVISORS- Our friends at EFG Hermes acted as the sole financial advisors on the transaction.

What they said: “This transaction highlights the growing [potential] for deeper integration between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the wider region,” Co-Head of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes Maged El Ayouti said.

ALSO- Pharco is opening its first plant in Saudi Arabia by 2027, marking its first industrial foray beyond Egypt, CEO Sherine Helmy told Asharq Business. The first phase of manufacturing in the Kingdom will focus on solid pharma forms, which represent roughly 70% of market demand. The facility plans to later expand production into biological drugs, vaccines, and other specialized treatments, Helmy said.

Geopolitics drove the GCC’s sovereign wealth investments in 2025, but diversification was still the name of the game

The GCC sovereign wealth funds (SWF) wielded bns of USD in 2025 to secure everything from AI capabilities to energy resilience. As Julie Kassab of Deloitte points out, their strategic pivot westward is a quest for “regulatory certainty” and market depth, a move complemented by a shrewd focus on Asia.

It’s not all smooth sailing: Geopolitical headwinds — notably the US’ trade policy shifts and Middle East tensions — have forced a rethink, as Oxford Economics’ Azad Zangana notes, pushing SWFs to swap short-term profit for long-term supply chain security and competitive edge.

DATA POINT- The Public Investment Fund (PIF) led global sovereign investment in 2025 with USD 36.2 bn — 80% of which went to its acquisition of EA Sports. The Saudi fund was the largest contributor to private equity in 2025, deploying USD 33.1 bn throughout the year. It also invested some USD 8.3 bn in digitalization, with only USD 300 mn of that amount going toward pure AI investments.

Where did the money go?

The top sectors for capital: Saudi and UAE SWFs focused their investments on infrastructure, energy transition, digitalization, and advanced technologies, in addition to sectors connected to long-term economic resilience, Deloitte’s Sovereign Wealth Fund leader Julie Kassab tells EnterpriseAM. Attention was also given to partnerships and platforms that deliver scale, operational depth, and enduring market access.

The pivot westward

GCC SWFs were attracted to the West for its “regulatory certainty, market maturity, and governance standards,” Kassab said. These markets offered the scale and stability needed for sectors like infrastructure, energy transition, technology, and advanced manufacturing while also supporting domestic targets through knowledge transfer, strategic partnerships, and access to global best practices.

“Domestic investment continues to be central, but in 2025 it has been complemented by a more deliberate global approach,” Kassab said. The GCC funds’ international investments are turning into a pathway to gaining capabilities, expertise, and scale that can support domestic targets.

Yes, but: The US — and the West more broadly — was also no straightforward investment last year. One of two major geopolitical risks GCC SWFs faced last year that reshaped their investment strategies was the US’ introduction of a new trade policy, which created economic and policy uncertainty, Oxford Economics’ Macroeconomist Azad Zangana tells EnterpriseAM.

The other major risk? Escalating tensions between Iran and Israel — alongside the US — also led to a reassessment of regional risk, pushing funds to pursue greater diversification.

These events caused GCC SWFs to focus on future gains rather than short-term profitability, Kassab tells us. Although diversification and returns remain central goals, attention has shifted toward building portfolios that boost supply chain security, resilient infrastructure, energy systems, and advanced technologies. Funds are now increasingly targeting sectors and markets that offer lasting stability and a competitive edge in the long term.

The major drivers of the geopolitical shift towards the West: AI and energy

The regional geopolitical shift is being driven by the global energy transition, the emergence of new energy producers from Latin America to the US, and the rise of AI, Foreign Policy has recently written.

The PIF focused on Western tech transfer and Asian partnerships in 2025. The fund is leading a USD 55 bn takeover of US gaming giant EA, with its AI arm Humain partnering with AMD, Cisco, Blackstone, and Elon Musk’s xAI to build data centers in the Kingdom. The PIF also expects its total commitments in Japan to reach USD 27 bn by 2030 while setting up a USD 1 bn fund to support the expansion of Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area firms into Saudi.

Still, Saudi and UAE SWFs looked beyond specific geographies in 2025, targeting markets that provide “depth, stability, and access to innovation,” Kassab said. Developed markets with solid regulatory foundations continue to anchor investment strategies, alongside carefully chosen investments in high-growth regions.

The challenges: unprofitable investments and execution risk

What’s the catch? The focus on strategic investments could present some challenges, including mistimed investment entries that can hurt short-term performance, as well as the cost incurred from capital being locked in long-term strategic initiatives, Zangana said. They can also bring execution risks and extended investment horizons, demanding greater focus on governance, risk management, and portfolio diversification, Kassab said.

GCC countries are anchoring their economic transformation on ambitious strategies, yet overinvestment in unprofitable sectors or unsuccessful reforms could slow progress, according to Foreign Policy.

What’s next?

GCC SWFs are expected to maintain a “balanced approach” in 2026, with domestic investments driving national priorities and targeted global investments focused on resilience, innovation, and long-term competitiveness, Kassab said. Portfolio flexibility and disciplined capital deployment are expected to stay at the core as funds adapt to a rapidly changing global environment.

International geopolitical noise is expected to subside, allowing funds to refocus on domestic priorities, Zangana said. Meanwhile, investments in domestic infrastructure, healthcare, technology (including AI), and energy transition are likely to feature prominently in the upcoming few years.

Bahri’s bottom line up, Yansab’s down in 2025

Bahri

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) posted a 12.1% y-o-y rise in net income to SAR 2.4 bn in 2025, while revenue increased 9.1% y-o-y to SAR 10.3 bn, it said in a Tadawul disclosure. The gains were driven by a strong performance in its oil and integrated logistics units amid higher operational activity and higher global shipping rates. Tempering the results were weaker revenues from the chemicals and dry bulk units.

In 4Q 2025, Bahri’s net income jumped 106.2% y-o-y to SAR 977.7 mn, but still fell short of Bloomberg analysts’ SAR 1.1 bn forecast. Meanwhile, revenue rose 47.2% y-o-y to SAR 3.3 bn during the quarter.

Yansab

Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. (Yansab) saw its net income drop 81.2% y-o-y to SAR 74.6 mn in 2025, the firm said in a Tadawul disclosure. Revenue also fell 9.8% y-o-y to SAR 5.6 bn. The downturn was attributed to a combination of lower average selling prices across its product portfolio and rising costs for some production inputs.

Dividends: Yansab’s board greenlit a SAR 562.5 mn dividend payout for the second half of 2025 at SAR 1 apiece, according to a separate bourse filing. The distribution date is set for 8 March.

JLL taps new MEA regional head & CEO

JLL named Mouhammad Takieddin (LinkedIn) as its MEA regional head and CEO, JLL MENA said in a LinkedIn post. Based in Riyadh, Takieddin will oversee the firm’s operations across the Middle East and Africa, working alongside James Allan (UAE, Egypt, Africa) and Saud Alsulaimani (Saudi Arabia).

About Takieddin: Takieddin has over 25 years of global experience in IT, shared services, digital transformation, and real estate portfolio management. He joins from Procter & Gamble, where he served as its global real estate leader.

Riyad Bank cycles out SAR 3 bn in older debt, Safqah Capital bags its seed round

Riyad Bank redeems SAR 3 bn debt five years ahead of maturity

Riyad Bank fully redeemed its SAR 3 bn tier 2 sukuk at face value, exercising its call option five years ahead of its 2031 maturity date, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The transaction covered all 3k units issued in February 2021.

Why it matters: The lender is likely cycling out older debt to make room for newer, cheaper capital like last month’s USD 1 bn 10-year, Reg-S Tier 2 sustainable note. The issuance was part of a broader wave of Saudi lenders tapping international markets for competitively priced capital to help fund the Kingdom’s gigaprojects as they enter their operational phase.

Safqah Capital bags USD 15.2 mn in seed roundta

Homegrown fintech/proptech Safqah Capital raised USD 15.2 mn in a seed funding round led by Shorooq, according to a press release. The round saw participation from ANB Seed Fund, Rua Growth Fund, Sharaka Capital, COTU Ventures, Sadu Capital, 500 Global, Suhail Ventures, MEVP, Waad Invest, JOA Capital, and others.

Use of proceeds: Safqah will use the fresh funds to expand its financing capacity, spruce up its digital platform, and integrate AI tools for risk assessment and underwriting.

About Safqah Capital: Co-founded in 2023 by CEO Abdullah Alsubaie (LinkedIn), the CMA-authorized company offers a shariah-compliant debt-financing solution that targets SME developers, a segment it says is underserved by traditional banks.

SiFi closes USD 20 mn Series A round

Homegrown fintech Simplified Financial Solutions Company (SiFi) raised USD 20 mn in a Series A round led by RAED Ventures, according to a press release. The round saw contributions from QED Investors, Breyer Capital, MEVP, Sanabil Investments, Khwarizmi Ventures, and others.

Where’s the money going? SiFi will utilize the fresh funds to scale up its market footprint, enhance its AI-driven financial tools, and integrate broader workflows as it transitions into a comprehensive, end-to-end finance management platform.

Global investors are increasingly wagering on firms, not flags

A quiet shift is underway in emerging-market debt. A growing number of corporates are now borrowing in global markets at cheaper rates than their own governments, Bloomberg reports. For investors, that’s a sign that sovereign risk — long the defining constraint on EM credit — is becoming less of a drag for stronger, globally oriented companies.

EM corporates have sold USD-denominated bonds this year at an average yield of around 5.8%, undercutting the roughly 6% investors are demanding from sovereigns with comparable maturities, based on data through early February. This marks a clear reversal from the past two years, when companies paid 7% or more to borrow — above government funding costs — reflecting the long-held assumption that corporations in developing economies are inseparable from sovereign risk.

In some cases, the gap is striking. Ukrainian agribusiness MHP SE has recently raised debt at yields 6.5 percentage points below those on Ukrainian government bonds, even though the country is at war and defaulted in 2022. Investors backed the company because it continued paying its bondholders throughout the crisis — something the government was unable to do.

Why the old rules are bending

In developed markets, it is common for large multinationals to enjoy higher credit ratings and lower borrowing costs than their governments. In EMs, that separation has historically been constrained by the sovereign ceiling — a ratings convention that caps corporate creditworthiness at or below that of the home country. The rationale is that governments control regulation, capital flows, and currency regimes, all of which can overwhelm even healthy corporate balance sheets.

Research from Aberdeen Investments suggests the ceiling is becoming less binding for a subset of issuers, even as many companies still operate close to — or within — the sovereign ceiling. Firms with diversified operations, hard-currency revenues, and conservative leverage are increasingly insulated from domestic fiscal and political stress. In practice, markets are starting to price these firms on fundamentals rather than passports.

Export-focused firms stand out: When local currencies weaken, governments tend to suffer, but exporters often benefit because their costs are domestic while their revenues are in USD. Companies can also respond more quickly to stress by cutting spending or delaying investment, while governments are constrained by politics and social pressures.

Markets are rewarding stronger corporates

So far in 2026, EM corporate debt has slightly outperformed sovereign bonds, with spreads falling below 200 basis points — near their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis — while returns have edged ahead of government-debt indexes. “For those seeking lower volatility investments, emerging-market investment-grade corporates and sovereigns present an appealing spread advantage over US investment-grade corporates,” UBS Asset Management’s Shamaila Khan said.

In its 2026 outlook for EM hard-currency debt, Janus Henderson argues that investors are becoming more selective rather than broadly risk-averse. Instead of trading EMs as a single macro wager, markets are increasingly differentiating between sovereign balance-sheet risk and corporate credit quality — particularly for issuers with strong cashflow visibility and manageable leverage.

The shift is also reflected in the data. EM corporate USD bond yields have held below 6%, down sharply from late-2022 levels, underscoring how far risk premiums have compressed as investors grow more willing to price corporate credit separately from sovereign balance sheets. With elections looming across parts of Latin America and Asia — and fiscal discipline under pressure — some investors see room for corporates to continue outperforming, even as sovereign risk remains a constraint.

Not a full break from sovereign risk — yet

This does not mean EM companies are suddenly immune. The sovereign ceiling still matters, particularly for domestically focused companies exposed to regulation, subsidies, or capital controls. During periods of global stress, sovereign risk tends to reassert itself quickly, pulling corporate spreads wider regardless of fundamentals.

Still, the signs are growing: In parts of the EM universe, investors are beginning to distinguish strong companies from weak states. For those seeking yield without taking on full sovereign risk, the separation is becoming increasingly attractive.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

It’s another morning with Asia-Pacific markets opening in the green, led by the Nikkei’s rally, as investors react to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory. US markets, on the other hand, are cooling off, with indices set to open in the red after two days of gains.

TASI	11,195	-0.2% (YTD: +6.7%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,509	-0.3% (YTD: +8.8%)
NomuC	23,673	-0.9% (YTD: +1.6%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	USD 3.75 Sell	USD 3.75 Buy
Interest rates	4.25% repo	3.75% reverse repo
EGX30	50,294	+0.5% (YTD: +20.2%)
ADX	10,629	+0.6% (YTD: +6.4%)
DFM	6,774	+1.3% (YTD: +12.0%)
S&P 500	6,965	+0.5% (YTD: +1.7%)
FTSE 100	10,386	+0.2% (YTD: +4.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,059	+1.0% (YTD: +4.6%)
Brent crude	USD 69.18	+1.7%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.14	-8.3%
Gold	USD 5,079	+2.0%
BTC	USD 70,375	-1.0% (YTD: -19.7%)
Sukuk/bond market index	918.65	0.0% (YTD: -0.1%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	151.93	0.0% (YTD: 0.0%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	17.34	-2.4% (YTD: +14.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 0.2% yesterday turnover of SAR 4.4 bn. The index is down 6.7% YTD.

In the green: Americana (+9.8%), Cenomi Retail (+9.4%) and Advanced (+8.0%).

In the red: East Pipes (-4.5%), Bjaz (-4.4%) and Alkhaleej Trng (-4.1%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.9% yesterday on turnover of SAR 14.1 mn. The index is up 1.6% YTD.

In the green: Munawla (+9.3%), Horizon Educational (+5.4%) and Paper Home (+4.6%).

In the red: Time (-12.5%), Alshehili Metal (-8.5%) and Mulkia (-8.5%).

CALENDAR

FEBRUARY

2-13 February (Monday-Friday): Asian Road Cycling Championship and Paralympic Cycling, Qassim.

8-12 February (Sunday-Thursday): World Defense Show, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

9-10 February (Monday-Tuesday): Global Games Show Riyadh, Malf Hall, Riyadh.

9-10 February (Monday-Tuesday): Private Sector Forum, Riyadh.

9-14 February (Monday-Saturday): Asian Racing Conference, Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel & Convention Center, Riyadh.

10 February (Tuesday): Deadline for businesses subject to withholding tax to file their January tax returns via Zatca’s website.

11 February (Wednesday) Digital Transformation Summit Saudi Arabia (DTS), Riyadh.

11-14 February (Wednesday-Saturday): JeddaDerm, Jeddah.

13-14 February (Friday-Saturday): Jeddah E-Prix, Jeddah.

15-17 February (Sunday-Tuesday): The World Advanced Manufacturing & Logistics Saudi Expo, Riyadh Front & Exhibition Center.

16 February (Monday): King Salman Stadium design-and-build contract prequalification submission deadline.

16 February (Monday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

22 February (Sunday): Founding Day.

26 February (Thursday): Title deed registration deadline for 142.8k properties across 104 neighborhoods in Hail.

MARCH

12 March (Thursday): Deadline for real estate registration for 253.2k properties in 499 neighborhoods across Riyadh, Qassim, Makkah, and Hail.

18-23 March (Tuesday-Monday): Eid Al-Fitr holiday (TBC).

21 March (Saturday): Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.

31 March (Tuesday): Zatca’s 23rd E-invoicing integration wave deadline.

APRIL

6 April (Monday): Procurement and Supply Chain Futures Forum, Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

6-7 April (Monday-Tuesday): Real Estate Supply Chain Forum, Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Print & Pack, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Riyadh International Industry Week, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Plastics & Petrochem, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

13-16 April (Monday-Thursday): Leap Tech Conference, Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center – Malham.

20-22 April (Monday-Wednesday): The Future Hospitality Summit, Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

20-22 April (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Paper and Packaging Expo, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

21 April (Tuesday): GC Summit Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.

22-23 April (Wednesday-Thursday): The World Economic Forum’s Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting, Jeddah.

27-29 April (Monday-Wednesday): Aluminum Arabia, The Arena, Riyadh.

MAY

3-5 May (Sunday-Tuesday): Sports Investment Forum (SIF), Riyadh.

3-9 May (Sunday-Sunday): The Global Sustainability Expo, The Arena Riyadh Venue.

5-6 May (Tuesday-Wednesday): SkyMove Air Cargo MENA, Riyadh.

24-28 May (Sunday-Thursday): Eid al-Adha holiday.

JUNE

21-24 June (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Food Exhibition and Conference, Riyadh Front Expo.

SEPTEMBER

15-17 September (Tuesday-Thursday) The Global AI Summit, King Abdulaziz International Convention Center, Riyadh.

23 September (Wednesday): Saudi National Day.

OCTOBER

26-29 October (Monday-Thursday): World Energy Congress, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2026:

2H: Sabic’s USD 6.4 bn Fujian project in China to start production;
November: The UN Trade and Development Global Supply Chain Forum to take place in Saudi Arabia;
November: The Esports Nations Cup, Riyadh;
The Intervision international music competition will take place in Saudi Arabia;
6 July-23 August (Monday-Sunday): Esports World Cup, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

The World Water Forum takes place in Riyadh;
The Ocean Race finishes in Amaala on the Red Sea;
Riyadh-Kudmi transmission line to be completed.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2Q 2027:

The Hail Region Water Networks Project is expected to be completed.

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