Good morning, wonderful people. Winter is officially here, and the season is greeting us with rare snowfalls that blanketed the desert in the northwest in a once-in-a-generation imagery we couldn’t afford to miss.

Our big story today is a partnership between Humain and STC’s Center 3 to lay a 1 GW infrastructure for Saudi’s AI ambitions — provided there’s sufficient demand. That sould not be too difficult, as we have the favorable conditions to offer AI companies data centers powered by Saudi’s cheap energy.

ALSO- Alramz Real Estate could not resist TASI’s sweeping current, as the newcomer logged the worst first-day performance for a main market IPO this year.

AND- Land allocation started in Riyadh, with the first e-lottery allocating over 6 mn sqm of lands to beneficiaries. Knight Frank’s Faisal Durrani told us the program is a success because it offers Saudis affordable housing on lands they can build themselves — and build however they like, offering a more attractive option than going through third-party developers.

PSA-

King Khalid Airport said it resumed operations normally yesterday, after a chaotic weekend that saw thousands of passengers stranded as some 200 flights were cancelled or rescheduled. A series of unfortunate events — or “internal operational factors” as the airport called it — reportedly included water getting into fuel tankers used to refuel jets, unnamed sources told Arab News.

Not the only airport affected: Extreme weather conditions in neighbouring countries — including in Dubai — also diverted a number of flights to the Riyadh airport.

Watch this space

ENTERTAINMENT: Universal Studios is mulling a new theme park in Saudi, the Wall StreetJournal reports, citing sources it said are in the know. An unnamed government-backed entity could fund the potentially multi-USD bn project as part of a licensing agreement, the sources said.

Very early in the game: There’s no deal in place yet as the company is still working on the initial concept for the park, which will take years to build. The park will reportedly be built at Qiddiya, which Comcast CEO Brian Roberts visited last month while in the Kingdom, the sources added.

Not leaving the region to Disney: The US titan signed a deal earlier this year to bring its seventh Disneyland to neighboring Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. Comcast — the Universal Studios parent — does not want to be left behind in a region where competition for entertainment projects to attract tourists is getting more and more fierce. It was bound to come back after an earlier attempt to build a Universal Studios Dubailand was shuttered by the 2008 financial crisis.

CONSTRUCTION: It seems World Cup stadiums are not safe from cutbacks. Firms are reportedly being asked to resubmit cheaper plans for construction of the 2034 World Cup stadiums, unnamed sources told the Guardian. Contractors were also informed that they won’t be starting work next year as was the plan, the sources said.

We could see fewer stadiums built than the 15 initially planned — 11 news stadiums and four slated renovations, the British news outlet is citing “speculation” in the construction industry.

IN CONTEXT- The Public Investment Fund has been trying to cut back on construction spending, in a bid to shift the focus into AI, advanced manufacturing, and other sectors.

OIL: The Kingdom is ramping up oil exports to its primary markets in Asia and the US, despite a looming oversupply, according to Bloomberg.

The numbers: Data for late 2025 and early 2026 show Saudi volumes to China hitting a five-month high of 1.6 mn bbl / d, while shipments to the US are projected to reach 594k bbl / d next month — the highest since 2022. November loadings to Japan have also hit a two-year high at 1.3 mn bbl / d.

Signs of a glut are already here: A record 1.3 bn barrels of crude are currently sitting on tankers at sea as benchmark prices head for their steepest annual loss since the pandemic. The International Energy Agency forecasts a 3.8 mn bbl / d surplus next year.

SPORTS: Saudi Arabia and the UAE shared third place in the FIFA Arab Cup 2025, after their match was cancelled due to heavy downpours at Khalifa International Stadium on Thursday, according to a FIFA decision. While the first half ended in a 0-0 draw, the weather made it impossible to resume play, prompting FIFA to declare the match a draw and split the prize money equally.

Data Point

SAR 13.3 bn — the total consumer spending via point-of-sale (PoS) transactions in the Kingdom in the week ending 13 December, a 7.9% w-o-w decline, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s latest weekly report (pdf). The number of transactions remained mostly flat at 236.1 mn.

The breakdown: Food and beverages accounted for the largest share of spending during the week at SAR 2.01 bn, but it saw a 14.3% w-o-w dip. Restaurants and cafes followed in second place, reaching SAR 1.72 bn and showing a 3.7% w-o-w increase, while apparel, clothing, and accessories saw a drop of 8.7% w-o-w to SAR 1.16 bn.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Oil markets are once again in watch-and-see mode after the US seized yet another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed overnight. The Panamanian-flagged vessel is the second tanker near Venezuela that the US has gone after this month, with US President Donald Trump ordering a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela. Read the complete take on Reuters.

PLUS- Did the price tags on tickets for the 2026 World Cup make your eyes water? FIFA and other sporting bodies are under pressure to capitalize on major sporting events — ostensibly to be able to reinvest in the sports they oversee — while facing pressure from fans to make the experiences more accessible. Go read the Financial Times’ Big Read on The “Outrageous” Cost of Sports Tickets.

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