Good morning, wonderful people. It’s all quiet on the home front, with very little of note in the Kingdom. We lead our issue this morning with a deep dive into the intersection of renewable energy and AI and how the Middle East — particularly Saudi Arabia — could help solve for data centers’ power needs.

WEATHER- Dusty winds and scattered rain: Active winds will stir sand across Tabuk, Madinah, Makkah, and coastal areas, extending to the Northern Borders, Al Jouf, Hail, Qassim, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province. Scattered showers and patchy fog are expected over Jazan, Aseer, and Al Baha, with rain clouds also affecting parts of the north.

  • Riyadh: 31°C high / 14°C low;
  • Jeddah: 28°C high / 22°C low;
  • Makkah: 29°C high / 21°C low;
  • Dammam: 28°C high / 13°C low.

PSAs

Domestic Hajj sign-ups are open: The Hajj and Umrah Ministry opened registration for domestic pilgrims for this year’s Hajj yesterday, with package bookings to begin 4 March via the Nusuk app and website, state news agency SPA reports.

A refresher on the sign-up process: Priority will go to applicants who have not previously performed Hajj. Eligible Saudi citizens and residents aged 15 and above must meet health requirements, with expatriates required to hold a valid iqama issued at least one year ago. Bookings must be made through licensed providers listed on Nusuk, with payment completed via Sadad to secure the Hajj permit.

Watch this space

PRIVATE CREDIT — PIF-owned Jada Fund of Funds is ramping up its push into private credit to address a local financing gap. The firm is looking to focus on funds investing locally and will continue to target SME financing through private credit, CEO Bandr Alhomaly told Bloomberg. Jada has historically concentrated on venture capital and private equity to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

Jada’s strategy is designed to help close a widening funding gap for Saudi SMEs as banks pull back on lending. Jada, which has mainly backed companies through venture equity, is now turning to private credit to offer non-dilutive funding for startups that are too risky for banks but too mature for traditional VC.

BACKGROUND- Jada previously committed capital to private credit investments, including deploying USD 52 mn to a fund raised by US-based Partners for Growth and making an unspecified contribution to Ruya Partners’ USD 250 mn fund. The firm also partnered with India’s Stride Ventures last year to deploy about USD 200 mn in Saudi Arabia over the next two years.

INVESTMENT — GCC countries are in a risk-value sweet spot: While global capital is always seeking the best risk-adjusted returns, when comparing the GCC to similarly credit-rated risks, investors often find a “better pound for that money,” effectively gaining “developed market risk but for emerging market growth,” Brookfield Managing Partner Jad Ellawn told Bloomberg (watch, runtime: 6:27).

The drivers: GCC countries are benefitting from “exceptional tailwinds” driven by reform agendas, capital formation, and strong demographics. Ellawn attributed the region’s edge to strong fiscal buffers, accelerating diversification, capital markets that have “never been deeper,” and record institutionalization.

Geopolitical pressures fade in comparison to the long-term outlook: While geopolitical tensions persist, Ellawn dismissed them as a deterrent for sophisticated investors, noting that over 60 to 70 years, the GCC has consistently outperformed. “We’re not investing for the short term. We don’t look at arbitrage [prospects],” Ellawn stated, emphasizing a strategy of investing in sectors with “long tailwinds” to allow capital to “appreciate and compound” over time.

Sectors to watch: Ellawn sees AI infrastructure as a major global theme. The firm is also upbeat on financial services payments and education roll-ups, while using its real estate footprint to build hospitality ecosystems. With vacancy rates at all-time lows, he expects a shift toward more urban living, backed by a USD 1 bn residential JV and favorable demographics.

AUTO — Lucid predicts slower production growth: PIF-backed Lucid Motors expects to make 25k-27k vehicles this year, despite nearly doubling production to 17.8k in 2025, according to its unaudited financials. “Supply chains, in particular long supply chains like we have, are always prone to surprises[…] Let’s be prudent. Let’s make a plan that, whatever happens, so to speak, we can hit,” CEO Marc Winterhoff told Reuters.

ALSO- The luxury EV maker will prioritize producing its midsize vehicle in its Saudi plant, while deferring production in the US, Winterhoff said.

Also from the company’s financials: Lucid recorded a net loss of USD 2.7 bn last year, marking a 0.6% y-o-y dip. This came despite a 67.6% y-o-y jump in revenues to USD 1.4 bn, with interest expense and loss from operations keeping the company’s bottom line in the red.

Data point

The Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) holdings of US-listed equities reached USD 12.9 bn at the end of 2025, according to data from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Uber accounted for the largest share of PIF’s Wall Street portfolio (USD 6 bn), followed by Electronic Arts (USD 5 bn) and Lucid (USD 2 bn).

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The big story abroad

The Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros saga is once again in the headlines, with Warner Bros confirming that Paramount’s sweetened bid of USD 31 a share could beat out Netflix’s effort. If Paramount’s bid is deemed superior to Netflix’s, the streaming giant will have four business days to match it — so it is still anyone’s game. Paramount is also offering a USD 0.25 per share “ticking fee” for every quarter the transaction does not close after September 2026.

US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address is on every front page. The speech lacked any substance, with the president touting his own success in bringing inflation down, creating jobs, and securing fresh investments. In typical Trump fashion, the speech had its fair share of inaccuracies and exaggerations, which NBC News fact-checked in real time. Markets were hoping the speech would bring some tariff clarity.

Making waves in the tech world this morning is a new agreement between Meta and Advanced Micro Devices. Meta is buying USD 60 bn worth of computing power, which will power its AI infrastructure over a five-year stretch starting 2H 2026. AMD issued Meta a warrant for up to 160 mn shares — approximately 10% of the company — at a strike price of just USD 0.01 per share, contingent upon Meta hitting specific milestones and AMD hitting a set stock price threshold.

ALSO WORTH READING THIS MORNING- A Harvard-led study found that a machine-learning algorithm can predict 71% of mutual-fund trading decisions after training it on data between 1990-2023. It appears that the algorithm has learned how managers react to trends, flows, and activity from their peers. That said, the algorithm failed to predict activities that fell outside the routine, which represents most of the value to be secured on the market.

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