THIS MORNING: Hormuz closed (again)

Good morning, ladies and gents. It has been an interesting weekend, to say the least. It was hard at times to pinpoint whether the world’s most vital maritime corridor was open or closed for business.

What happened? A short-lived de-escalation saw Iran announce it’s reopening the Strait of Hormuz to ships, only to close it hours later in the face of tankers — with reports of shots fired at ships, and tens of tankers sent back.

Why? A 10-day truce in Lebanon was announced over the weekend after direct negotiations with Israeli officials, which prompted Tehran to reopen the strait as long as the ceasefire holds, and sent hopes for new rounds of negotiations and a lasting US-Iran agreement.

BUT- Things deteriorated when the blockade on Iranian ports started choking vital shipments, resulting in Iran resorting to the strait card — again.

Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan warned of the “very fragile” situation on Thursday. Some countries will need significant time to restore oil and gas production capacities, but the bigger problem is convincing insurance companies the strait is safe for passage, he said during the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.

If tensions don’t calm in Hormuz soon, the energy crisis will become a whole different monster. Head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said that the old oil and gas shipments — the ones that were already heading to their destinations when the war erupted — have just now arrived, so the shortage is not felt yet. “But no new tankers were loaded in March. There were no new deliveries of oil, gas or fuels to ⁠Asian markets. This gap is now becoming apparent. If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, we must prepare for significantly higher ⁠energy prices,” Birol added.

It's official. MENA+ is live.

Our new regional flagship covers the flows of capital, people, and ideas across the Middle East — and beyond it. MENA+ covers AI and tech — and geopolitics, the war for talent, which BSD is on top (and who's gunning for them), the changing energy economy, new corridors to India and China, and much, much more.

What's with the “+” in MENA+? We think one of the most powerful stories in the region is the *export* of ideas and capital not just to neighboring regions (Asia, the Stans) but to international financial centers. MENA countries are jockeying for position in the new global economy now taking shape, and we're going to shape that conversation.

Delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday before 11am Riyadh time.

Watch this space

M&A — Gulf investors have ramped up M&A activity despite seven weeks of regional war, defying a broader global slowdown. Regional players have been involved in some USD 47 bn worth of agreements since late February — up more than 120% y-o-y — even as global M&A values slipped 8% over that time, according to data from Bloomberg.

The top tickets: PIF’s Savvy Games Group is set to acquire mobile studio Moonton for USD 6 bn. Last week, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment took a minority stake in Joe & the Juice at a USD 1.8 bn valuation, while Axight invested in Australia’s La Trobe Financial. QIA and Mubadala also joined a funding round for Whoop.

BANKING — Barclays keeps Saudi license push on track for 2026 HQ launch: Barclays is sticking to its plan to secure a banking license in Saudi Arabia and open a regional headquarters in 2026 even as regional disruptions persist, CEO CS Venkatakrishnan told Bloomberg (watch, runtime: 7:23). The bank is bullish on regional opportunities, highlighting the “strength of the Saudi economy” and the “attractiveness of the UAE” as major selling points that will endure.

Why it matters: The commitment signals that major firms and international banks still think long-term opportunities outweigh the immediate geopolitical risk in the region. Chinese PC maker Lenovo just launched its own Riyadh HQ last week.

Data point: Jeddah port is riding the red sea wave

37.6% — that’s the increase in container volumes at Jeddah Islamic Port in the first half of April, with exports growing 37.6% year on year and imports up 51.2%, a Mawani spokesperson said on X.

Why it matters: The increase points to heavier reliance on Red Sea ports for trade and logistics flows amid Hormuz’s closure. The East-West pipeline depends this corridor to move crude and support exports of around 5 mn bbl / d. Saudi also launched its logistics corridors initiative to position Jeddah, Yanbu, and King Abdullah ports as fallback gateways for Gulf trade, alongside five new freight routes linking Red Sea ports to Arabian Gulf ports.

Sports

A pre-World Cup coaching switch? Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to move on from men’s national team head coach, Herve Renard, just two months before our World Cup opener against Uruguay on 15 June, according to The Athletic. Renard has been in charge since 2019, overseeing the national team across two terms that together span about six years, aside from a year away coaching France’s women’s team.

Georgios Donis is lined up as his successor. The former Greece international currently manages Al Khaleej and has been part of the Saudi coaching scene since 2021.

***You’re reading EnterpriseAM Saudi, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about Saudi, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Sunday through Thursday by 7am Riyadh time.

EnterpriseAM Saudi is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Tas’heel and Hassan Allam Properties.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on saudi@enterpriseAM.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, the UAE, the MENA logistics industry, and the MENA <> India corridor?

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday.
***

The big story abroad

It’s another morning with the regional war dominating the front pages. We have the biggest headlines from over the weekend in the news well, above.

No end in sight for the energy woes: Five LNG tankers bound to cross the Strait of Hormuz had to halt their voyages after Tehran issued warnings, according to ship-tracking data by Bloomberg. And two Indian-flagged vessels carrying crude oil were under fire while traversing the waterway yesterday.

The ongoing conflict has stalled over USD 50 bn in crude oil production in just 50 days, the impact of which is likely to be felt for months or even years to come, according to analysts and calculations made by Reuters. This is equivalent to removing more than 500 mn barrels of crude and condensate from the market, according to Kpler data.

Meanwhile, Trump announced that Israel will no longer strike Lebanon,claiming that the Israelis “are PROHIBITED from doing so by the USA,” in a TruthSocial post on Friday. This followed the announcement of a 10-day truce in Lebanon after direct negotiations with Israeli officials.