REAL ESTATE-

Retal signs SAR 1.2 bn contract for housing units in the Eastern Province’s Jubail:RetalUrban Development Co. signed a contract worth SAR 1.2 bn to develop primary and secondary infrastructure development and 897 residential units in Jubail Industrial City under a partnership with Jubail and Yanbu Industrial Cities Services Company (Jabeen), it said in a disclosure to Tadawul on Monday.

It’s the second big order for Retal this week, coming after it inked sub-development agreements worth c. SAR 925 mn with state-owned National Housing Co. (NHC) to build residential complexes in Riyadh and Jeddah.

TOURISM-

Bookings from China are up 277% after the Saudi Tourism Authority’s big push on China, which ran 17-23 November and included digital and broadcast components that reached some 500 mn Chinese. More than 80k people attended an in-person campaign that launched on Shanghai’s Bund to draw attention to the Kingdom’s wide tourism offering.

AGRICULTURE-

Morocco is our #1 supplier of blueberries this marketing year, having doubled its sales to Saudi and edging out South Africa, Peru, the United States, and Chila, East Fruit writes. We bought some 480 tons of fresh blueberries from Morocco in the 2022-2023 marketing year, more than double the 200 tons we bought the year before, making us the world’s 38th largest importer.

ARCHITECTURE-

Foster + Partners has been tapped to design Abha’s new airport terminal. “Inspired by Rijal Almaa village, the design reimagines the terminal as interconnected human-scaled clusters, courtyards, and walkways” and “takes advantage of prevailing winds to optimize natural ventilation,” ArchDaily reports.

AVIATION-

Flynas x UNWTO: Flynas became the first Saudi airline and the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East to join the UN World Tourism Organization as an affiliate member, Saudi Press Agency reports.

PUBLIC POLICY-

We now have a National Data Index: Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the National Transformation Program (NTP) announced the launch of the National Data Index (Nudei) on the sidelines of the Saudi Data Forum, the NTP said on X. The Index is used to survey, develop, and assess how governmental entities are progressing in terms of data management.

DEBT-

Waja secures shariah-compliant credit facility agreement with BSF: Multi-industry services outfit Waja inked an agreement with Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) for a credit facility worth up to SAR 5 mn, Waja said in a statement to Tadawul on Sunday.

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