Good morning, friends. We have a reasonably short issue for you this morning, with the big stories of the day being a dive into regional investment bank EFG Hermes’ planned USD 300 mn Saudi education fund as well as a look at new zakat regulations that come into effect next week.

WEATHER- We’re looking at a strong breeze and plenty of sunshine in Riyadh today as the storm passes. Expect a daytime high of 26°C and a low overnight of 19°C.

It’s more of the same in Makkah, with a breezy morning and a sunny day, temperatures in the holy city will peak at 33°C before dropping to 20°C.

Meanwhile, Madinah will see some strong winds and hazy sun with a high of 27°C and a low of 15°C.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:07 pm in the capital city, and you’ll have until 4:32 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The private sector has created some 1.1 mn jobs in the past 12 moths, with some 11 mn employees now registered — up 11.5% as of January 2024 compared to the same period last year, reported Aleqtisadiah, citing a source from the National Labor Observatory. Some 700k of the new jobs came in the sectors of construction, transportation, and storage, while 35.7k were in manufacturing.

Women now account for 37% of the private-sector labor force, the newspaper adds.

#2- Point of sale transactions were up 11% in January to SAR 53.8 bn by value, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank. Spending on food and beverages accounted for 16% of all transactions by value, followed by restaurants and cafes at 15%. Spending on personal care rose to 12% of total spending.

The fastest-growing categories: Spending on utilities (+34%), hotels (+28%), and jewelry (+27%).

Riyadh accounted for 34% of all spending via point-of-sale machines.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

IPO WATCH- Al Mohafaza Education will ring the bell on Nomu tomorrow, according to a statement by Tadawul yesterday. Shares will open at SAR 18.00 apiece, with the share price allowed to trade in the ±30% band on each of the first three days before being capped at no more than 10% up or down after that before circuit breakers kick in. (All shares on Tadawul are subject to the 10% up-or-down rule.)

About the IPO: The education provider has sold 1.6 mn shares, good for a 20% stake of the company. The sale was made through a capital increase of an additional 1.3 mn shares, while the remaining 300k will be sold by existing shareholders.

Use of proceeds: The majority of the proceeds (81%) would be used to fund the construction of an educational compound in Riyadh. The compound is set to go live in 3Q 2026. Some 18.8% of the proceeds will be distributed to the selling shareholders.

Advisors: Yaqeen Capital quarterbacked the transaction as financial advisor and lead manager, while RSM acted as auditor.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Saudi will chair the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Dispute Settlement Body, according to the WTO’s website. Saudi Ambassador to the WTO Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel will lead the panel.

SMART POLICY- The DSB has power to set up dispute-resolution panels, refer disputes to arbitration, and adopt arbitration reports. It also oversees the implementation of recommendations and rulings in arbitration reports and ratifies suspension of concessions in case of non-compliance.

#2- For the Anime enthusiasts among you: Saudi-Japanese anime Future Folktales season 2 will be out this year under a partnership between local media player Manga Productions and Japan’s Toeni Animation, Arab News reports. The new season is filmed in Neom under an agreement between the city and Manga in 2020. Manga is owned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Misk Foundation. You can see the Saudi and Japanese posters here.

Toeni Animation is also partnering up with Qiddiya to develop the world’s first Dragon Balltheme park right outside of Riyadh. Qiddiya is a unit of the Public Investment Fund.

#3- Lumi Rental shareholders with stock in lockup for six moths post-IPO can start trading their shares, Argaam reports. Lumi went public on 25 September 2023.

#4- Boosting cybersecurity for IoT: The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) has issued guidelines (pdf) aimed at enhancing cybersecurity for bodies that use internet of things (ioT) here, it said in a statement yesterday.

The details: The guidelines apply to government and private-sector entities with “sensitive infrastructure” as well as to IoT manufacturers, among others. They cover cybersecurity governance, enhancement, resilience, and standards for external parties / cloud computing.

SPORTS-

#1- KSA and Tajikistan will face off in the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers tomorrow: The Green Falcons will meet Tajikistani tomorrow in the Dushanbe Central Stadium at 6 pm (Makkah time) as part of the 2026 Fifa World Cup Qualification tournament, ESPN reports. The match follows a 1-0 home win against Tajikistani on 21, March.

#2- The national U-23 football team lost 1-0 against South Korea on Saturday, eliminating the home team from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship held in Al Ahsa. Korea will face Australia in the final on Tuesday.

#3- A “mysterious” Saudi football club has reportedly offered top Barcelona FC scorer Robert Lewandowskia a EUR 100 mn per season contract, reports Spanish sports daily Mundo Deportivo, citing sources it says are close to the player. The 35-year-old Polish striker has made it clear in an earlier interview that he is not planning on leaving Barca, where he’s under contract until June 2025.

Speaking of Barca: Al Hilal might be breaking the bank in their year-old pursuit for Brazilian winger Raphinha, offering up to EUR 100 mn to secure the player’s ink on paper, Spanish outlet Sport reported.

REMEMBER- The PIF has no plans to boost its three-year budget for the Saudi Pro League, as the Kingdom’s football clubs will be shifting gears in the next transfer window — halting last summer’s spending spree. “Teams in the Kingdom spent USD 875.4 mn bringing in foreign players last summer, according to FIFA. Only English clubs, with a tab of USD 1.98 bn, outspent them during the period,” Bloomberg writes.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s shaping up to be a relatively quiet, holiday-shortened news week. Friday-Monday are off in much of the Western world in observance of the Good Friday and Easter, while Indian markets are closed today as the nation celebrates Holi and markets in Greece are also closed today for Independence Day.

Today is deadline day for Donald Trump, who needs to raise a USD 464 mn guarantee in connection with his appeal of a fraud case. His Truth Social network is set to go public with a Spac that his supporters have pumped to the moon, but there’s no vote before Friday and a listing on NYSE would come a bit further down the road.

Sam Bankman-Fried will be sentenced on Thursday after his conviction on fraud charges and related charges. And oddly enough: FTX customers may still get all of their money back.

MEANWHILE-

  • China is moving to ban Intel and AMD chips in government PCs and servers (Financial Times)
  • The AI and clean-tech booms have made electricity a bull market for the first time in decades — and could “derail the power sector’s journey to net zero.” (Semafor)
  • US investment funds have pulled nearly USD 14 bn from BlackRock as part of an anti-ESG campaign. (Financial Times)
  • France has raised its terror alert to the highest level in the wake of this weekend’s Isis attack on Moscow. (Reuters)

PSAs-

#1- You can now replace your car’s license plates online on the Interior Ministry’s e-platform Absher, the General Directorate of Traffic said in a social media post on X.

#2- Clocks spring forward in the UK this coming Sunday, 31 March. Keep that in mind if you’re planning a trip / meeting with a colleague / call to your offspring studying over there.

#3- King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have donated SAR 150 mn to a national initiative aimed at providing housing for vulnerable families, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. The initiative, dubbed Jood Region, covers 17 regions across the Kingdom.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The National Water Company (NWC) invited private firms to participate in the second phase of a program aimed at installing 398k household connections for water and sanitation across the Kingdom, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. Interested companies have 15 days to submit a letter of interest via email.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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