Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We’re kicking off this week without a large volume of news, but the news we do have is rather significant. Leading this morning’s news well is reports that Washington is lifting its three-year ban on weapons sales to the Kingdom, meaning sales could resume as early as next week.
WEATHER- Riyadh will see a high of 45°C and a low of 30°C today, while Jeddah could see more rain with a high of 38°C, and a low of 32°C.
PSAs-
#1- Applications are now open for the second phase of the CIT Ministry’s Source Tech initiative, which is designed to support outsourcing companies, and freelancers, the ministry said on X. Eligible companies will have access to training programs, while their employees will have financial support of up to SAR 100k each across a period of 24 months as long as their contract is still valid. Companies can submit their applications here.
The initiative’s first phase saw more than 15 centers launched across six regions in the Kingdom, providing outsourcing and tech services. These centers can also be used as headquarters for companies that get accepted, according to the ministry’s website.
#2- Proposed exec regs for off-plan sale + lease law: The Real Estate General Authority’s proposed executive regulations for the Off-Plan Sale and Lease Law are up for public consultation onIstitlaa until Friday, 23 August. The regulations include, among other things, penalties for violating the law, including fines up to SAR 500k, removal from the developers' registry, revoked approvals, and activity bans.
#3- Clamping down on corruption in gov’t contracts: The General Authority for Competition handed down fines worth a total of SAR 77 mn to six contracting companies a total of SAR 77 mn on charges of collusion in government bids and tenders, it said in a statement.
#4- Some 12 investment projects are up for grabs in the Northern Borders Municipality, including a medical center, gas stations, and commercial spaces, Mubasher reports. Investors have until Wednesday, 11 September, to submit their bids for the tenders on the Furas platform.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- Agthia has earmarked AED 30-40 mn to expand its footprint in the Kingdom, the company’s Snacking and Government Relations President Mubarak Al Mansouri told Mubasher. The ADX-listed company is set to use the funds to expand its distribution network in Saudi next year. Agthia launched a SAR 92 mn protein manufacturing facility in Jeddah last month, with a production capacity of up to 9k tons of manufactured protein over 9k sqm and export to more than 25 countries.
!_InserLine_!
#2- Aramco expects to reach financial close on its planned stake purchase in EIG’s LNG unit MidOcean Energy this quarter, Argaam quotes Aramco CEO Amin Nasser as saying in an investors’ call. The oil giant agreed in September 2023 to acquire a USD 500 mn minority stake in MidOcean Energy.
International expansion in the cards: The company will announce more investments in China this year or next, Nasser said without elaboration. South Korea and India are on the company’s radar for potential investments, with expectations for potential tenders from Tokyo and Seoul, Nasser said, without providing further details.
What’s next? Aramco plans to increase its drilling rigs to 300 by the end of this year, and ramp up its gas operations by over 60% by 2030.
!_InserLine_!
#3- The local electric car market is expected to grow 6% annually until 2030, Aleqtisadiah quotes Lucid Group COO Mark Winterhoff as saying. EV sales in the Kingdom are projected to reach between 210k-250k by that year, and is in line with the government’s target to produce 500k vehicles per year with USD 50 bn in investments. The broader Middle East electric car market is forecasted to expand to USD 8 bn by 2028, up from its current USD 2.7 bn.
DATA POINTS-
#1- Remittances from expats living in the Kingdom rose 11.3% y-o-y to USD 3.2 bn in June, Arab News reports, citing Saudi Central Bank figures. Meanwhile, remittances by Saudi nationals to other countries were down 1% y-o-y to SAR 5.1bn.
#2- Cargo handled at Mawani’s ports increased 9.1% y-o-y in July to 27.4 mn tons, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) said in a statement. The number of import containers grew 15.7% y-o-y to 271.5k containers, while export containers declined 2.5% to 243.8k. Meanwhile, maritime traffic dropped 11.2% y-o-y last month, and the number of passengers dropped 32%, to 52.2k.
#3- The entertainment industry is booming: The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) issued 7.3% more licenses y-o-y to 1.5k in 2Q 2024, it said in a statement. Entertainment events saw a 130% y-o-y increase in the number of visitors to 16 mn.
#4- We have enough dates to cover local demand and then some: Saudi’s date production is sufficient to cover 124% of local demand, with production exceeding 1.6 mn tons, according to state news agency SPA.
REMEMBER- Date farmers, sellers, marketers, and buyers are now required to use acentralized platform for trading after the National Center for Palms and Dates launched a seasonal markets system.
SPORTS-
Tottenham’s Richarlison de Andrade will not be joining the Saudi Pro League this summer, despite receiving a lucrative offer, the Athletic reports.
WHISPERS- FC Barcelona winger Raphinha has reportedly received an offer from Al Nassr worth EUR 100 mn which is triple his current salary, Barca universal reported. However, FCBN reports that the actual offer is about EUR 65 mn. Despite the offer, Raphinha has reaffirmed that he is not interested in leaving Barcelona.
Get Enterprise daily
The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.
***
DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt and the UAE?
Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday before 7am Riyadh time — without charge, thanks to our friends at Cenomi.
***
THE BIG STORY ABROAD-
It’s another day of no single story leading the conversation in the international business press, leaving us with a patchwork of headlines to sift through this morning:
Donald Trump’s campaign said it was hacked yesterday, after Politico began receivingauthentic internal communication documents late last month. The breach came from “foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” a Trump campaign spokesperson said, pointing a finger of blame at Iran. (Reuters | CNBC | Wall Street Journal)
US junk loan funds faced their largest withdrawals since early 2020 amid recent market declines, with USD 2.5 bn pulled out in a week due to concerns over a potential economic slowdown. Most of these withdrawals came from ETFs, the Financial Times writes.
Israel killed nearly 100 Palestinians when it launched an airstrike on a school compound that was used as a shelter for displaced children and women early on Saturday morning. The attack — which came as the victims were gathering for Fajr prayers — has so far claimed the lives of more than 93 Palestinians, including 11 children and six women, according to Palestine’s civil defense spokesperson. (Reuters | Washington Post | CNN | Washington Post | Guardian)
Calls for resumed ceasefire talks: The leaders of Egypt, the US, and Qatar called for an urgent meeting this Thursday, 15 August, in Doha or Cairo to resume ceasefire negotiations. “There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement,” they said in a joint statement. The European Union also released a statement supporting the call. (The Guardian | ABC | CBS | FT | Reuters).
The Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and reiterated the necessity of putting an end to the “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” the Palestinian people are facing due to Israel’s ongoing aggression.
ELSEWHERE- Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YoTube, died on Friday at the age of 56 due to lung cancer. (Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)
OLYMPICS-
It was another eventful weekend at the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially for our part of the world with Egypt and Algeria securing two golds.
- Ahmed El Gendy secured Egypt’s first gold in Paris in the Modern Pentathlon, setting a new Olympic world record with 1.5k points.
- Algerian boxer Imane Khelif got herself a gold medal after beating China’s Yang Liu in the women’s welterweight finals.
Spain beat the hosts to take gold for men’s football: The Spanish men’s Olympic football team emerged on top of an 8-goal thriller against France to take the spoils, finishing the match 5-3. Morocco took home the bronze medal after thrashing Egypt 6-0.
Germany and Denmark are set to meet in the men’s handball final, after dispatching Spain and Slovenia.
The medal table:
- China (39 gold, 90 overall)
- USA (38 gold, 122 overall)
- Australia (18 gold, 50 overall)
- Japan (18 gold, 43 overall)
- France (16 gold, 62 overall)
Want to see when your favorite sport is on? Check out the official schedule here.
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Cybersecurity training event SANS Riyadh Cyber Leaders August 2024 will run from Sunday, 18 August to Thursday, 22 August at the Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya.
The New Global Sport Conference 2024 is happening on Saturday and Sunday, 24-25 August, bringing together top figures from sports, esports, gaming, entertainment, and technology. This year’s theme is the Future of Fandom, highlighting fans’ role in building brand equity and revenue.
The eight-week Esports World Cup runs until Sunday, 25 August Riyadh’s Boulevard City. The world’s top esports clubs are competing for a pool of USD 60 mn — the largest purse in esports.
