Good morning, wonderful people. Eid is over, and we’re back in your inbox with a meaty issue that features revised 1Q growth figures and April’s industrial production data from Gastat, reports on Aramco and Nigeria struggling to finalize USD 5 bn oil-backed loan, and plenty of updates from debt and IPO markets. Let’s dive in.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Anmat Technology for Trading’s shares will begin trading on the Nomu parallel market today, according to a statement. The company’s shares will be allowed to fluctuate within a 30% band, with a static fluctuation band of 10% on the first three trading days. Starting from the fourth day, shares will be allowed to trade at a 10% volatility as circuit breakers take effect, and the static fluctuation limit will be removed.

REFRESHER- Anmat priced its offering at SAR 9.50 per share, with its 11.6% stake nearly 3xoversubscribed by qualified investors, raising SAR 47.5 mn and valuing the company at SAR 408.5 mn at listing.

WEATHER- Riyadh is expected to see a high of 44°C and a low of 30°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 35°C and as low as 26°C. Makkah will see a 46°C high and 32°C low.

PSAs-

#1- A three-month midday work ban under direct sunlight will be enforced for private sector workers, effective Sunday, 15 June through Monday, 15 September, the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry said in a post on X. The yearly three-hour daily ban (12pm-3pm) is a part of a broader policy to reduce occupational injuries and promote worker health amid rising temperatures.

#2- Proposed regs for Licensing Energy Efficiency Service Providers are up for public consultation on Istitlaa until 8 July. Drafted by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, the regulation (pdf) establishes two primary license types — a one-year temporary permit and a three-year full permit — for providing services like data review and energy auditing of buildings, energy efficiency project management, engineering design services for energy efficiency standards, and energy measurement and verification services.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Several Asian companies are in early talks to list on Tadawul as the Kingdom explores regulatory changes to attract foreign issuers, Tadawul Group’s CEO Mohammed Al Rumaih told Reuters last week. The bourse is engaging with Asian firms keen to tap into the Kingdom’s growing base of international investors, 15% of whom are now from Asia under the qualified foreign investor (QFI) program, Al Rumaih said.

ICYMI- The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has recently wrapped up consultations on draftrules that would expand listing options and share structures, a move Al Rumaih described as a key step toward enabling cross-border participation. The announcement follows recent discussions with Hong Kong regulators to facilitate the listing of cross-border financial products.

A lot is in the pipeline: Tadawul is currently reviewing over 50 IPO applications, with 24 listings approved and pending, Argaam reports, citing Al Rumaih as saying on the sidelines of the 2025 Capital Markets Forum held in Hong Kong earlier this month. That is on top of the 23 companies that have already debuted on the main and parallel markets so far this year, marking a 20% y-o-y increase, he added.

The number of registered foreign investors now tops 4.1k and continues to rise weekly, Al Rumaih said. He also added that the exchange is working with regulators to roll out new financial instruments, including depository receipts, foreign company listing, and streamlined debt issuance tools.

MEANWHILE- The CMA currently has 37 IPO requests under review, with another 25 already approved but not yet listed, Argaam reports, citing remarks made by CMA’s Deputy for Market Institutions Raed Alrashed Alhumaid at the Argaam Summit in May,

ALSO- The watchdog said it is also revisiting the regulatory framework for foreign investment to ease qualifications and broaden the local market’s investor base. This could include GCC residents receiving the same treatment as Saudi nationals when opening investment accounts, and residents who permanently leave the Kingdom.

#2- Another Nomu IPO gets cancelled: Khobar-based freight transportation company Al Khaldi Logistics pulled the plug on its Nomu offering last week and issued refunds to subscribers, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The decision comes a little under a month after it set its IPO indicative price range at SAR 44-47 per share.

The second cancellation this month: School operator Dome International also scrappedplans to sell a 14.53% post-IPO stake on the parallel market.

REMEMBER- Most of the recent Nomu debuts are still trading below their IPO prices: Axelerated Solutions saw its share price fall 3% on its first trading day, while Dkhoun National dropped 19.8% at debut, and Service Equipment Company declined 10%. Future Vision for Health Training also shed 5.3% on its first trading day. All of these companies are still trading below their IPO prices.

#3- Canada invited Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman to the G7 summit in Alberta, taking place between 15-17 June, CBC reports, citing two unnamed Canadian government sources. The Saudi embassy has not yet confirmed his attendance.

Who will be there? The forum will see the leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK gather next week to discuss political and economic matters. Leaders from several other non-G7 countries, including Australia, Brazil, India, South Africa, South Korea, and Ukraine, as well as the Secretary General of Nato, are also slated to attend.

#4- Saudi + ILO embark on phase three of labor reforms initiative: The Kingdom and the International Labour Organization (ILO) signed a two-year agreement on Wednesday to implement the third phase of the joint Program of Cooperation, according to a statement.

The program focuses on improving labor rights and working conditions, with an emphasis on migrant and domestic workers, as well as developing institutional capacity. The ILO will establish a project team in Riyadh to support the implementation.

Some trade unions are alleging things could be better: A group of 36 African trade unions filed a complaint with the ILO demanding an inquiry into labor practices and abuses in the Kingdom, the Associated Press reports. The unions alleged a pattern of forced labor, wage theft, and other abuses.

#5- Hong Kong-based real estate PE fund manager Gaw Capital is looking to focus on real estate assets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it ramps up its investments in the Middle East, Managing Principal and Global Head of Capital Markets Christina Gaw told Reuters. The firm is on track to finalize an undisclosed transaction in the region in 2H 2025 and is also planning to set up a dedicated vehicle for its ventures in the Middle East. Gaw Capital had USD 34.4 bn in AUM by the end of 2024.

#6- Azerbaijan is looking to deepen its economic ties with the Kingdom by proposing a joint sovereign investment fund, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Shahin Abdullayev told Asharq Al Awsat. The proposed fund, which followed recent high-level meetings, would support key sectors in both countries and back projects in other markets.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Some 1.67 mn pilgrims took part in this year’s hajj, nearly 160k fewer pilgrims than last year, according to data by the General Authority of Statistics (Gastat). Around 1.5 mn were foreign pilgrims, while 166.7k were citizens and residents. Some 1.44 mn pilgrims entered the Kingdom through airports, while 66.4k arrived by land and 5.1k by sea.

This year’s Hajj drew the lowest number of pilgrims in three decades — excluding Covid-19 years, the Associated Press reports. In 2024, 1.8 mn pilgrims performed hajj, including 1.6 mn foreigners.

#2- The Saudi Ports Authority’s (Mawani) container volume rose 13% y-o-y in May 2025 to 720.7k TEUs, with transshipments rising 12.9% y-o-y to 149.1k TEUs, it said in a statement on Saturday. Imports grew 15.8% y-o-y during the month to 292.2k TEUs, while exports increased 9.4% y-o-y to 279.3k TEUs.

Total cargo mass rose 1.4% y-o-y in May to 21.3 mn tons, including 935.9k tons of general cargo, 5.1 mn tons of solid bulk, and 15.3 mn tons of liquid bulk. The ports also received some 1.6 mn heads of cattle, up 61.2% y-o-y.

ALSO- Maritime traffic increased 9.4% y-o-y last month to 1.1k ships, with the number of passengers rising 68.2% y-o-y to 95.2k, while the number of vehicles rose 13.1% to 84.4k.

OIL WATCH-

Opec’s oil output rose by a modest 150k bbl / d in May to reach 26.75 mn bbl / d, far below quota levels, according to a Reuters survey. Saudi Arabia led with a 130k bbl / d increase but remained 100k bbl / d below its target.

Opec+ saw a lower increase in production levels, too: While five members of the larger Opec+ group were expected to raise output by 310k bbl / d, required compensation cuts by Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE brought the net increase to only 180k bbl / d.

Actual output gains have been harder to detect, despite a near 1 mn bbl / d quota increase between March and June, Bloomberg reports, citing a note by Morgan Stanley. Saudi Arabia, in particular, does not appear to have ramped up production significantly, the note said.

Morgan Stanley still expects core Opec+ supply to grow by around 420k bbl / d between June and September, with half the increase likely to come from Saudi Arabia. Non-Opec+ producers are also on track to add 1.1 mn bbl / d this year, outpacing demand growth estimated at 800k bbl / d and prompting the bank to keep its surplus outlook. The result will be a softer oil market outlook after the summer period, the bank’s analysts added.

ALSO- Saudi Aramco cut its official selling price for Arab Light crude to Asia by USD 0.20 for July, its lowest since May — Reuters reports. The reduction came in below market expectations of a USD 0.30-0.45 cut, as Aramco appears to be balancing growing domestic demand with limited export availability.

A smaller-than-expected price cut could be partly attributed to increased crude burn in the summer, Onyx Commodities research and analytics head Harry Tchilinguirian told Bloomberg. The actual volume of additional supply from the unwinding of voluntary cuts is likely to fall short of the 1.2 mn bbl / d headline due to these local consumption pressures, Tchilinguirian added.

The oil giant also raised US-bound Arab Light prices by USD 0.10 per barrel, and hiked prices for all grades headed to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean by USD 1.80 per barrel.

SPORTS-

#1- Australia defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Jeddah yesterday, securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Abdulrahman Al Obud scored our only goal in the 19th minute, but we still needed a five-goal defeat to directly qualify for the championship.

#2- The Public Investment Fund has become the official partner for the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, taking place across 11 US cities from next Saturday, 14 June to 13 July, according to a joint statement published on Thursday. The 63-match tournament will feature champions from all six FIFA confederations, with the final taking place at MetLife Stadium. All games will be streamed for free on Dazn.

#3- Chilean pro-golfer Joaquin Niemann clinched his fourth individual win of the 2025 Liv Golf season at the US-based Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, according to a statement from the PIF-backed Liv Golf. The 26-year-old lifted his sixth title to hold the record for the most individual wins in Liv Golf’s history.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The world’s business papers are breathing a sigh of relief following news that the US and China preliminary agreed to get their Geneva trade war truce back on track, following 20 hours of tense negotiations over the last two days in London. Although few details of the agreement have emerged, it is understood that the two world’s two largest economies agreed to solve their differences over Chinese rare earth export restrictions and US tech export controls. The agreement now awaits the sign-off from Xi and Trump. (Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)

Also headlining many of the world’s digital front pages is wall-to-wall coverage of anti-immigration raid protests in the US, which have now spread to two dozen cities across the country. Trump responded to the spreading protests by threatening to respond with “equal or greater force” to protestors in LA, who he described as “animals.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed Trump for taking a “wrecking ball” to the norms of American democracy in a televised address criticising the deployment of military forces to LA as both illegal and unnecessary. “California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault. Before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived,” Newsom said.

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