Good morning. Acwa Power is leading this morning’s news well (again), after it achieved financial close for two gas-fired plants at SAR 12.8 bn. The IPO scene is also pushing ahead with updates from Marketing Home’s main market and Rawabi Marketing’s parallel market lisings. Meanwhile, the New Global Sport Conference saw a slew of agreements aimed at vitalizing the already-red-hot esports sector in the Kingdom.

HAPPENING TODAY-

International trade figures for June and 2Q 2025 are due from Gastat later today. Quarterly results are expected to see a sharp decrease compared to the same period last year, after Oil exports dropped to a four-year low in May, stretching a similar downturn in April due to Trump announcing sweeping tariffs and lower oil prices.

WEATHER- Thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to persist over Jazan, Asir, Al Baha, and Makkah today, with light to moderate showers expected in Madinah, Najran, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province. Riyadh is expected to see a high of 43°C and a low of 31°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will peak at 78°C and bottom out at 33°C. Makkah will see a 37°C high and 31°C low.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

The Franchise Go Forum kicks off tomorrow in Riyadh’s Siraj Convention Center to support entrepreneurs entering the franchising sector. The event will feature panel discussions with local and international experts, an exhibition connecting participants with franchisors, training workshops, and one-on-one advisory sessions.

PSAs-

Applications for the Industrial Hackathon are open until 1 October, with a SAR 1.7 mn prize pool spread across winners announced on 25 October. This year’s competition, organized by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund in partnership with Riyad Bank and Sipchem focuses on four main tracks, including design, production, sustainability, and automation.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) plans to issue USD-denominated tier 2 capital bonds under its Medium Term Note program via a special purpose vehicle, BSF said in a Tadawul disclosure yesterday. The size and terms of the issuance will be determined later, subject to regulatory approvals.

ADVISORS- BSF tapped Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citigroup Global Markets, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Bank, HSBC Bank, Mashreqbank, Mizuho International, and Saudi Fransi Capital as joint lead managers.

REMEMBER- The bank sold USD 650 mn in AT1 securities back in May, with an annual yield of 6.4%.

Air transport firm FlyNow Arabia will showcase its full-scale electric eCopter prototype at the Saudi Drone Exhibition, which will take place between 1-3 September at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center, it said in a press release on Friday. The full-model — which can carry two people or 200 kg of payload — will be displayed alongside a virtual reality demo developed with drone mapping firm FalconViz.

FlyNow will run sandbox flights later this year in collaboration with local and international participants to develop and demonstrate the safe integration of eVTOL operations in low-altitude airspace. The firm also has its plan to set up an eCopters production facility in the Kingdom, targeting both local and international markets.

We knew this was coming: It was first announced in May that FlyNow Arabia is collaborating with the Transport Ministry to launch the Kingdom’s first flying taxi application for freight and passenger transportation, with a pilot phase set to launch at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology later this year.

OIL WATCH-

Saudi Arabia’s refined products exports jumped by 148k bbl / d in 2Q 2025 to hit around 1.48 mn bbl / d — the highest since 2Q 2022, Mees reports, citing Jodi data. Crude output averaged 9.31 mn bbl / d during the quarter — the highest since 2Q 2023 — while refining runs hit 2.71 mn bbl / d. Crude exports rose to some 6 mn bbl / d during the same period, bucking the usual summer dip, thanks to higher runs and supply availability.

REMEMBER– Opec+ approved an oil production increase of 547k bbl / d for September, concluding a phase of its supply restoration strategy one year ahead of schedule and bringing Saudi Arabia’s quota to 9.75 mn bbl / d.

Less burn, more exports: A 6% y-o-y increase in Aramco’s gas output and expanded renewables capacity helped trim oil burn for power and desalination by 6.3% in 1H 2025, even as electricity demand grew 10%. Oil burn averaged 1.25 mn bbl / d in June — the lowest June figure since 2021 — putting the Kingdom on track for its first annual oil burn decline since 2021, and potentially its first volume dip below the 1 mn bbl / d mark since 2019.

SPORTS-

Chinese team AG.AL landed the first-ever Crossfire championship at the Esports World Cup, defeating rivals Baisha Gaming in a close 3-2 final and securing a USD 750k prize, according to a statement. The victory marked AG.AL’s second title of the tournament after their earlier W in Honor of Kings, highlighting China’s dominance as Evolution Power claimed their third place over the Philippines’ Stallions, sealing a clean sweep of the podium.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

No one story is dominating the front pages this morning, as hotter, longer summers (yes, the summer is getting longer, the Washington Post says) are bringing business activity into a near halt.

HSBC’s Swiss private bank is reportedly offloading over 1k wealthy clients in the Middle East, spanning Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and Egypt, unnamed sources told the Financial Times and Bloomberg. The move — expected to be completed within six months — comes amid scrutiny from Swiss watchdog Finma to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. HSBC is “evolving the strategic focus of our Swiss Private Bank” as part of its wider plans to “reshape the Group,” the bank said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. This plan entails “increasing leadership and market share in the areas where we have a clear competitive advantage.”

ALSO- A mighty fall: China’s Evergrande — once the biggest real estate firm in the country — saw its shares delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange early this morning. The giant developer, which was valued at USD 51 bn at its peak in 2018, was crushed under a pile of USD 300 bn in liabilities amid a wider property crisis that started in 2021 and saw homebuyers and investors incur hefty losses.

ALSO WORTH NOTING-

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