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Agriculture
Saudi Ground, Tanmiah Food, Fakeeh Care, Al Mawarid, Saudi Manpower report 2Q 2026 earnings
Higher expenses related to the Hajj and Umrah season dragged Saudi Ground Services’ figures
Nadec unit breaks ground on SAR 2 bn livestock facility in Hail
Nadec had secured a SAR 1.1 bn loan to finance the project
Smart food city is in the works in Najran
The Najran Investment Forum wrapped up with SAR 639 mn in signed agreements
Over SAR 428 mn in Saudi-Dutch agriculture agreements signed in Amsterdam
Among them is a SAR 76 mn investment to establish a French fries factory
Automotive
Lucid opts for cost-cutting as financials dim EV prospects
The company plans to trim USD 1.4 bn in expenses to reduce its losses and…
Chery to return to the Saudi market
Good morning, all. Our big story today is all about Burjeel Holdings’ Saudi expansion —…
Lucid starts fresh with new CEO + new funds from PIF, Uber
Funds including PIF, Mubadala, and QIA deployed nearly USD 25 bn in 1Q 2026, despite…
Trump says regional war is approaching its end
Morgan Stanley upgraded Saudi’s rating to “overweight”
Banking
Public-sector enterprises led Saudi credit growth as consumer signals cooled
Banks’ government bond holdings rose too, while mortgage and import financing eased
Saudi banks’ deposits outpace lending in 2Q
Deposits grew 2.7% q-o-q while net loans and advances rose 1.8%, bringing the loan-to-deposit ratio…
Public-sector borrowing led Saudi bank credit growth in August
Credit kept growing faster than money supply, and new import orders jumped on a one-off…
Public-sector borrowing outpaces private credit at Saudi banks
Net foreign assets edged up in July as commercial banks narrowed their foreign asset deficit
Basic materials
More flights to China in the cards? Plus: Tourism, healthcare, manufacturing
Plus: Amazon pays USD 1.9 mn to contract workers after finding labor issues in its…
Capital markets
The CMA’s latest draft rules would make Tadawul’s worst-performers fix themselves in public
That mandate would currently hit 14 listed firms with seven on the cusp
CMA wants private funds to disclose what they hold and what they made on the way out
The sharpest new demands land on private equity and venture funds, which would report holding…
Debt + money market funds draw inflows as Saudi main-market listings stall
The rotation comes as the CMA proposes rules to make underwriters buy unsold shares and…
Saudi stocks pull back on geopolitical risk and higher rates, not a structural shift
The Tadawul fell 9.2% y-o-y, with September doing most of the damage as regional tensions,…
Climate
Saudi leads the fight against new IMO levy on shipping emissions
A Saudi-led statement to the IMO warned that the new levy could “endanger exports from…
Environment Fund unveils SAR 1 bn green financing initiative
The program aims to attract private sector investment
FDI + oil ports make the rounds
Ras Tanura and Yanbu oil ports are threatened by rising sea levels
COP16 drought talks end without agreement
Twelve days of talks come to a close with no agreement on strategies to fight…
Commodities
Commodity prices are set to rise 23% this year, and the World Bank sees relief for energy in 2027, but not for food
Energy leads with a 32% jump, food adds 10%, and metals go to a record.…
Saudi General Food Security Authority awards latest wheat tender
Plus: Jamjoom Pharma to acquire Pfizer’s KAEC manufacturing plant
BIS flags bubble-like conditions in gold, US equities
The bank noted this is the first time in at least five decades that equities…
Sabco, Bechtel Australia tapped for new Maaden gold mine
The 3.6 mn-ounce mine is set to produce 300k ounces annually
Construction
Saudi Arabia’s projects market is on course to roughly match last year’s even as most of the industry says conditions have gotten worse
Where awards have fallen, the cause is largely deliberate: Utilities dropped after years of overbuilding,…
Saudi construction cost inflation eased to 2.2% in September
Residential costs were up 2.1% and non-residential 2.6%
JLL raises Saudi construction cost forecast as copper and aluminum prices surge
JLL raised its 2026 tender price inflation forecast to 5%
Saudi construction keeps expanding even as awards slip and costs hit a 2026-high
Oil and power work dried up this quarter, but the Kingdom still holds nearly half…
E-commerce
Aya bags SAR 26 mn in a Series A round led by Raed Ventures
The fresh funds will be used to support Aya’s next stage of expansion
Dar Al Majed + SPM secure shariah-compliant financing
PLUS: Naqel Express taps India’s Unicommerce for e-commerce logistics
Lifestyle malls, digital adoption drive Saudi retail market
Riyadh leads Saudi retail with 4.17 mn sqm GLA and 2.2 mn more due by…
Parsons secures SAR 210 mn contract for Diriyah Phase 2 development
ALSO- 2P locks in a SAR 426.3 mn shariah-compliant credit facility from Saudi Awwal Bank
Education
THIS MORNING: Saudia Group is lining up what could be its largest aircraft order yet
Plus: Alephya wants a majority stake in Ajialuna
Saudi 15-year-olds struggle to apply what they learn, OECD report shows
Beyond the averages, the bigger hurdle is applying paper knowledge to real situations
Acdima is selling its 10.49% stake in Spimaco, Egypt’s 3C Coding School targets Saudi
PLUS: Egyptian edtech 3C Coding School will target Saudi Arabia as next growth market.
Ashmore closes in on a third Riyadh school agreement as institutional money rolls up Saudi K-12
The platform is aiming for a capacity of more than 15.5k students in the coming…
Energy
Acwa Power buys into the US power market as the junior partner in a USD 4 bn vehicle with EIG
The initial equity investment amounts to USD 4 bn
Houthi attacks likely to delay Saudi investment decisions rather than kill projects, Oxford Economics says
With de-escalation to be the key to restoring investor confidence
Rabigh 2 expansion moves to full construction under USD 2.2 bn contract
Elsewedy and China’s Sinohydro will build the 2.3 GW gas-fired plant for Acwa and Saudi…
East-West pipeline could become shared Gulf export infrastructure as Kuwait eyes joining
The route is one of two Hormuz workarounds Kuwait is studying — the other a…
Finance
Quantic brings European institutional capital to Saudi Arabia’s SME financing market
Plans to connect European institutional investors with Saudi’s SME financing market
Nvidia targets USD 500 bn in third-party financing to fuel AI data center boom
The chipmaker is teaming up with Wall Street giants to create a standalone financing platform,…
Hong Kong and Turkey are both making a play for the wealthy expats London and the Gulf are losing
Dubai and Abu Dhabi's safe-haven status has taken a hit — and Istanbul and Hong…
Spice wants to fill fine dining’s funding gap with an alternative model
Restaurants get funding upfront by pre-purchasing dining credit
Food
Milaf Global to consolidate PIF’s food and beverage brands
Each brand is rooted in something Saudi Arabia actually has
Ninja mulls bid for Delivery Hero’s Middle East portfolio
Ninja is weighing an entry into Delivery Hero’s asset carve-up, focusing first on HungerStation amid…
HPDC finalizes its SAR 8 bn investment in MBRF’s Sadia Halal
Sadia is currently gearing up for a Tadawul listing
The Iran war could force a rewrite of Saudi ’s food security strategy
Saudi still relies heavily on imports to meet its food security needs
Healthcare
Acwa Power-led consortium brings world's largest off-grid renewable utility system online at Red Sea
Plus: Flynas buys 10% stake in Swissport Saudi
New healthcare ins. product to cover outpatient care without pre-approval
The new product will be available to ins. customers from 1 November
Al Fagih is now a Fakeeh subsidiary as SAR 1.6 bn acquisition closes
The SAR 1.6 bn transaction includes a SAR 100 mn placed in escrow
Burjeel Holdings focusing Saudi expansion on specialized day surgery centers
The first center is expected to open in Khobar in early 2027, followed by Riyadh…
Infrastructure
Saudi Arabia holds the biggest piece of Gulf investment in Syria’s rebuild, but the pieces don’t yet link up
Saudi Arabia is in most layers of the build-out, while CMA CGM, DP World, and…
Preliminary work tenders for King Salman International Stadium go live
Plus: Snowflake plans to invest USD 300 mn by the end of the decade
Gulf leads the world on data center construction costs, Turner & Townsend says
Saudi Arabia’s cost per watt of tech capacity makes it the 23rd-cheapest country in the…
Gulf champions and Western firms are staying the course on AI infrastructure in the Middle East, but more attacks could change their calculus
Construction continues across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but soaring insurance premiums and costly defenses…
Hospitality + tourism
Tourism, investment ministries greenlight SAR 6.7 bn in hotels across five tourism destinations
Plus: China’s Fangda Group lands SAR 1.15 bn contract for Qiddiya stadium
Indonesia’s sovereign fund commits SAR 6 bn to Makkah hotels and retail
It’s the first sovereign-scale test of Saudi’s new foreign-ownership opening in the holy cities
Domestic demand props up Saudi tourism headcount as war dents high-spending foreign arrivals
The number of tourists may have grown in 1Q 2026, but spending is down even…
Saudi Arabia is getting another Amaala wellness resort this month
The resort will build stays around individual health goals, from weight loss and fitness to…
Law
Coco Gauff takes home WTA Finals trophy in Riyadh
PLUS: Sama cuts rates, following in the Fed’s footsteps
Saudi-Brazilian venture eyes 26% stake in Addoha Poultry
PLUS: Ades Holding closes Southeast Asia’s jack-up rigs acquisition
Manufacturing
Humain’s next build goes to tender, Aramco fills the pipe order books, Taiba exits a hotel
Request for proposals open for a c. USD 1 bn Humain data center EPC contract
THIS MORNING: Red Sea Film Festival canceled
Plus: Ceer unveils its first two EVs
Al Yamamah Steel leans into power and renewables as the construction pipeline thins
CEO Sahal Al Thobaiti sees a soft market and thin project pipeline, and a diversified…
SWA moves to manufacture desalination energy-recovery devices domestically
The SWA partnered with Energy Recovery to build the first non-US ERD manufacturing plant
Mining
Aramco is betting 90 years of data can unlock Saudi’s copper potential
The Saudi copper hunt comes as demand for the mineral rises across energy and transport
Aramco partners with Maaden to expand mining collaboration
The partnership targets an exploration zone covering around 182k sq km — equivalent to roughly…
Americana in Adnoc stations, Local firms awarded gravel sites, Fintech Arib raises USD 23.5 mn
Americana Restaurants and Adnoc partner for a multi-market outlet expansion plan
Investors are piling into mining and metals
Inflows into the assets, which are powering AI, defense, and energy, are on the up
Oil + gas
Saudi Arabia is building its gas business at home and its LNG business abroad
Aramco is weighing gas exports and a listing of its gas business, and the one…
Aramco lines up new European routes and reworks its Asian contracts to cut reliance on Hormuz
With production back to pre-war levels, the Kingdom has the room to lock in buyers…
THIS MORNING: Filling the commercial infrastructure around EVs
Almarai’s USD 4 bn-plus expansion plan looks beyond its core businesses for 2031
Midad Energy goes big on Algerian gas
Plus: Saudi-Syrian Business Council is setting up an institutional framework to smooth company entry
Petrochemicals
Farabi inaugurates USD 950 mn petrochem plant in Yanbu
The facility expands Farabi’s annual LAB capacity by 120k tons
New petroleum law requires companies, exporters to obtain license
The new law enforces strict penalties, including fines up to SAR 30 mn and prison…
KSA + Philippines ink energy MoU on energy
PLUS: Petro Rabigh and China’s Jiahua Chemicals mull new petrochem facility in Rabigh
Aramco reportedly scraps plans for Ras Al Khair refining and chemical plant
The oil giant is gearing its downstream operations towards Asia
Private equity
Saudi Arabia leads Gulf private credit demand in a small but fast-expanding market
Private credit in the region can complement bank lending and institutional financing
Private equity firms turn to debt-funded payouts as exit bottleneck drags on
Higher rates and valuation gaps are leaving portfolio companies trapped, pushing buyout firms toward dividend…
Is an uptick in BDC bond sales offering reprieve for private credit?
BDCs issued nearly USD 8.4 bn since the start of April
Financial watchdog warns of gaps in USD 2 tn private credit sector
Opaqueness and a lack of data are making the outlook murkier, just as more and…
Real Estate
PIF’s Saudi Downtown brings Sumou in to build its flagship’s homes
Sumou funds construction off-plan and earns a fee plus a third of the bottom line,…
Saleh Al Ghamdi on rebuilding fractional real estate around an app, a registry link, and a SAR 1k entry
The firm targets SAR 1 bn in assets under management within five years
Umm Al Qura sells Masar plot at over 2x book for a hospitality tower
Plus: PayTabs wants to buy SeaPay for SAR 35 mn
Raed Al Naeem to lead Dar Al Majdiah
Dar Al Majdiah real estate appoints a new CEO effective early next month
SMEs
Riyadh’s housing market keeps climbing a year into gov’t cooling efforts
The accelerating prices in the capital indicate that a year of rent freezes and the…
Foreign trade, export development authorities folded into one entity
Plus: Gastat updates wholesale price index methodology
International firms make flexible workspace their entry point into a tight Riyadh market
Occupancy is approaching 90% in Olaya and in the mid-80% range in KAFD
Four new rigs push Arabian Drilling to a record backlog
Plus: Umm Al Qura sells its third Masar plot in under two weeks
Sports
Capital hasn’t left Saudi football, but valuations aren’t the same
Geopolitics will add more caution and sharpen scrutiny of valuations, due diligence, and investment structures
THIS MORNING: Houthis continue targeting Riyadh but deny targeting Makkah and Madinah
Plus: Folk Maritime is keeping its target to double its business within three years
Saudi women’s football moves from grassroots to a state-backed professional league
Zero-tax packages are pulling in overseas talent; the next few years will show whether the…
THIS MORNING: Riyadh, Abu Dhabi could be mending fences
Plus: Crude loadings at Yanbu resume
Tech
Humain signs Nebius for up to 50 MW as it grows its Nvidia chip commitment
The model is to lock in demand before building, then use the contracts to raise…
AlShrouq Express readies drone delivery trials as Saudi tests the economics of automated delivery
The operator is also moving forward the autonomous vehicles it piloted years ago, in a…
Tech Mahindra’s IMEA head on Saudi AI demand and the plan through 2030
The company’s regional head discusses where AI is paying off for Saudi enterprises and how…
Humain scales up 2027 data center target as it aims for a self-funding buildout
Humain is working on locking in global customers first and using those contracts to raise…
Telecoms
Why a Saudi AI founder thinks local enterprises need AI built for the Kingdom
“As a founder, there’s always more to do than there are hours for it, so…
Leap day four: Saudi founders raise more than USD 41 mn
Leap gave investors and founders a platform to restart Saudi’s VC dealflow
Deloitte invests in AI to scale Saudi unit
The company will focus on scaling AI value, enhancing cyber resilience, and building executive governance…
Humain is funding a two-track AI buildout
Bankable offtake agreements are letting the AI arm raise debt faster, not slower, as the…
Trade + Logistics
Trade surplus narrows for a third straight month as exports fall
Merchandise exports fell 11.5% to SAR 87.2 bn, while imports declined 9.1% to SAR 71.6…
Regional shipping disruptions cut trade surplus 25% in July
Regional shipping disruptions contributed to a 25% y-o-y narrowing the trade flow
Trade surplus falls 10% in June as oil exports slip
Saudi trade surplus contracted as Red Sea rerouting added to export costs
Rime raises seed round, five-year pipe duties, Riyadh Air expands Asia network
Saudi Arabia imposed final anti-dumping duties on imports of ductile cast iron pipes from India
Transport
Riyadh Metro brings in US-French expertise
Plus: Barclays’ Saudi plans are moving forward
SAR arranges Swiss-backed financing for 10 Stadler trains as it expands rail capacity
Plus: Mahart Al Injaz lands SAR 148.5 mn contract for SMC 3 Hospital in Riyadh
Saudi’s Syria push gets roads, rails and data links
The transport agreements open the door to Saudi private capital in Syria’s rebuild, with banking,…
Alramz, Assayel go in on SAR 370 mn real estate fund, 3 years to go for our rail link with Turkey
Saudi and Turkish railway operators are looking to cooperate on rail infrastructure