Aramco inches closer to blockbuster USD 20 bn share sale, looks set to tap HSBC, Goldman and Citi to advise

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: STC is still in the running for a piece of Altice in Portugal

Good morning, wonderful people. We hope you had a restful weekend full of family, friends, and good food.

We have a weighty issue for you this morning with plenty of news from the Public Investment Fund, a report that three Bulge Bracket stalwarts are in line to quarterback a blockbuster share sale for Aramco, and news that Cenomi Retail has completed the sale of a portfolio of non-core brands as it doubles down on its champions,

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Some 300 brands will be on display at Beautyworld Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s largest exhibition for the beauty and wellbeing sectors. The Saudi beauty industry is worth as much as USD 500 mn per year, organizers say. The event runs through Tuesday at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The Global Smart Cities Forum kicks off tomorrow in Riyadh and wraps up on Tuesday. The forum, organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), features over 80 speakers from 40 nations worldwide for talks on strategies for fostering sustainable urban development.

WEATHER- It’s shaping up to be a sunny, breezy and pleasant day in Riyadh and Jeddah with morning showers and scattered clouds in the cards for Dammam.

Riyadh: 25°C daytime / 9°C overnight
Jeddah: 28°C daytime / 18°C overnight
Dammam: 22°C daytime / 15°C overnight

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Saudi Telecom (STC) is still in the running for a stake in telecom group Altice Portugal, with Bloomberg reporting that the operator is among a handful of suitors that have been invited to the second round of bidding. French telecoms firm Iliad and a consortium led by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus are also in the running to buy a stake in Portugal’s largest network operator.

Background: Interest from STC, which is 64% owned by the Public Investment Fund, and others come as media empire owner and Israeli b’naire Patrick Drahi looks to sell shares and pay down debt, as we noted in December.

#6- TheCapital Market Authority (CMA) has asked prosecutors to file charges against a group of investors, it said in a statement last week. The CMA claims the group tried to manipulate the share price and closing prices of shares in 52 listed companies. The CME did not name any of those it is asking prosecutors to charge.

DATA POINT- RiyadhSeason events attracted some 17 mn visits since the start of the festival in October, state news agency SPA says. that’s well over the 10-12 mn figure organizers were hoping to see pass through the festival, which runs until March.

SPORTS-

Al Hilal was crowned Riyadh Season Cup champion after beating Ronaldo’s Al Nassr 2-0 in the final game on Thursday. The friendly tournament saw Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Inter Miami face off in a table format, with all the teams playing each other once. Al Hilal finished on top with a perfect record of 6 points.

MORNING MUST READ-

#1- Our very own “From the Ashes” has been racking up views on Netflix, the National reports.

In detail: As of 4 February, the Netflix original has dominated weekly non-English top-10 lists in Jamaica, Luxembourg, Spain, Egypt, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago, amassing 7.6 mn views and 11.6 mn hours watched. The Netflix production recounts the harrowing real-life story of an all-girls school engulfed in flames, and the terrifying nightmare that follows the girls in the institution.

For the record: “People from across the world want to learn about different people, and hear new stories. That makes me so happy, because here in Saudi Arabia, we still have lots of stories we want to tell to the world,” its director Khalid Fahad told The National.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The age of the two men who are vying to become America’s oldest-ever president is front and center in the United States after a press conference on Thursday in which US President Joe Biden cleared, “My memory is fine.”

Biden mistakenly described Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi as the president of Mexico (watch, runtime; 12:35) at a press conference called to address claims in a special prosecutor’s decision not to recommend Biden be charged with mishandling state secrets. The report said in part that Biden was a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who has “diminished faculties in advancing age.”

Both Biden and Trump have made high-profile gaffes in recent weeks. Biden has twice referred to recent conversations he’s had with long-dead European leaders, while Trump has confused the leaders of Hungary and Turkey, said he defeated Barack Obama (not Hilary Clinton) for the presidency, and confused his primary challenger, Nikki Haley, with former house speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It has all raised questions: How old is too old to be president?And while we’re at it: Why isthe age question hurting Biden more than Trump?

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Saudi Capital Market Forum will open on Monday, 19 February and wrap up on Tuesday. Held under the theme “Powering Growth,” the event will bring together members of the global financial landscape for discussions on the capital markets and investment strategies.

The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will kick off in Diriyah on Tuesday, 20 February and wrap up on Friday, 24 May. Headlined After Rain, it will be led by German curator Ute Meta Bauer and features 92 artists from 43 countries. It will see several new commissions, including a joint project documenting “Saudi futurism” since the 1940s by local artist Ahmed Mater and Berlin-based photographer Armin Linke.

The Future Investment Initiative (FII) will host a two-day priority summit in Miami starting Thursday, 22 February.

The annual tech event LEAP will open in Riyadh on Monday, 4 March and continue through Thursday, 7 March. Dubbed the “Digital Davos”, the event will bring together the global tech industry for discussions on the future of technology.

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

Aramco inches closer to blockbuster share sale, looks set to tap HSBC, Goldman and Citi to advise

State-owned oil giant Aramco is in talks to hire banks including HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as it prepares to revive plans to sell shares in a secondary offering, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are close to the transaction. It is also in talks with other unnamed banks as it looks to line up advisors for the offering, which might come in the upcoming few weeks, the sources said.

The secondary share sale is expected to raise some USD 20 bn in would be one of the world’s largest offerings in recent years — that’s USD10 bn more than earlier whispers about the offering had suggested.

What we still don’t know: There’s no final decision on the size of the stake that the government plans to sell or the timeline for the transaction. The list of advisors is still subject to changes and Aramco could always mothball the sale.

We expect proceeds from the sale to swell the Public Investment Fund’s coffers as officials look to continue investing at home amid a budget deficit occasioned lower oil prices.

Will investors have appetite for the sale? “Even in 2019 it was a tough sale in a world increasingly worried about ESG,” Bloomberg’s Saudi Arabia bureau chief, Mathew Martin, said in an interview (watch: runtime: 2:53) on the scoop. On the other hand, Aramco’s new cashflow scheme — which ensures higher dividends to shareholders — and investments into downstream and renewables could whet investor appetite, he added.

And remember: The bloom is off the rose when it comes to ESG. From Wall Street to boardrooms, the pendulum is shifting as corporate leaders and investors are now starting to “ talk more about maximizing returns than about saving the world,” with the Wall Street Journal going so far as to say that ESG is “the latest dirty word in corporate America.”

We expect that strong global appetite for Saudi story and cooling interest in ESG as an investment theme will see investors lining up to write tickets for the share sale.

BACKGROUND- The idea of selling more shares first surfaced in 2021, when Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the government would sell more shares in the oil giant, with proceeds earmarked for the Public Investment Fund. Aramco raised USD 29.4 bn on Tadawul in 2019 in what remains the biggest IPO in history.

The 2019 IPO in a nutshell: The world's largest oil company floated a 1.5% stake for a top of the range price of SAR 32 a piece on Tadawul in December 2019, raising USD 25.6 bn before exercising its “greenshoe option” for an over-allotment of shares that earned the company USD 29.4 bn in total proceeds in January 2020. The transaction valued the company atUSD 1.87 tn, after selling a total of 3.45 bn shares.

IN CONTEXT- Aramco remains tightly held with only a small portion of the company trading freely. The government is currently majority shareholder and the only substantial shareholder of the oil giant with a 90.2% stake, while 1.5% is floated on the market and the remaining shares are held by non-substantial holders (those who own less than 5% each). Foreign shareholders have in their hands just 0.4% of the company’s shares.

Cenomi Retail wraps up SAR 115 mn sale of Innovative Outfit Trading

Our friends at Cenomi Retail have wrapped up the strategic sale of subsidiary Innovative Outfit Trading to Abdullah Al Othaim Fashionas the company pushes through with its rationalization drive to focus on what it calls “champion brands.” Cenomi Retail currently holds the franchise rights to some of the biggest household names globally including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, along with other Inditex brands.

The retailer has been on a rationalization drive in a bid to optimize operations by downsizing its brand portfolio and focusing on the most successful names. Cenomi Retail owned the franchise rights to around 67 global brands, as of November 2023, down from around 100 brands, according to the company’s latest earnings release (pdf). The retail giant has completely exited the Balkans and signed a letter of intent to fully divest fully its US operations as of November 2023.

The sale of 16 brands to Abdullah Al Otham will bring in SAR 115 mn in proceeds, in addition to another SAR 4.7 mn from the transfer of inventory — still subject to a final assessment, according to a disclosure to Tadawul last week. The brands Al Othaim Fashion is acquiring include Flormar, Oxxo, Monsoon, ADL, Bijou Brigitte, Bizou, Gerry Weber, IKKS, Lasenza, Lipsy, Marie France, Quiz, Springfield, Women Secret, Undiz, and Ziddy.

The impact on Cenomi Retail’s financials will be small: The 16 brands contributed just 5.7% of the retail giant’s total revenues in 9M 2023 at SAR 238 mn. The transaction should boost Cenomi Retail’s EBITDA by SAR 10 mn on an annualized basis.

This has been in the works since last year: The initial SPA was signed in December 2023 entailing the transfer of the franchise rights of 18 brands in a SAR 120 mn transactions, before the owners of two brands rejected the transfer, shaving SAR 5 mn off the value of the original agreement.

Cenomi booked SAR 4.2 bn in revenues in 9M 2023, with 7.7% growth in EBITDA. Online receipt grew 35%, while international operations grew 8%. Cenomi said its “champion brands strategy” has outperformed the overall fashion category with Zara revenues growing 9.1% y-o-y in 9M 2023 and revenues from other Inditex brands rising 5.9% y-o-y in the same period.

Cenomi’s footprint: The retail giant is currently active in 1.3k stores across 100 malls in 10 countries, with brands spanning womenswear, menswear, kids and baby, department stores, shoes and accessories and cosmetics. This is in addition to operating a number of restaurants and coffee shops including Subway and Cinnabon. The retailer’s Aleph brand is an Apple premium partner.

PIF eyeing Starbucks Mideast, Roma + USD 1 bn Chinese VC fund

It’s been a very busy couple of days for news from the Public Investment Fund, with word it is still looking for a chunk of Starbucks in the Middle East as well as football side Roma — plus news a Chinese VC it is backing is now looking to raise funds to invest in our part of the world.

Here’s the rundown:

A PIECE OF STARBUCKS MENA?

#1- The PIF is still in talks to acquire a minority stake in the regional Starbucks franchise held by Kuwait’s Al Shaya Group, Reuters reported last week, citing sources its says are close to the matter. The PIF has been eyeing a stake since 2022, and Al Shaya is said to be looking to sell up to 30% to generate USD 4-5 bn. US private equity firm Apollo Global Management is also looking to invest. Al Shaya has the rights to the franchise in MENA and central Asia.

A messy December for the coffee chain: Boycott campaigns against Starbucks in the wake of the crisis in Gaza severely impacted the sales of its Middle East business. Starbuks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said the company saw a “significant impact on traffic and sales” in the region due to the crisis.

USD 1 BN MIDEAST VC FUND

#2- PIF-backed Chinese venture capital firm MSACapital is in talks with regional investors to set up a USD 1 bn fund that would invest in tech startups in the Middle East, Managing Partner Ben Harburg told Bloomberg last week.

That would make MSA the largest VC outfit in the region focused on Mideast startups, placing Saudi Technology Ventures (STV) in second place. MSA Capital, which manages USD 2.5 bn in assets, is backed by PIF unit Jada Fund of Funds. Jada, along with Saudi Venture Capital Investment, is involved in at least one of three funds by the Chinese VC firm that have collectively raised USD 555 mn, Harburg said.

MSA is no stranger: The Chinese venture capital firm was an early investor in Riyadh-based BNPL firm Tabby, which landed unicorn status last year after its series D round valued it at over USD 1.5 bn.

Speaking of China and VCs: A congressional investigation in the United States claims that five VC firms have invested bn’s of USD in Chinese companies that have bolstered China’s military and surveillance capabilities. Go deeper here in the WSJ or check out the report for yourself (pdf).

TAKING OVER ROMA?

#3- The PIF is reportedly in talks with Roma’s US owners, Dan and Ryan Friedkin, for the takeover of the Serie A side in a transaction worth USD 970 mn, Goal reported yesterday, citing a report by Italian daily La Repubblica. The fund could also pour an additional USD 325 mn into building a new stadium in Rome.

The PIF ❤️ football: A consortium led by the PIF completed in October 2021 its takeover of English Premier League side Newcastle in a USD 408 transaction. Serie A clubs have since been on the PIF’s radar, with the Kingdom hosting multiple Italian football clubs events. Three of the earlier five Italian Super Cup Finals were held in the Kingdom, with the latest tournament last month seeing Inter Milan winning the cup after beating Napoli 1-0. The Lega Serie A also plans to open a new office in Riyadh after opening its first HQ in the region in Abu Dhabi.

FULL LUCID PRODUCTION SOON

#4- PIF-backed Lucid could soon move to full production of EVs in Jeddah plant, Marketing Director for Middle East Firas Kandalaft told Al Eqtisadiah last week. The first phase of production at Lucid’s second Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-2) in Jeddah’s King Abdullah Economic City was limited to the assembly or manufacturing of some EV parts, he said. The AMP-2 is Lucid’s first plant overseas.

In context: Lucid’s AMP-2 has been carrying out semi knocked-down (SKD) assembly with a capacity of 5k vehicles per annum, re-assembling Lucid Air vehicle kits manufactured in Arizona’s AMP-1 plant, according to the company. The shift to completely built-up (CBU) production at its plant in Jeddah will help it boost production capacity to 155k vehicles per year.

Keep an eye on the rollout of Lucid Gravity here: Lucid plans to unroll its new fully electric SUV, the Lucid Gravity, in the Kingdom soon, Kandalaft said. His statements come a few weeks after Lucid said it has expanded its advanced manufacturing plant in Arizona as it gears up to roll out the Lucid Gravity. Lucid is 60% owned by the PIF.

Saudi banks set for slower credit growth this year due to tight liquidity

Tight liquidity + lower mortgage lending growth to weigh on banks this year: Saudi banks are forecast to report robust yet slower credit growth of 8-9% this year on the back of tight liquidity and a slowdown in mortgage lending, S&P Global said in its Credit FAQ last week. This is down from 10% credit growth reported by the banks last year, it said.

S&P Global sees growth in mortgage lending slowing down again this year due to high interest rates and market maturity. Mortgage lending growth by banks came in at 8% y-o-y by the end of September, down from 19% in the corresponding period in 2022. It sees corporate lending growth continuing to benefit from planned mega projects under the Vision 2030 and robust economic activity.

Credit growth will continue to back banks’ profitability, with lenders’ return on assets set to stability at 2.2%, according to S&P Global. It sees modest margin compression in the second half of the year if interest rates fall in line with expectations that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting rates. Almost half of most banks’ lending book is made up of corporate loans with variable interest rates.

Gov’t to the rescue: The government is set to continue supporting banks’ credit growth amid tight liquidity through the injection of deposits, according to S&P Global. Deposits by the government and related entities grew to 30% of total by 2023 from c. 20% in 2020. That liquidity boost would help banks maintain liquidity in the near term amid a decline in liquid assets over the past years.

The move away from oil won’t be a massive challenge for banks, but… While banks have limited direct exposure to the energy transition, S&P Global sees a “high” indirect exposure due to the impact of the oil sector’s performance to other sectors, including manufacturing, quarrying and mining, power generation and others. “That's because other sectors tend to correlate with the oil sector's performance, either directly through the supply chain or indirectly through government and consumer spending,” it said.

Geopolitical tensions could be a challenge: Worsening geopolitical tensions in the region could “negatively impact Saudi banks through deposit outflows,” S&P Global forecasts. However, it sees the lenders’ strong net external positions helping to offset such risks.

Al Modawat Specialized Medical offering, Al Mohafaza Education says it will go for IPO on Tadawul’s parallel market

The offering of Al-Modawat Specialized Medical was 135% oversubscribed with qualified investors putting in orders at SAR 111 a piece, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The healthcare provider is set to debut 475k ordinary shares on parallel market Nomu — good for 20% stake. Yaqeen Capital is quarterbacking the transaction as financial advisor and lead manager.

Use of proceeds: The majority of the potential proceeds (94%) are earmarked to support the company’s working capital needs, while the remaining will be used to purchase an MRI scanner, according to a prospectus (pdf)

ADVISORS-Yaqeen Capital will be quarterbacking the transaction as lead manager and financial advisor, while Talal Abu Ghazaleh (TAGI) will be acting as auditor, according to the prospectus.

IN OTHER NOMU NEWS-

Al Mohafaza Education will offer a 20% on Nomu, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. This will be done by way of a capital increase of an additional 1.3 mn shares, while the remaining 300k will be sold by existing shareholders, according to the prospectus (pdf). There’s no public information on the price guide for the offering.

The timeline: Qualified investors will be able to place their orders starting Wednesday, 28 February and wrap up on 7 March 2024, followed by the final allocation happening on 12 March. Excess subscription fees, if any, will be refunded on 14 March.

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.

2023 KPIs: The education provider’s bottom line rose 129% y-o-y to SAR 6.4 mn in FY2023 ending on 31 July, while its top line increased 30% y-o-y to SAR 26 mn.

Lock up period: All five substantial shareholders will have to abide by a 12-month lock-up period starting from the first day of trading before they can make any transactions on their shares.

ADVISORS- Yaqeen Capital is quarterbacking the transaction as financial advisor and lead manager, while RSM is acting as auditor.

It’s a wrap at the World Defense Show

The World Defense Show wrapped up last Thursday with a total of 61 contracts worth SAR 26 bn signed throughout the five-day event, Saudi Gazette reported last week. This is up from SAR 21 bn worth of purchase agreements signed in 2022.

REMEMBER- The Kingdom has a target of localizing over 50% of its military equipment spending by 2030.

The event gained a lot of traction in its second edition, featuring 773 exhibitors, up from 600 in 2022, 441 official delegations (up from 100) 106k visitors (up from 65k) and 76 participating countries (vs 42 a year ago) the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) said on X on Friday.

See you in 2026: The event will next run 8-12 February 2026.

Neom is creating the largest fish hatchery in the region. Plus: Oil drilling, aid to Benin

NEOM-

Neom launched a joint venture with Tabuk Fisheriesto develop the largest fish hatchery in the MENA region by the end of the year, it said in a statement last week. The planned fish hatchery by the Topian Aquaculture JV is set to have a planned capacity of 42 mn fingerlings and marine-pen production facilities with a target output of 20k tonnes of finfish annually.

Fish hatchery? It is a form of early-stage fish farming which aims to ensure that aquatic species make it past the first few weeks of life by providing proper management conditions. At this stage the mortality rates of fish are typically very high. The cultivated fish would later be used for food, bait or, stocking.

ENERGY-

#1-Arabian Drilling has inked multiple five-year contracts worth SAR 850 mn fromAramco to supply three new land rigs, it said in a statement (pdf) last week. The additional land rigs come under Aramco’s unconventional gas program, which aims to diversify local energy resources.

#2- Tadawul-listed oil and gas drilling company Ades Holding said it has received extension notifications for three of its offshore jack-ups in Egypt, it said in a statement (pdf) last week. “The extensions further solidify the group’s position in the Egyptian market and add visibility to the business with a total estimated backlog of c.SAR 450 million,” it said.

LOGISTICS-

Naqel Express hired to manage RSG’s logistics:Naqel Express, a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi Post Logistics, has been awarded a contract from developer Red Sea Global (RSG) to run all long haul and local transportation services for its tourist destination The Red Sea, according to a statement by RSG last week. Naqel will also supply labor, logistics equipment, and supply chain technologies, it said. RSG is a wholly-owned unit of the PIF.

DEVELOPMENT-

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) signed a MoU with Benin for a USD 5 mn grant to supply tanks and set up an extension network to distribute potable water in 37 villages in the African country under Saudi Program for Drilling Wells and Rural Development in Africa,SPA reported last week. The SFD has provided to date USD 8 mn to Benin to boost water security and mitigate the effects of drought.

Is another US banking crisis brewing? Here’s what you need to know.

It’s looking gnarly out there for bankers in the United States and investors in their stocks.Here’s what’s on everyone’s mind:

US regulators could be facing a rerun of the winter 2022-2023 regional banking crisis. Prospects of more trouble have captured the imagination of the financial press on both sides of the Atlantic after earnings in the US banking industry fell 45% last year and dismal earnings from New York Community Bancorp sparked a two-day run on regional bank stocks.

THE BACKGROUND- Bank nerds among our readers will remember that three high-profile regional lenders (Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank) went bust in a single week, forcing US regulators to step in amid a run on all three. The irony: New York Community scooped up Signature Bank after regulators shut it down.

What’s worrying folks now: Banks in the US hold USD 2.7 tn in commercial real estate loans by most estimates — and pundits think regional lenders account for about 80% of that figure. Tenants are now letting go of leases after nearly four years of low use after covid and the post-covid shift to work from home. That comes as developers are already struggling to make payments amid low occupancy and high interest rates.

Possibly making things worse: Loans to what some in the industry like to call “shadow banks.” US lenders have more than USD 1 tn in exposure to non-bank financial firms including hedge funds, private equity firms, and mortgage lenders, many of whom are now under stress amid high interest rates.

Go deeper: American Enterprise Institute | CNN | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times

MEANWHILE- The S&P 500 closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time on Friday. The milestone can partially be attributed to Nvidia and Meta, which rose over 30% since we rang in 2024. The move was also driven by investor confidence fuelled by promising US inflation data, a strong run of earnings reports, and widespread expectations of monetary easing. (Financial Times | CNN Business)

TASI	12,202.78	+0.3% (YTD: +2%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,580.96	+0.3% (YTD: +2%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	3.75 Sell	3.75 Buy
Interest rates	6% repo	5.5% reverse repo
EGX30	28,411.41	+1.8% (YTD: +14.1%)
ADX	9,344.05	-0.2% (YTD: -2.4%)
DFM	4,183.86	+0.6% (YTD: +3.1%)
S&P 500	5,026.61	+0.6% (YTD: +5.4%)
FTSE 100	7,572.58	-0.3% (YTD: -2.1%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,715.87	+0.1% (YTD: +4.3%)
Brent crude	82.19	+0.7%
Natural gas (Nymex)	1.85	-3.7%
Gold	2,038.70	-0.5%
BTC	48,027.19	+0.9% (YTD: 122%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The TASI rose 0.3% yesterday on turnover of SAR 9.3 bn. The index is up 2% YTD.

In the green: Atheeb Telecom (+9.9%), Savola Group (+6.2%) and NCLE (+5.4%).

In the red: Saudi German Health (-3.5%), 2P (-3.5%) and Sabic Agri-Nutrients (-2.4%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved a request by Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co. to raise its capital by 10% to SAR 370.7 mn, it said in a statement last week.

Talks of ceasefire + two-state solution held in Riyadh

Arab foreign ministers reiterated in Riyadh the urgency of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and “the importance of taking irreversible steps to implement the two-state solution,” state news agency SPA reported on Friday. The meeting in Riyadh followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region and was attended by the FMs of Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan.

The meeting served to create an “Arab consensus” over the situation in Gaza, and to solidify that a permanent ceasefire “must be followed by an agreement on the framework for Palestinian statehood,” an unnamed senior Arab diplomat told Bloomberg.

ALSO- The Foreign Ministry has warned of the “extremely dangerous repercussions” of an Israeli invasion of densely populated Rafah, according to a statement picked up by SPA. “Rafah is the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians who were forced to flee due to the brutal Israeli aggression,” it said, warning of a “humanitarian catastrophe” if Israel proceeds with its plan.

CALENDAR

FEBRUARY

9 February- 23 March (Friday-Saturday): Desert X ALUla.

10-14 February (Saturday-Wednesday): Filipino exporters will be in town for a business-matching tour.

10 February (Saturday): Last day to apply for permits to lease properties to pilgrims during Hajj season.

11- 12 February (Sunday-Monday): The Space Debris Conference, Securing the Future Growth of the Global Space Economy, Riyadh.

12-13 February (Monday-Tuesday): The Global Smart Cities Forum, Riyadh Arena, Riyadh.

12-14 February (Monday-Wednesday): The International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC), Riyadh.

18-21 February (Sunday-Wednesday): Restatex Riyadh Real Estate, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

19 February (Monday): The Future of Business 2024 Forum, Eastern Chamber’s HQ, Dammam.

19-20 February (Monday-Tuesday): Saudi Capital Market Forum, King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh.

19-21 February (Monday-Wednesday): Makkah Expo for Hotels and Restaurants, Makkah.

19-21 February (Monday-Wednesday): Future of Media Exhibition (FOMEX), Riyadh.

20 February-24 May (Tuesday-Friday): Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Diriyah.

22 February (Thursday): Founding Day (national holiday)

26 February (Monday): OTSEC Summit, Dammam.

26-29 February (Monday-Thursday): Big 5 Construct Saudi, Riyadh.

26-29 February (Monday-Thursday): FM EXPO SAUD

26-29 February (Monday-Thursday): Stone and Service Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.

MARCH

2 March (Friday): end of Noor Riyadh show, segment “Refracted Identities, Shared Futures”, Riyadh.

4-6 March (Monday-Wednesday): International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in the Arabian Peninsula, Riyadh.

4-7 March (Monday-Thursday): LEAP 2024, Riyadh.

11 March (Monday): Flag Day (national holiday)

Signposted to happen sometime in March:

Ramadan

APRIL

14-21 April (Sunday-Monday): IMF and World Bank spring meetings, Washington, DC

28-29 April (Sunday-Monday): World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting, Riyadh.

29 April-1 May: Future Hospitality Summit at Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in April:

Eid Al-Fitr (national holiday)

MAY

19-21 May (Sunday-Tuesday): Saudi Energy Convention, Riyadh.

21-23 May (Tuesday-Thursday): The Saudi Food Show, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in May:

Global Trade Review (GTR): KSA
Saudi Energy Convention

JUNE

5 June (Wednesday): World Environment Day.

30 June (Sunday): ZATCA tax exemption scheme expires

Signposted to happen sometime in June:

Eid Al-Adha (national holiday)

AUGUST

12-15 August (Monday-Thursday): The Saudi Food Expo, Riyadh

SEPTEMBER

11-12 September (Wednesday-Thursday): The Saudi Event Show, Riyadh.

23 September (Monday): National Day (national holiday)

DECEMBER

2-13 December (Monday-Friday): Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2024:

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