Good morning. The Eid vacation is days away, and we kick off the last workweek with a packed issue, leading with Aramco’s sukuk push slated for this year, highlights of the Aseer Investment Forum held last week, and the first Saudi sukuk ETF going live on the Hong Kong Exchange.

^^ We have the details on these stories, and (many) more, in today’s news well.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Axelerated Solutions’ shares will begin trading on the Nomu parallel market today, according to a Tadawul statement. The company’s shares can fluctuate within a 30% range for the first three days, after which price fluctuations will be capped at 10% as circuit breakers take effect.

REFRESHER- The company priced its offering at SAR 27 per share, after it saw its offered 10.7% stake 208% oversubscribed by qualified investors. The pricing would give Axelerated Solutions a market cap of SAR 756 mn at listing and should see it raise some SAR 3.8 mn in IPO proceeds.

AND- Al Kuzama Trading to debut on Nomu tomorrow: Restaurant operator Al Kuzama Trading’s shares are due to hit Tadawul’s parallel market Nomu tomorrow, according to a statement. The firm floated a 10.7% stake in a SAR 45.2 mn primary offering that was 108.4% oversubscribed, with proceeds earmarked for expansion. Some 422.4k new shares were up for grabs at SAR 107 apiece.

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.

WEATHER- Riyadh is expected to see a high of 42°C and a low of 28°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 36°C and as low as 27°C. Makkah will see a 43°C high and 31°C low.

PSAs-

#1- Riyadh’s public transport system released its operating schedule for the Eid Al Adha holiday, running from 5 to 14 June, it said in a post on X.

Riyadh Metro:

• The Orange Line will operate from 10am to midnight from 5 to 14 June. It will return to its regular 6am start on 15 June.
• For all other metro lines, services will start at 8am on 5 June, shift to a 10am start from 6 to 8 June, return to an 8am start from 9 to 11 June, and resume the regular 6am schedule from 12 June onward.
• All metro lines will operate daily until 12am midnight during the holiday period.

What about the bus? Buses will run daily from 5 AM to midnight between 5 and 12 June. On-demand buses will also be available to accommodate increased holiday travel.

#2- The Entrepreneurship World Cup is now accepting applications, with a deadline set for 30 June. The global competition invites over 200 countries to take part in a pitch event that offers USD 1.5 mn in prizes and additional support through services and investment prospects. You can apply here.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Kingdom will use the current drop in oil revenues and global uncertainty to “take stock” of its spending priorities while maintaining Vision 2030 projects development, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan told the Financial Times on Thursday.

Deficits won’t slow down spending: Despite an 18% y-o-y fall in oil revenue and a widening fiscal deficit of USD 15.6 bn in 1Q 2025 — the largest since 2021 — Al Jadaan emphasized that government spending will continue to support non-oil growth, even if the budget deficit exceeds expectations.

Al Jadaan said a deficit of up to 5% of GDP would be acceptable if it supports non-oil growth, expressing confidence despite IMF projections of a wider fiscal gap of 4% this year and next. “There will possibly be more deficit than we anticipated in the budget, but not significant,” he said. “We still have plenty of room in our fiscal buffers, ample foreign reserves [and] significant government reserves.”

With a low debt-to-GDP ratio of 26%, well below the 40% ceiling, he sees ample fiscal space and expects 2025 growth to reach 4.6%, outperforming the IMF’s 3% forecast.

The Minister stressed the importance of taking a countercyclical approach to avoid the “trap of booms and busts,” confirming earlier reports that the Public Investment Fund and Neom are also reassessing their timelines and priorities amid a wider recalibration of gigprojects.

#2- India agreed to exempt the Public Investment Fund (PIF) from foreign investment rules that limit how much sovereign entities can invest in a single company, Reuters reports, citing two unnamed sources. The move will let different arms of the PIF invest in Indian firms without being limited to the 10% ownership cap of sovereign entities in a single company.

PIF currently has limited exposure in India, with investments limited to USD 1.5 bn in JioPlatforms and USD 1.3 bn in Reliance Retail.

ICYMI- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kingdom in April, where the two countries agreed to boost investment in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and pharma. They also began talks on a bilateral investment treaty. India currently stands as the Kingdom’s second-largest trading partner at USD 39.9 bn in 2024, with Saudi investments in India amounting to USD 4 bn as of 2023.

ALSO- The PIF is weighing an IPO for its wholly-owned tech subsidiary Saudi Information Technology (Site), Bloomberg reports, citing sources it said are in the know. The sovereign wealth fund has invited banks to pitch for advisory roles, though the plans remain at an early stage and key terms — including valuation and launch date — are still being assessed.

IN CONTEXT- The Kingdom’s finances are pressured by lower oil prices, driving the PIF to turn to asset sales — including planned IPOs for medical procurement firm Nupco, port operator Saudi Global Ports, and Tabreed District Cooling — as well as tapping debt markets to support Vision 2030. Together, the government, the PIF, and their subsidiaries have already raised over USD 23 bn in 2025, in addition to Aramco’s USD 5 bn bond sale last week.

#3- PIF-backed Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (Salic) is eyeing potential investments in Russia’s wheat market, with CEO Sulaiman Al Rumaih confirming that the company is in “serious discussions” and that it’s only “a question of time,” Reuters quotes him as saying during the Russian Grain Forum 2025 in Sochi.

The rationale: Given that Russia supplies some 50% of Saudi Arabia’s wheat imports, AlRumaih sees strong competitiveness in Russian firms and believes Salic can leverage this to help boost Russian wheat exports to broader Middle Eastern and African markets, effectively acting as “conduits of Russian grain to the global market,” he said.

#4- Iraq edging closer to Acwa Power, Masdar 2 GW solar plants agreement: Iraq’s Electricity Ministry is close to finalizing an agreement with Tadawul-listed Acwa Power for a 1 GW solar plant in Najaf, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on Thursday. The ministry is also in talks with the UAE’s Masdar to set up four plants with a combined 1 GW capacity.

REMEMBER- Iraq’s parliament was reportedly nearing approval of a new law to protect Saudi investments, with Saudi-Iraqi investment ties set to strengthen as political, security, and economic partnerships deepen. The Kingdom also signed a contract in January to supply Iraq with 1 GW of electricity, contributing to Iraq’s plan to import 3.2 GW from neighboring countries (Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and the GCC grid) this summer to address ongoing power shortages.

#5- AviLease is expected to place USD multi-bn orders for Airbus jets to balance its suppliers and support its aviation growth ambitions, Reuters reports, citing industry sources. The firm is expected to announce an order for up to 30 Airbus A320neo during next month’s Paris Airshow, while sources speculated the order may be expanded to include A350 freighters.

ICYMI- The PIF placed an order for 20 Boeing 737-8 jets for its aviation leasing firm AviLease — with an option for 10 more — during last month’s Saudi-US investment summit.

#6- Homegrown budget carrier flynas became the latest to join the flock of airlines resuming Syria flights, launching direct flights between Riyadh and Damascus starting 5 June, it said in a statement on Thursday. The airline previously operated flights to several Syrian cities, including Damascus, Aleppo, and Latakia.

REMEMBER- Flyadeal announced last week it plans to launch flights to Syria as early as July, joining several other operators — like Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Royal Jordanian Airlines — who resumed flights to Syria following the fall of the Assad regime in December and the removal of US sanctions earlier this month. Rival UAE-based airline FlyDubai also said it plans to launch flight services to the country starting next month.

#7- Adeer eyes EGX listing after Nomu debut: Khobar-based property developer Adeer RealEstate is eyeing an IPO on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) within the next five years, CEO Bassel El Serafy told Al Mal.

What we know: The firm, which rang the opening bell on Tadawul’s parallel market Nomu lastweek, says it also plans to list a group of its subsidiaries on either the EGX’s main market or the Nile Stock Exchange (Nilex) for small and mid-sized caps. No further details were disclosed.

Adeer has been active on both sides of the Red Sea: Adeer began procedures late last year to set up an Egyptian real estate investment fund in partnership with Saudi fund manager Areeb Capital to invest in residential, commercial, and administrative units. The firm has also previously partnered with Egypt’s Paragon and our friends at Hassan Allam for mixed-use development projects in East Cairo and with Melee Development for SAR 1 bn worth of projects here at home.

OIL WATCH-

Opec+ will accelerate oil production increments for the third month in a row, adding 411k barrels per day (bbl / d) in July, according to a statement. That’s a three-month worth of supply increments that will be delivered all at once next month.

The oil group once again cited healthy market fundamentals as the driver behind the decision, adding it provides countries a new possibility to speed up overproduction compensation.

Not everyone is on board, it seems: Russia, Algeria and Oman reportedly called for a pause in the production increases, citing concerns regarding the speed of unwinding cuts, unnamed delegates told Bloomberg. The big cuts drove down oil prices this year, hovering around the USD 65/bbl level.

The next meeting: Member countries agreed to meet again on 6 July to address production levels for the month of August.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Dwellings occupied by Saudi households reached 4.4 mn in 2024, up 2.7% from 2022, according to Gastat’s Housing Statistics Bulletin (pdf). These residential units represent 50.6% of total dwellings in the Kingdom — with 44.7% of them ranging from 150 to 299 sqm — housing an average of 4.9 individuals.

Digging deeper: The most common dwelling type was apartments (45%), followed by villas (31%), traditional houses (12.4%), and floors (10.8%). Some 57% of homes had 4 to 6 rooms, while 30.9% had 4 or more bedrooms. They were mainly built with reinforced concrete (90%), with 35.1% of them being 10 to 19 years of age.

ALSO- Saudi ownership without mortgages or loans ranked top with 1.6 mn dwellings, closely followed by rented dwellings (1.4 mn) and ownership with mortgages or loans (837.2k).

#2- Saudi SMEs’ commercial registrations rose 48% y-o-y in 1Q 2025 to 1.68 mn, according to Monshaat’s latest report (pdf). Riyadh was home to 39% of the new records, followed by Makkah with 17%, the Eastern Region with 16%, Qassim with 5.5%, and Aseer with 5%, while the remaining provinces accounted for 17.5%.

#3- A total of 1.4 mn pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for Hajj as of Friday, state news agency SPA reports, citing the General Directorate of Passports. Some 1.3 mn pilgrims arrived by air, 65.2k by land, and 5.1k by sea.

SPORTS-

#1- Al Ittihad defeated Al Qadsiah 3-1 in the Saudi Cup final on Friday, securing the domestic double, it said in a post on X. Karim Benzema scored two goals in the Saudi Cup final, including the opening goal and a late stoppage-time winner, helping the team secure the victory.

#2- Ma’aden was named the Official Platinum partner of The Saudi Pro League (SPL) through July 2030, following a long-term strategic partnership agreement aimed at boosting Maaden’s reputation as a top employer in Saudi Arabia, according to a press release. The partnership also includes developing community and talent programs.

***You’re reading EnterpriseAM Saudi, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about Saudi, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Sunday through Thursday by 7am Riyadh time.

EnterpriseAM Saudi is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Tas’heel.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on saudi@enterpriseAM.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, the UAE, the MENA logistics and climate industries?

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday.
***

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Hopes for an approaching ceasefire in Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate assault on Gaza became even more distant, after the US Special Envoy the Middle Easy Steve Witkoff attacked Hamas’ amendments to a US-backed proposal as “totally unacceptable” in a post on X. In addition to a 60-day truce, the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1.2k Palestinian detainees, and the entry of humanitarian aid, Hamas is pushing for the inclusion of a road map to a permanent ceasefire and other amendments. (Reuters | Associated Press | New York Times | Financial Times | Guardian)

While over in the occupied West Bank, Israel blocked a planned visit to the West Bank by a group of Arab foreign ministers, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Bahrain. An Israeli official called the delegation's meeting with the Palestinian Authority a “provocative move” aimed at promoting Palestinian statehood. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry called out Israel for its “clear breach of Israel's obligations as an occupying force.” (New York Times | Reuters)

FM Faisal bin Farhan was to participate in the delayed trip, an unnamed Saudi source reportedly told Reuters. It is not clear whether the meeting was related to Saudi-French efforts to prepare for a UN-sponsored conference on the two-state solution scheduled for 17-20 June in New York.

And over in the business papers, US President Donald Trump is making the headlines with yet another new tariff announcement, setting his sights on steel and aluminum imports with a planned 50% tariff starting 4 June. The doubling of the existing tariff will “secure the steel industry” and stop foreign competitors from “getting over the fence,” Trump said. (Financial Times | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference is scheduled to take place between 3-4 September at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah. The event will gather over 60 speakers and more than 3k participants to discuss decarbonization, digital transformation, and sustainable innovation in the maritime sector. Key topics include alternative fuels, smart port technologies, maritime circular economy, and capacity building.