Aramco’s USD 25 bn push into natural gas

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: Saudi is on track to see SAR 2 bn in art exports by year’s end

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy first day of Wimbledon to our fellow tennis nerds. We have another packed issue for you this morning to mark what is also the first day of 2H 2024.

HAPPENING TODAY- Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will hold talks today in Riyadh with officials from Bangladesh on business ties and the Rohingya crisis among other issues, Bangladesh news agency UNB News reported. Also on the agenda are investment in education, tourism, health, environment, and tech. The Bangladeshi delegation is being led by Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.

Could the crown prince be paying a visit to Bangladesh this year? That’s what UNB News, says citing statements Bangladesh officials made earlier this year. If confirmed, this it would be the first visit by a Saudi crown prince to the South Asian country since 1985.

AND- Trading of Tadawul-listed Tihama Advertising and Public Relations Co.’s shares will be suspended starting today after the advertising company failed to publish Q1 2024 results. The company now says it expects to release its results on Monday, July 29.

PSA #1- Brace yourselves for a heat wave. The National Center of Meteorology sees temperatures in the Eastern Region rising to 46-49°C this week, while Riyadh, Makkah, and Madinah will see highs in the 42-45°C range all week long.

PSA #2- Businesses have six more months to submit their tax returns if they want to take advantage of a tax-fine waiver scheme put in place by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca), according to a statement from the authority. It set a new deadline of 31 December, 2024 after a previous deadline expired yesterday.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

The order window for Al Sagr Cooperative Ins’s rights issue opens tomorrow and runs through Tuesday, 9 July, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The subscription period for new shares wraps up on Sunday, 14 July.

BACKGROUND- Shareholders of Al Sagr Cooperative Ins. approved last week the board’s recommendation to more than double its capital to SAR 300 mn through a rights issuance. Proceeds will allow Al Sagr to meet minimum capital requirements for ins. companies.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will travel to Saudi and Oman this week to discuss ongoing Houthi escalations in the Red Sea, according to a statement by the US State Department. Lenderking is also set to discuss recent detentions by the rebel group of a number of UN and diplomatic staff members. Exact dates were not provided.

HAPPENING SOON-

Cozying up with Tajikistan? The Kingdom and Tajikistan could sign as many as 12 agreements in an upcoming visit to Riyadh by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Tajik Investment Minister Sultan Rahimzadeh told Asharq Al Awsat. Rahimzadeh declined to name the sectors and didn’t give a date for the visit.

SubHed_! WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Nomu-listed school operator Academy of Learning (AOL) is preparing to move to Tadawul’s main market, it said in a filing to Tadawul. The company took a 25.6% stake to Tadawul's parallel market Nomu back in 2022..

How is AOL doing with Tadawul’s upgrade checklist? The company’s market cap has grown to SAR 745 mn, exceeding the main market’s minimum of SAR 300 mn. AOL has floated just under 25.6% of its issued capital, within striking distance of the big-board requirement of 30%. The company is profitable and has been publishing its audited financial statements for the last two years, while the minimum requirement for Tadawul stands at three.

BACKGROUND- AOL shareholders recently signed off on the board’s recommendation to increase its capital by 50% to SAR 90 mn. It lined up the Capital Market Authority (CMA) approval for the move back in May.

#2- The Real Estate Development Fund is rolling-out a new program in a bid to increase homeownership across the Kingdom, state news agency SPA. Only units under construction will be eligible for the new program, which is offered in partnership with Bank Albilad.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Saudi is exporting more art than ever before: The value of artwork exports more than tripled y-o-y to SAR 473.6 mn in 1Q 2024, according to figures provided by Al Watan. The value of exported paintings, sculpture, carpets, jewelry, and other artifacts made by local artists could top SAR 2 bn by the end of the year.

Who’s buying? Collectors in the UK, France, Italy, the US, and Gulf neighbors including the UAE and Qatar, the newspaper says.

#2- The price to refill a cylinder of cooking gas rose 10% to SAR 21.90, according Gasco, the sole national distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The hike comes after Aramco increased the price of LPG prices by 9.5% in June to SAR 1.04 per liter, according to its website. Gasco has also raised kerosene prices by 43% to SAR 1.33 per liter.

SPORTS-

#1- Former Spanish star Michel Salgado was appointed coach of Saudi’s U-15 national football team, according to a statement by the Saudi Football Federation. Salgado has two UEFA Champions League titles to his name in addition to four La Liga titles. He also previously coached Cypriot club Pafos FC..

#2- The national U-19 football squad has qualified for the semifinals of the Arab Diar Championship for West Asian U-19 teams after drawing with Oman 1-1, state news agency SPA reported. The tournament in Taif sees 12 teams going head-to-head. It wraps up on Friday, 5 July.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s once again all politics, all the time on the front pages of the world’s business press, and centrist and left-of-center politicians, pundits, and journalists are wringing their hands across much of the northern hemisphere.

#1- France’s far-right Rassemblement National took the first round in snap parliamentary elections called by President Emmanuel Macron. Projections see the RN taking 33.2% of the vote. The leftist Nouveau Front Populaire likely took 28.1%, while Macron’s Ensemble took just 21%. Turnout was high — 20% points better than in 2020, France’s Les Echos writes.

It’s the second round run-off that really matters, Germany’s Handeslblatt notes, and it’s scheduled for July 7. “The final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week's run-off,” Reuters writes.

Want more? Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | Reuters

#2- British voters go to the polls on Thursday, and Labour still enjoys what the BBC calls a “big lead” (about 20 percentage points) over Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives.

#3- Joe Biden’s top advisors are fighting calls that he step down as the Democrats’ nominee, portraying his poor performance on Thursday night as a “blip” and the result of “bad preparation and exhaustion” as his family tells him to keep fighting and plots the ouster of his top advisors, who they blame for the performance.

The bottom line: A new poll on Sunday showed that nearly three quarters of voters think he should end his re-election campaign.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING on this hot summer morning:

EY has a new boss. Today is Janet Truncale ’s first day on the job;
Hungary takes over the rotating EU presidency today;
Ultra-Orthodox men in Israel have taken to the streets to protest that they’re now subject to mandatory military service.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR- For our fellow tech nerds: Samsung will hold its Unpacked event on 10 July and Google will unveil its Pixel 9 on 13 August — two months ahead of what most tech-watchers had expected.

WATCH THIS SPACE- The US Fed’s Open Markets Committee will release meeting minutes and its latest economic forecast on Wednesday.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The eight-week Esports World Cup will open on Wednesday, 3 July and run through Sunday, 25 August Riyadh’s Boulevard City. It will see the world’s best esports clubs competing for a pool of USD 60 mn — the largest purse in esports.

Aramco awards over USD 25 bn in contracts as it pushes deeper into natural gas

Oil giant Aramco signed contracts worth over USD 25 bn as it pushes deeper into natural gas. The contracts are for the development of the second phase of its Jafurah gas field and the expansion of the Kingdom’s primary natural gas pipeline, according to a statement. Aramco aims to see natural gas production in 2030 be 60% higher than it was in 2021.

The breakdown: In total, the Tadawul-listed oil company inked

16 contracts worth USD 12.4 bn for phase two of its Jafurah gas field expansion;
15 contracts worth USD 8.8 bn for phase three of its Master Gas System (MGS-3);
23 gas rig contracts worth USD 2.4 bn. The contracts include two directional drilling contracts worth USD 621 mn.

Who has landed a contract? Aramco hasn’t yet said. But Reuters reports that a consortium led by Hyundai Engineering and Construction will work on the Jafurah gas field expansion and that Chinese state-owned energy giant Sinopec is involved in the MGS-3 expansion. Kuwait's Combined Group Contracting Company said in filing to Boursa Kuwait that it has been awarded a contract to do civil works at Jafurah.

ARAMCO’S GAS STRATEGY

The contracts awarded yesterday are part of Aramco’s push into natural gas: “By generating an anticipated 2 bn standard cubic feet per day of sales gas by 2030, this bold initiative will strengthen Saudi Arabia's position as one of the top national gas producers in the world,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at a contracts award ceremony in Dhahran.

It’s about exports — generating more electricity at home with natural gas: “The scale of our ongoing investment at Jafurah and the expansion of our Master Gas System underscores our intention to further integrate and grow our gas business to meet anticipated rising demand. This complements the diversification of our portfolio, creates new employment opportunities, and supports the Kingdom’s transition towards a lower-emission power grid, in which gas and renewables gradually displace liquids-based power generation.” Nasser said, according to the statement.

WHAT’S JAFURAH?

Jafurah is the largest shale gas development outside the United States and the largest unconventional, non-oil-associated gas field in the Kingdom.

How big is it? It is home to an estimated 229 tn cubic feet of gas and 75 bn barrels of condensates, according to statements by Energy Minister Prince Abdelaziz bin Salman in February. Bin Salman was speaking after Aramco added proven additional natural gas reserves of 15 tn standard cubic feet at the field.

What Jafurah’s expansion entails: The project includes the construction of gas compression facilities and associated pipelines, the expansion of the Jafurah Gas Plant with new gas processing units, utilities, sulfur facilities, and export terminals. It will also see Aramco setting up new Riyas Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation facilities in Jubail, featuring NGL fractionation units, utilities, storage facilities, and export capabilities to process NGL sourced from Jafurah.

MASTER GAS SYSTEM

The Master Gas System is the Kingdom’s primary natural gas pipeline and includes a network linking gas production and processing sites across the Kingdom.

What’s the expansion? It will add 4k km of pipelines and 17 new gas compression trains with the aim of taking the MGS’ capacity up by some 3.2 bn standard cubic feet by 2028. The MGS now has a capacity of 12.5 bn standard cubic feet per day.

Reuters and Bloomberg have picked up the story.

eXtra set to IPO a 30% stake in Tasheel parent UIHC as Saudi Arabia’s second-half IPO pipeline takes shape

A subsidiary of eXtra is making its way to Tadawul: The United International Holding Company is planning to offer a 30% stake on Tadawul’s main market, according to a statement by the Capital Market Authority.

BACKGROUND- UIHC is the non-bank financial services arm of electronics retailer eXtra. The CMA has given UIHC the okay to sell 7.5 mn shares. The regulator provided no further details beyond its standard note that the UIHC’s prospectus would be published “within sufficient time prior to the start of the subscription period.”

What we know: eXtra’s shareholders approved in April the offering, which the company hopes to take to the market before the end of this year, according to earlier statements by eXtra CEO Mohamed Galal. It remains unclear how much eXtra hopes to raise from the listing.

Use of proceeds: A portion of the IPO’s proceeds would be channeled towards “repaying a part of eXtra’s debt estimated at SAR 190 mn,” Galal said.

A quick look at ownership: eXtra owns 99% of UIHC, which owns and operates the Tasheel brand as well as Procco Financial Services in Bahrain. eXtra Bahrain owns 1% of UIHC.

A snapshot of financial results: The company turned in net income of SAR 156.8 mn for 9M 2023, up nearly 12% year on year — and good for a 41% net margin given that it posted revenues of SAR 383.2 mn in the same period.

Where the company is heading: UIHC says it wants to be the largest provider of shariah-compliant consumer finance in the Kingdom operating across multiple categories. It benefits from access to the 14 mn customers that pass through eXtra’s 48 stores across the country and is broadening the base of companies that it works with.

ADVISORS- Our friends at HSBC are quarterbacking the transaction. We expect news on other advisors when the company’s prospectus is out.

SAUDI IPO PIPELINE AT A GLANCE-

Other IPOs in the pipeline:

The Fourth Milling Company (MC4) and Arabian Mills Food Products have been cleared by the CMA for share sales on Tadawul;
Hotels and resorts operator Boudl has filed to go public;
Perfume maker Arabian Oud is said to have appointed bankers ahead of a share sale;
PIF-backed lender Riyad Bank is considering the listing of its investment banking arm Riyad Capital ;
Nupco — a unit of the PIF — has reportedly tapped Rothschild & Co as financial advisor for its potential Tadawul IPO;
Singapore’s Olam Group is mulling the IPO of its Olam Agri subsidiary on Tadawul;
Budget airline Flynas is reportedly looking to go public this year.
Aster DM Healthcare looks set to spin off its GCC assets and seek a dual listing on Tadawul and in the UAE;
Hypermarket operator Lulu is said to be eyeing a dual listing on Tadawul and ADX.

IN CONTEXT- The local exchange saw nine IPOs in 1Q 2024, including three on the main market and six on Nomu.

Total unemployment in Saudi Arabia is up 0.1 percentage points in 1Q 2024

The total unemployment rate inched up 0.1 percentage points in 1Q 2024 compared to the last quarter of 2023, according to a Gastat labor market report (pdf). The total unemployment rate, which includes both Saudi citizens and foreign workers, was down 0.8 percent points in 1Q 2024 compare to the same quarter of 2023.

The local unemployment rate improved 0.2 percentage points to 7.6% in 1Q 2024. It was also better than the same quarter last year, when local unemployment was 1.1 percentage points higher.

More women are working than last year: The unemployment rate for female citizens improved 2.1 percentage points to 14.2%;
More men, too: Unemployment for men was 4.2% in 1Q 2024, down 0.5 percentage points from the same quarter last year.

Driving the quarter-on-quarter uptick: A small uptick in unemployment among foreign workers.

The unemployment rate for expats in Saudi ticked up 0.2 percentage points in 1Q 2024.

The labor force participation rate for Saudis remained stable y-o-y at 51.4% in the first quarter of the year.

Trends in Saudis looking for work:

We like the private sector: 95.9% of unemployed Saudis are willing to accept job offers in the private sector, Gastat said;
Women don’t mind commuting: Unemployed women (62.5%) are more willing than unemployed men (45.8%) to accept commutes of at least one hour;
Men are more willing to work long hours: 92.1% of unemployed men and 81% of women jobseekers are willing to work eight hours a day or more.

Saudi FDI inflows up, outflows down y-o-y in 1Q 2024

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Kingdom grew by 5.6% y-o-y to SAR 9.5 bn in 1Q 2024, up from SAR 9 bn in the same quarter a year earlier, according to the Foreign Direct Investment Q1 2024 (pdf) report by state statistics agency Gastat.

Total FDI inflows are up a bit year-on-year, but down q-o-q: FDI inflows totaled SAR 17 bn in 1Q 2024, showing a slight increase of 0.6% from SAR 16.9 bn in 1Q 2023. However, inflows were down 10.5% q-o-q from SAR 19 bn in Q4 2023.

Outflows were down 5.1% y-o-y to SAR 7.5 bn in the first three months of the year, compared with SAR 8 bn in the corresponding period a year earlier. The number of investments in the Kingdom in 1Q 2024 fell 38.5% y-o-y to 64 agreements closed, according to earlier government data. The quarter saw two fewer agreements closed compared to 4Q 2023.

BACKGROUND- Saudi is aiming to reel in USD 100 bn of foreign direct investment per year as part of Vision 2030. So far, it’s missing the mark with an estimated USD 19 bn in 2023 and an average of USD 17 bn from 2017-2022, according to Bloomberg.

More investors, more AUM, and more VC funds: CMA’s highlights of 2023 in Saudi capital markets

The Capital Market Authority’s annual report (pdf) shows that net proceeds from all offerings on the exchange dropped 71% y-o-y 2023, including both equity and debt.

Other areas of the capital market saw notable growth: The fund management sector ended the year with more investment funds on offer, more investors in the market, and more assets under management.

We also saw more foreigners in the market and more fintech companies getting approvals to launch.

Here’s what you need to know:

Robo-advisors saw their AUM skyrocket more than 350% last year, finishing the year with AUM of SAR 1.4 bn.

Saudi VCs were probably the only ones globally to do well last year: AUM controlled by venture capital funds rose 72% year-on-year to SAR 2.5 bn at the end of December 2023.

More people are in the market: The number of investors in public and private funds rose 73% y-o-y to 1.2 mn, reflecting the growing role of investment funds in enhancing savings and investments.

New financial finance industry players: Some 163 companies were registered with the CMA as financial institutions at the end of 2023, up from 139 the year before.

Total proceeds from share offerings (public, private, and rights issues) declined to SAR 19.8 bn in 2023 from SAR 67.4 bn in 2022 (pdf) as 43 offerings went to market between the main market and Nomu, down from 49 the year before. IPOs accounted for 36 of the 43 offerings with SAR 12.3 bn worth of shares offered — including shares of 29 companies in the parallel market Nomu.

The total value of debt instruments — including sukuk — issued on the capital market rose 13.2% y-o-y to SAR 549.8 bn by the end of 2023 (this figure represents the cumulative value for 2023 and the previous years). Debt offerings raised a total of SAR 29.95 bn in 2023 — down from SAR 44 bn in 2022.

Foreign investment rose 7.7% y-o-y to SAR 198 bn in 2023 (this is a cumulative figure of 2023 and the previous years), with value of foreign ownership in the local capital market climbing to SAR 401 bn by the end of 2023 (up from SAR 347 bn by the end of 2022), representing 12.9% of Tadawul’s free float at the end of 2023.

The authority approved the launch of 29 investment funds last year, bringing the total to 1.3k funds with SAR 871.3 bn in AUM, up from 939 in 2022 with SAR 743.4 bn in AUM. Equity and endowments funds accounting for the lion’s share at 9 each.

PowerChina awarded EPC contract for 500 MW Waad Al Shamal wind project

PowerChina gets Saudi wind farm contract: Chinese state-owned PowerChina has secured the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for a 500 MW Waad Al Shamal wind project in the Kingdom’s north, according to Trade Arabia. The EPC contract was awarded by a consortium led by leading conglomerate Ajlan & Bros and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation.

ICYMI- The PPAs were secured last month: Marubeni signed two power purchase agreements with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) to buy green energy from Waad Al-Shamal and the 600 MW Al Ghat wind projects.

About Waad Al-Shamal wind project: The Waad Al-Shamal wind farm has a capacity of 500 MW and is planned to be located in the Northern Borders province — which is the Kingdom least populated province. Construction has not yet begun, but is expected to be completed in one phase, with commissioning set for 2026.

National Infrastructure Fund names Economy Minister Alibrahim as chairman

#1- The National Infrastructure Fund named its inaugural board, which will be led by Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim, the fund said in a post on X. Other board members include Olayan Financing Company CEO Nabeel Alamudi (Linkedin), National Development Fund Governor Stephen Groff (Linkedin), the International Finance Corporation (IFC’s) first Senior Vice President for Operations Stephanie von Friedeburg (Linkedin) among others.

About the fund: Dubbed “Infra,” the recently established fund aims to spur private-sector investment in the Kingdom’s infrastructure projects. It is supervised by the National Development Fund.

#2- The board of Tadawul-listed investment giant Kingdom Holding has reappointed Prince Alwaleed bin Talal as the company’s chairman for a three-year term ending in June 2027, according to a disclosure to Tadawu l. Lama Al Sulaiman (Linkedin) was also reappointed as deputy chair.

#3- The board of Tadawul-listed Makkah Construction and Development has accepted the resignation of the company’s CEO, Fahd Muhammad Saleh Al Fawaz (bio) citing “personal reasons,” according to a disclosure to Tadawul. Al Fawaz has been serving as the company’s CEO since October 2023. He previously served as CEO of Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair Group.

Tihama extends deadline to form Saudi JV with British advertising group WPP

ADVERTISING-

#1- Tihama-WPP joint venture gets a delay: Tadawul-listed Tihama Advertising and Public Relations have extended a deadline to form a joint venture with British advertising and PR company WPP for an additional six months to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The new company — dubbed ICG Saudi Arabia — will see the extension run until 31 December, 2024 for “the completion of the transfer of legal ownership including finalization of required regulatory approvals.” An MoU on the joint venture was first signed in July 2021 and has been extended since.

#2- Taoq Public Relations — a subsidiary of Integrated media giant Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) — inked a three-year contract worth SAR 240 annually to provide media and marketing services to an unnamed advertising company, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. Under the contract, Taoq will provide multilingual media and consulting services across multiple platforms. No further details were provided.

HEALTHCARE-

Dallah taps Youssef Marroun to build its new hospital in Al Arid: Youssef Marroun Contracting will be building Dallah Healthcare's latest hospital in Riyadh’s Al Arid area under a SAR 690 mn contract it signed with the Tadawul-listed healthcare provider last week, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The project is expected to be completed in two years, with operations scheduled to start in 1Q 2027.

LOGISTICS-

The Saudi Port Authority (Mawani) has added a shipping service operated by Chinese shipping line NewNew Line to Jeddah Islamic Port, according to a statement. The service, dubbed CBS, will connect Jeddah with key Chinese ports, including Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It also links to Egypt’s Damietta port. It operates weekly trips with a capacity of up to 4k TEUs.

REAL ESTATE-

Jadwa Investment Co — the fund manager of Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund — signed an agreement to sell its Al Yaum Tower in Dammam for SAR 190 mn, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul, without disclosing the identity of the buyer. The fund pocketed SAR 124.8 mn in total lease income over the past six years of the property’s ownership.

ENTERTAINMENT-

The Film Commission has joined the Association of Film CommissionersInternational(AFCI) — a global network of over 360 film commissions in more than 40 countries, state news agency SPA reported. The membership will help develop the film industry in the Kingdom and empower local producers and talents.

BIS warns against slashing interest rates too soon

Go slow and steady with rate cuts, says the BIS: The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warned central banks in its annual report (pdf) against cutting interest rates too soon, cautioning that it could reignite inflation. Despite signs that the global economy is headed towards “smooth landing” with cooling inflation and steady growth, the BIS says central banks need to set a “high bar” for easing policies.

REMEMBER- Central banks around the world are preparing to ease monetary tightening policies this year. The European Central Bank got the ball rolling with a 25 bps rate cut last month. Traders expect the Bank of England could follow suit in August after deciding in June to leave rates unchanged.

All eyes will be on Washington this week as the US Fed releases its June meeting minutes and a growth forecast on Wednesday. Some think the Fed could start cutting rates in September, though the case for that has cooled of late.

“A premature easing could reignite inflationary pressures and force a costly policy reversal — all the costlier because credibility would be undermined,” BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens said.

Central banks should keep an eye on potential risks like high public debt and falling commercial property values, as well as inflation spikes in service prices and wages, Carstens said.

Service prices relative to core goods remain lower than pre-pandemic levels, while real wages have yet to keep up with higher costs — but a reversion of these trends that happens too fast will only spur inflation. The BIS estimates that catching up on lost purchasing power could raise inflation by up to 1.5% in major Eurozone economies by 2026.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed this morning, with the Nikkei and Kospi in the green and the ASX 200 and Shanghai Composite in the red. Markets are closed in Hong Kong this morning for a national holiday. Futures suggest US equities will start the trading week in the green, as will most major European benchmarks. The exception: France, where the CAC 40 looks set to come under selling pressure at the opening bell as investors digest the far-right Rassemblement National’s strong showing in the first phase of parliamentary elections.

TASI	11,680	-0.4% (YTD: -2.4%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,462	-0.6% (YTD: -5.8%)
NomuC	26,146	-0.6% (YTD: +6.6%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	USD 3.75 Sell	USD 3.75 Buy
Interest rates	6% repo	5.5% reverse repo
EGX30	27,766	+1.0 (YTD: +11.5%)
ADX	9,061	+0.6% (YTD: -3.2%)
DFM	4,030	+0.5% (YTD: +4.4%)
S&P 500	5,460	-0.4% (YTD: +14.5%)
FTSE 100	8,164	-0.2% (YTD: +5.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,894	-0.2% (YTD: +8.2%)
Brent crude	USD 85.0	-0.3%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.60	-3.1%
Gold	USD 2,339.60	+0.1%
BTC	USD 61,974	+1.7% (YTD: +47.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 5.3 bn. The index is down 2.4% YTD.

In the green: Talco (+9.9%), Modern Mills (+9.9%) and Miahona (+8.4%).

In the red: Sasco (-5.7%), Raydan (-4.7%) and Bupa (-4.0%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.6% yesterday on turnover of SAR 38 mn. The index is up 6.6% YTD.

In the green: Saudi Top (+10.4%), Enma Al Rawabi (+9.3%) and Armah (+6.9%).

In the red: Future Care (-11.2%), Paper Home (-8.0%) and NBM (-6.7%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Shareholders of Tadawul-listed SAL Saudi Logistics have approved the board’s recommendation to distribute a dividend of SAR 140.8 mn at SAR 1.76 for 1Q 2024, according to a filing to Tadawul (pdf). They also approved disbursing SAR 272.8 mn in dividend at SAR 3.41 for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2023.

Shareholders of Tadawul-listed Retal Urban Development have signed off on the board’s proposal of a 2 mn share buyback for its employee stock ownership program, it said in a filing to Tadawul (pdf). The transaction will be financed through the company’s own resources.

Tadawul-listed Tabuk Cement will begin distributing a dividend of SAR 22.5 mn at SAR 0.25 per share for FY 2023 starting Tuesday, 16 July, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul.

Shareholders of Tadawul-listed telecom giant Mobily have approved the board’s recommendation to distribute SAR 1.1 bn in dividend at SAR 1.45 per share for FY 2023, according to a regulatory filing (pdf). The distribution date was set for Monday, 15 July.

CALENDAR

JULY

4 July-25 August: (Thursday-Sunday): Esports World Cup, Boulevard Riyadh City, Riyadh.

12 July (Friday): PFL MENA 2, The Green Halls, Riyadh.

10-11 July: (Wednesday-Thursday): Global EV & Mobility Tech Forum, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

21-30 July (Sunday-Tuesday): International Chemistry Olympiad, King Saud University, Riyadh.

AUGUST

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

18 August (Sunday): New academic year begins.

27-29 August (Tuesday-Thursday): Saudi Fashiontex Expo, Riyadh.

SEPTEMBER

2-4 September (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Warehousing & Logistics Expo, Riyadh.

2-4 September (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi Wood Expo, Riyadh.

3-5 September (Tuesday-Thursday): 24 Fintech, Front Exhibition & Conference Center, Riyadh.

9-11 September (Monday-Wednesday): International Manufacturing Congress, Riyadh.

10 September (Tuesday): Saudi Arabia Investors Forum, Riyadh.

10-12 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Saudi Sports Show, Riyadh.

10-12 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Global AI Summit, Riyadh.

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

16-19 September (Monday-Thursday): Foodex Saudi, Riyadh.

17-19 September (Tuesday-Thursday): EV Auto Show, Riyadh.

17-19 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Hotel & Hospitality Expo, Front Exhibition & Conference Center, Riyadh.

18-19 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress, Dammam.

18-19 September (Wednesday-Thursday): IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2024, Riyadh.

24-26 September (Tuesday-Thursday) Saudi Infrastructure Expo, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

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

29 September (Sunday) - 1 October (Tuesday): Jeddah Construct Expo, Jeddah.

OCTOBER

1-3 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Intersec Saudi Arabia 2024, Riyadh.

5-7 October (Saturday-Monday): Middle East Education & Training Exhibition 2024, Jeddah.

21-22 October (Monday-Tuesday): Smart Ports & Logistics Transformation Summit, Riyadh.

21-22 October (Monday-Tuesday): Aussie Expo, King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center, Riyadh.

29-31 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Investment Initiative Conference, Riyadh.

31 October (Thursday): No-visa travel for Saudis to Montenegro on charter flights expires.

NOVEMBER

2-9 November (Saturday- Saturday): WTA Finals, Riyadh.

4-7 November (Monday-Thursday): Saudi Build, Riyadh.

26-28 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Saudi Electricity Expo, Riyadh.

11-14 November (Monday-Thursday): Cityscape Global, Riyadh.

18-20 November (Monday-Wednesday): The Heavy Equipment and Truck Show, Dammam.

25-27 November (Monday-Wednesday): World Investment Conference, Riyadh.

26-28 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Saudi Electricity Expo, Riyadh.

DECEMBER

1 December (Sunday): Opec+ to meet.

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

11 December (Wednesday): FIFA Congress, which will decide the hosting countries for the FIFA World Cup 2030 and 2034

23-26 December (Monday-Thursday): Aqarat Expo, Riyadh.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2024:

The AFC Champions League Elite

2025

FEBRUARY 2025

10-13 February (Monday-Thursday): Leap 2025, the Kingdom’s premier tech investment conference.

14-15 February (Friday-Saturday): Formula E, Diriyah.

JUNE 2025

26 June (Thursday): 2024-2025 academic year ends.

2026

UN Trade and Development Global Supply Chain Forum to take place in Saudi Arabia.

2027

The World Water Forum takes place in Riyadh.

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