Good morning, friends. It’s almost Thursday, and your reward for gritting out a very hot workweek is a brisk read this morning with some startup news, color on Ma’aden’s ambitious growth target, and new bosses for both the PIF’s investment strategy division and Knight Frank’s Saudi office.

UP FIRST- Brazil is an increasingly important part of our food security equation. Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef met yesterday with senior execs from top Brazilian meatpackers Minerva and JBS Investments, state news agency SPA reported. Al Khorayef, in Brazil and then Chile to drum up mining and manufacturing investment, talked up The Saudi Opportunity™ with both firms.

IN CONTEXT- PIF-owned agricultural and livestock investment firm Salic owns a 33.8% stake in Minerva, which accounts for 25% of the Kingdom’s imports of red meat.

Brazil’s JBS is on course to open a processing plant in Jeddah: JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, is investing SAR 500 mn in the facility, which will operate under JBS’s Seara brand and will open by the end of the year, according to SPA. JBS has previously suggested the Jeddah plant will be able to process some 40k tons of chicken each year

JBS is no stranger to Saudi: It already has a plant in Dammam and has said it is looking into a potential USD 2 bn investment in a livestock farm in Qassim.

AND- Al Khorayef discussed at a round table in São Paulo the Kingdom’s push to advance its minerals sector as it looks to tap on USD 2.5 trn of untapped mineral reserves, the ministry said in a statement on X.

ALSO FROM BRAZIL- Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Alibrahim talked up access to water as a critical issue during his address to a meeting of G20 development ministers in Rio de Janeiro, state news agency SPA reported. That’s why the Kingdom set up last year the Global Water Organization, which will be headquartered Riyadh.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Mining giant Ma’aden wants to grow 10x by 2040 to become one of the world’s largest mining companies, CEO Bob Wilt told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 3:21). “We have a very detailed roadmap on our growth … we will be spending SAR 100 bn in the next decade to grow out and fully develop the mineral resources here in the Kingdom, based on what we know exists and based on what we think we’ll find,” he said of the company’s organic growth plans.

M&A will also be part of Ma’aden’s strategy: Wilt also pointed to an inorganic push to grow Saudi’s mining champion, referencing its investment in Vale Base Metals — through its Manara Minerals JV with the PIF — to hint at future investments overseas which are “very far along in diligence” and set to be announced by the end of this year.

#2- The US State Department has approved a potential sale of system logistics and sustainment support material to the Saudi military, according to a statement (pdf). The USD 2.8 bn sale would, if it goes through, “improve the Kingdom’s capability to deter current and future threats by providing sustainment and training support of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s existing platforms and aircraft fleets,” the statement said. It said it notified the Congress of the possible sale today.

REMEMBER- A US defense pact — part of a wider series of agreements on advanced technology and nuclear energy — is in limbo now the further we push into the US presidential election campaign.

#2- Saudi will co-host US-mediated ceasefire talks between Sudan’s rival parties in Switzerland starting Wednesday, 14 August, according to a statement by the US State Department. The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been invited to attend the talks, at which Egypt, the UAE, the African Union, and the UN would be observers. The war in Sudan has displaced nearly 10 mn people since April 2023.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- It’s a big day for stc: Shareholders of the telecom giant will vote today on the Public Investment Fund’s acquisition of a controlling stake in stc-owned telecom tower and infrastructure operator Tawal. This is what finance and accounting wonks call a related-party transaction: stc is majority owned by the PIF, which has a 64% stake. The agreement will also trigger the launch of a completely new entity under which the PIF’s telecoms assets will be consolidated.

The goal: PIF is building what will become the region’s largest telecom infrastructure company. The PIF and stc will put Tawal and tower operator Golden Lattice Investment (Glic) under a new entity that will own and manage a portfolio of c. 30k towers across five countries. The new entity will have annual revenues in the USD 1.3 bn range, according to the PIF.

#2- Al Ashghal Almoysra will make its debut on parallel market Nomu in just a few hours’ time. The contractor’s offering of a 20% stake was oversubscribed as it priced its IPO at SAR 50 per share — at the top of the range on which it had guided.

Business as usual: Shares will be allowed to trade within a ±30% band in daily price fluctuation limits and a ±10% band in static price fluctuation limits.

#3- It’s the last day to subscribe to Ayyan Investment’s new shares in a rights issue that sees the Tadawul-listed firm offering 20 mn ordinary shares at SAR 10 apiece. Ayyan plans to increase its capital by 24.8% to SAR 1 bn, in part to procure medical equipment for a hospital affiliated with its subsidiary, Al Salam Medical Services.

WEATHER- Riyadh will see a daytime high of 45°C and a nighttime low of 31°C. It’s almost as hot in Makkah where the mercury will peak at 43°C during the day before dropping to 31°C at night. Meanwhile, Jeddah will see a high of 42°C and a low of 31°C.

SPORTS-

FACT CHECK- “Kevin [De Bruyne] is not going,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said as he dismissed rumors of the Belgian midfielder’s future with the club, Reuters reported yesterday. Guardiola was speaking after persistent rumors that De Bruyne would move to the Kingdom to join Al Ittihad, “I am delighted with the squad we have had for many years. If someone leaves, we will address it then, but 85-95% of the squad will remain the same,” Guardiola said.

REFRESHER- Earlier last month, the 33-year-old De Bruyne had said he was “open to everything,” signaling he could agree to a Saudi move. He joined the Premier League Club nearly a decade ago at a price of EUR 55 mn. De Bruyne has taken six Premier League titles in his nine seasons with Man City, which completed the treble in 2023.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Our politics-heavy summer continues, with the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris again dominating front pages after her debut rally saw her bash Trump — who she says is “focused on the past” and would lead a country “of chaos, fear, and hate” — and a Reuters / Ipsos poll sees her fractionally ahead of Agent Orange with voters.

Harris led Trump 44% to 42%, while Joe Biden polled two points behind his archrival just before dropping out of the race. (The caveat: The Reuters poll has a margin of error of ±3%…)

Harris now has a shortlist of frontrunners from which to pick her running mate, according to Democrat donors, who say Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona senator Mark Kelly (a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut), and North Carolina governor Roy Cooper are front-runners. Possible VP candidates are being vetted by Barack Obama’s former attorney-general, Eric Holder, the Financial Times reports.

AND- US Senator Bob Mendnez said he would resign on 20 August after he was convicted on corruption charges, which included bribery and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt’s government. (Reuters)

OVER IN FRANCE- French President Emmanuel Macron said he will not name a new government until after the Olympics are over to avoid “disorder,” rejecting the left’s pick for a prime minister, a civil servant named Lucie Castets. He said the New Popular Front does not have a majority within the National Assembly to ensure a “stable government capable of action” during a TV interview.

AND IN GAZA- Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, where he signaled that a ceasefire could be near as he prepares for talks with Biden (and Trump on Friday) after making an address to Congress. Senior Hamas officials say he’s still stalling, Reuters reports. Israeli strikes have killed at least 80 people this week as tanks advanced deeper into Khan Younis.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Earnings and AI news are getting the most ink:

#1- Tesla reported its lowest net income margin in five years and lower-than-expected earnings on the back of a drop in automotive sales. (CNBC | Reuters)

#2- Google parent Alphabet beat analyst expectations as a rise in digital ad sales and higher demand for cloud computing boosted revenues. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

#3- ON THE AI FRONT- Meta has released a new version of its AI model, Llama, that it claims rivals offerings from OpenAI and Google — with Mark Zuckerberg saying it can solve complex math problems and digest books in one go.

Zuckerbeg penned a letter defending open source AI and arguing that it will “make the world more prosperous and safer” and that what’s more dangerous is keeping AI in the hands of a small number of companies.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING- Sunday was likely the world’s hottest day on record, according to preliminary data.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Crawford vs Madrimov boxing showdown will take place on Saturday, 3 August at the Los Angeles BMO Stadium. The event is the highlight of the Los Angeles Riyadh Season Card which features five other bouts. You can check them out here.

Aramco is set to release its 1H 2024 results on Tuesday, 6 August, according to its website. You can tune into the audio webcast of its earnings call here. The oil giant’s net income dipped a bit more than 14% in 1Q 2024 to SAR 102.3 bn.

Cybersecurity training event SANS Riyadh Cyber Leaders August 2024 will run from Sunday, 18 August to Thursday, 22 August at the Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya.

The eight-week Esports World Cup runs until Sunday, 25 August Riyadh’s Boulevard City. The world’s top esports clubs are competing for a pool of USD 60 mn — the largest purse in esports.

The two-day Middle East LPG Expo – Saudi Arabia 2024 will open on Tuesday, 10 September, bringing together upwards of 4k liquified petroleum gas (LPG) experts to discuss the future of the fuel gas in clean energy. Saudi accounts for 50% of demand for LPF in the Middle East and Africa.

The TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup Final 2024 between Egyptian rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek will be held in Riyadh on Friday, 27 September. The venue and kick-off time of the match will be announced at a later date.

This year’s edition of security-focused expo Intersec Saudi Arabia will run from Tuesday, 1 October to Thursday, 3 October at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

International food and beverage expo InFlavour is returning to Riyadh on Tuesday, 1 October. The three-day event — which will be organized in collaboration with the Environment, Water and Agriculture Minister, Tahaluf, Pepsico, Al Rabie, Arasco and Nadec — will take place in Riyadh’s Front Exhibition and Conference Center.