Fakeeh Care shares up 10% in Tadawul Debut + Arabian Oud said to be preparing for IPO

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: Arabian Oud taps bankers for planned Tadawul IPO

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy THURSDAY to you all. We hope you’ve had a fantastic workweek — and that you’re looking forward to the weekend as much as we are. From Riyadh and Jeddah to Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, our region has been on a tear this week as folks look to wrap up key projects before Eid Al Adha and the start of summer vacation season. We don’t expect the pace to let up next week. Next stop: September.

BUT FIRST: We love the smell of an IPO in the morning. Perfume maker Arabian Oud has reportedly hired bankers as it plans a Tadawul IPO, lining up SNB Capital and Emirates NBD Capital to quarterback the offering, Bloomberg reports. The company has yet to decide on the size, structure, or timing of the transaction. The company says it has 1.2k stores across 37 countries.

That adds another big name to Tadawul’s offering pipeline as investors welcome fresh share offerings in Riyadh.

AND- Fakeeh Care shares were up a bit more than 10% in their debut yesterday, as we note in this morning’s news well, below. That rise was perhaps muted by the amount of cash pulled from the market as investors put in bids for Aramco’s blockbuster share sale. Speaking of which: The order window for Aramco stock closes today.

CAPITAL MARKETS-

Nomu-listed Banan Real Estate is looking to make a move to the main market, having submitted its request to transition this week, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The company’s board of directors first greenlit the Tadawul transfer decision in July of last year, appointing AlDukheil Financial Group as its advisor. The company, valued at SAR 200 mn, began trading on Nomu in August 2021.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- RETAIL WATCH- The Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) plans to open 45 filling stations in Saudi over the coming five years, Al Sharq Al Awsat quotes Enoc CEO Saif al-Falasi as saying. The stations will include Enoc’s Zoom-branded convenience stores. Al-Falasi drew a line between the strategy and the Kingdom’s goal of seeing 1.2k new filling stations open nationwide in the next five years. ENOC has 14 stations here operating today.

#2- The Air Connectivity Program (ACP) wants to lure in more US, Canada, Brazil, and Europe-based airlines to the Kingdom’s airports, CEO Majid Khan told Argaam, as Riyadh looks to become a global aviation hub. The ACP is also working on agreements with Asian and European airlines to make it easier for tourists to visit the Kingdom’s attractions, ultimately boosting tourism footfall, he added.

Background: The program, which was launched in 2021, aims to boost connectivity to the Kingdom from Europe, Asia and the Americas. It has attracted three new Chinese airlines and three European carriers to launch flights to Saudi this year, according to Khan.

#3- Saudi Arabia has joined a Bank of International Settlements trial on a multi-central-bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, the BIS said in a statement. The Kingdom’s participation as the world’s largest oil exporter means we could start seeing significantly more commodity settlement in currencies beyond the USD, Josh Lipsky, who runs a global CBDC tracker, said.

In context: Central banks including the Central Bank of the UAE took the wrappers off the first operational prototype of the CBDC platform yesterday, a press release (pdf) reads. The trial is a collaboration between the UAE, Hong Kong, China, and Thailand. They’re aiming to build a platform that can make it easier to carry out cross-border digital currency transactions using the code China's e-CNY is built on.

BACKGROUND- Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already been working on boosting trade in their domestic currencies, with Saudi signing a currency swap agreement with China in December. The UAE has also begun to accept INR payments for oil as of last year.

#4- The Saudi Armed Forces Command and Staff College has rebranded as the National Defense University, state news agency SPA reports. Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman inaugurated the university last Tuesday as the Kingdom looks to strengthen its system of professional military schooling. The university provides military education and training with its campus’ history tracing back to 1958.

#5- Six transport companies were handed fines for price fixing ranging from SAR 700k to SAR 5 mn after a General Authority for Competition investigation, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. The report did not get into the specifics of any of the cases. The fines:

Al Bassami International Group — SAR 5 mn
Al Rasam Cargo Transport Co. — SAR 5 mn
Arab Land Transport Co. — SAR 1.9 mn
Osama Bin Amin Abu Al Hasan and Partners (Tala Transport) — SAR 1.5 mn
Al Sultan Car Services — SAR 790k
Duroob International Transport — SAR 700k

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Saudi Manufacturing Show is happening today at the Crown Plaza Riyadh, bringing together tech leaders including Saudi Entertainment Ventures Executive Director Ramyan Alramyan (LinkedIn), Ma’aden’s Procurement Center of Excellence Director Mohammed Alshangiti (LinkedIn), and Astra Minings CEO Ali Al Jabrah (LinkedIn). The event will feature discussions on AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and other technologies.

WEATHER- The heatwave continues. Look for a daytime high of 44°C today in both Riyadh and Makkah, with the mercury dipping only to 32°C overnight.

PSA- It’s going to be a hot Hajj season: The National Center of Meteorology is forecasting daily high temperatures of 45-48°C during the Hajj season, with extremely hot weather expected to peak at noon each day. The season will also see relative humidity coming in at 25%.

AND- Officials continue to drip out news of Hajj preparations ahead of the start of the pilgrimage season next week, announcing a road cooling initiative set to slash temperatures by some 20°C by absorbing less sunlight, state news agency SPA reports. They’re also setting aside some 27k buses to shuttle pilgrims around the holy city via 16 routes with 11 stops.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Some 76% of foreign investment in Tadawul-listed companies is concentrated in 20 companies, eight of which are banks, according to Al Eqtisadiah. These 20 companies hold SAR 297 bn of the total SAR 316 bn foreign investors have put into companies on the Tadawul.

The breakdown: Al Rajhi Bank leads the pack with 13% of foreign investments in the bourse, Saudi National Bank with 10%, and Sabic and STC with 5% each. Also making the foreign investor favorite list: Alinma, Alawwal Bank, ACWA Power, Ma’aden, Riyad Bank, Etihad Etisalat, Elm, Sulaiman Al-Habib, SABIC Nutrition, Bupa Arabia, Al-Arabi, Al-Fransi, Al-Bilad, Cooperative, and Saudi Electricity.

SOUND SMART- Why are so many banks on that list? If Aramco is the best way to get access to the Kingdom’s oil economy, banks are the easiest way for a foreign investors to get exposure to the full spectrum of the economy.

#2- Saudi led the GCC real estate market in 2023 in terms of transaction value, rising 70% y-o-y to come in at USD 18.8 bn, according to the latest data from Kamco Invest (pdf). Real estate transactions in the wider GCC region grew 23% y-o-y to USD 56.7 bn last year.

OIL WATCH-

Are interest rate cuts — real and imagined — helping prop up the oil market? Canada cut rates yesterday or the first time in years, and the European Central Bank should follow suit today. Throw in the possibility that the US Federal Reserve might do the same in September, and you have fresh demand for energy — a fact that could be behind oil’s 1% rise yesterday after touching a four-month low.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

US chipmaker Nvidia passed Apple in market cap yesterday, becoming the world’s second-most valuable public company behind Microsoft with a market capitalization of USD 3 tn. The company’s shares rose over 5% yesterday to close at a record USD 1,224.40 each triggered by the artificial intelligence boom. (CNN | Reuters | Bloomberg | CNBC)

Number one next? “It may be a foregone conclusion that Nvidia will overtake Microsoft as well. There's a lot of retail [investor] money that's piling in on what they see as a straight shot up,” Longbow Asset Management CEO Jake Dollarhide said, adding that “Nvidia is making money on AI right now, and companies like Apple and Meta are spending on AI.”

DATA POINT- This makes Nvidia the third company in the US to cross the USD 3 tn mark, after Apple and Microsoft.

Nvidia’s gains pushed S&P 500 to a fresh high, with the index rising 1.18% to close at 5,354 — it has gained 12.3% since the beginning of the year.

AND- Canada has become the first G7 country to cut rates: The Bank of Canada (BoC) cut its interest rate by 25 bps yesterday, pushing rates to 4.75% after almost a year of holding them at 5%. The move makes Canada the first G7 member to slash rates.

In perspective: Canada’s decision to cut rates contrasts with the US Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to cut rates once this year, thanks to “stickier” inflation. “There are limits to how far we can diverge from the United States, but we're not close to those limits,” BoC Governor Tiff Macklem said. (FT | Reuters | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal | Globe and Mail)

The European Central Bank could follow suit today when it meets to review rates — see this morning’s Planet Finance, below. The Central Bank of Egypt doesn’t meet until 18 July.

ALSO- The Kingdom’s growing tourism industry got some ink from the New York Times in a feature story: Surprising, unsettling, surreal: Roaming through Saudi Arabia.

Our suggestion: Look beyond the usual, tired recitation of Western tropes about Saudi Arabia (they don’t dominate the story, but they’re there and form the subtext) and simply enjoy the stunning photography.

AND YOUR DAILY DOSE OF ELECTION COVERAGE- The AP takes note of the dissatisfaction among voters as we approach the halfway point of one particularly election-heavy year.

IN CLIMATE NEWS- The Associated Press lists all the climate records that have been broken recently and ask the question: How worried should we be?

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Global EV and Mobility Tech Forum will open its doors on Wednesday, 10 July to Thursday, 11 July at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will bring together policymakers, NGOs, and startups.

The Conference on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in Energy, Oil, and Gas will be held in GCC countries for the first time in 2025, coming off the signing of a partnership between the GCC Commercial Arbitration Center, the Scottish Arbitration Center, and the International Conference on Law, according to state news agency SPA. The conference will bring together experts in international arbitration to discuss the legal, geopolitical, economic, and security aspects and challenges related to energy disputes in the GCC.

Fakeeh Care shares rise 10% in Tadawul debut

Fakeeh Care Group’s shares closed up 10.1% on their trading debut on Tadawul’s main market yesterday. The company’s shares ended the trading day at SAR 63.30, after debuting at SAR 57.50 apiece.

REFRESHER- Fakeeh Care took a 21.5% stake to market through an offering of both new and existing shares. The IPO was priced top of the range, giving the family business a market cap of 13.3 bn on the first day of trading. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, had emerged as a key buyer in the IPO with a cornerstone investment of 1.04 mn shares, according to a supplementary prospectus.

Not big a first-day pop as it could have been — and you can probably blame Aramco: The Riyadh-based healthcare player’s first day of trading recorded the “smallest first-day gain” of a company IPOing on the Tadawul over the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg data. The first day performance “jars with the overwhelming demand” the offering saw during its bookbuilding process, which saw the institutional offering closing with a 119x oversubscription rate and its retail tranche 14.5x oversubscribed. Fakeeh Group’s is the largest IPO in the Kingdom so far this year.

Why? Aramco’s follow-on offering is hogging liquidity in the market, with the oil giant kicking off the book-building process for the USD 12 bn secondary sale earlier this week. Institutional book-building for the offering wraps up today and the retail book-building closed yesterday. The final allocation of shares and the offering’s final price will both be announced tomorrow.

ADVISORS- Our friends at HSBC are acting as sole financial adviser. HSBC is joint bookrunner together with our friends at EFG Hermes as well as ANB Capital. Moelis is advising the selling shareholders, while AlRajhi Bank, Saudi National Bank, Arab National Bank, SAB, Alinma Bank and Bank Aljazira are serving as receiving banks.

UP NEXT IN THE IPO PIPELINE-

Other transactions that are now in the market or expected soon:

Riyadh-based aluminum products maker Al Taiseer Group Talco Industrial (Talco) plans to sell a 30% stake and priced its offering at the top of the range;
Fintech startup Rasan is set to sell a 30% stake, pricing its offering at the top end of the range after its institutional tranche closed 129.1x oversubscribed;
Labor agency Saudi Manpower Company (Smasco) is selling a 30% stake and also priced its shares at the top of its initial range following strong institutional investor demand;
Hotels and resorts operator Boudl has filed to go public;
Fourth Milling Company will list before the end of June;
Singapore’s Olam Group is mulling the IPO of its Olam Agri subsidiary on Tadawul;
Hypermarket operatorLulu is said to be eyeing a dual listing on Tadawul and ADX;
Aster DM Healthcare looks set to spin off its GCC assets and seek a dual listing on Tadawul and in the UAE;
Perfume maker Arabian Oud is said to have appointed bankers ahead of a share sale (see What We’re Tracking Today, above);
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;
Budget airline Flynas is reportedly looking to go public this year.

PIF’s GBP 650 mn bond offering is 6x oversubscribed

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) priced its inaugural GBP bond sale, with the GBP 650 mn offering more than 6x oversubscribed, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement yesterday. The bond sale, issued under PIF’s existing EUR Medium-Term Note program, “is part of PIF’s strategy to continually diversify its funding sources,” the statement read.

The specifics: The two-tranche issuance consisted of one GBP 300 mn (SAR 1.4 bn) tranche with a five-year maturity, and a GBP 350 mn (SAR 1.7 bn) tranche with a 15-year tenor, according to the statement. PIF holds an A1 credit rating from Moody’s with a positive outlook and an A+ rating from Fitch with a stable outlook, it added. PIF didn’t specify the final pricing of the offering.

Background: The PIF has reportedly been considering more global bond sales and IPOs as it looks to ramp up the pace of investment as the Kingdom’s treasury prepares to run deficits through 2026 and pace out the implementation of some aspects of select Vision 2030 projects. The fund plans to ramp up annual deployment capacity to USD 70 bn a year starting 2026, up from a current annual spending clip of USD 40-50 bn. PIF has raised USD 7 bn since the start of the year from two debt sales.

ADVISORS- The sovereign wealth fund tapped our friends at HSBC as well as Barclays, BNP Paribas, and JPMorgan as joint global coordinators, while BofA Securities, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank AG were hired as joint active bookrunners.

Gov’t sets up SAR 1 bn deep tech VC fund to drive semiconductor industry

The Kingdom launched a SAR 1 bn deep tech VC fund to attract and support semiconductor companies to set up shop in Saudi, AlEqtisadiah reports.

The goal: To see 50 semiconductor firms of various sizes and descriptions operating here by 2030. The tool: Special (as-yet unspecified) incentives.

Introducing the National Semiconductor Hub: The government is setting up the National Semiconductor Hub, which will be used “to develop so-called fabless chip companies that design new semiconductors,” according to Bloomberg. The government hopes to attract 25 experts and 5k engineers specialized in semiconductor design, with a focus on simple chips, rather than advanced technology, the business information service writes.

Not going after Nvidia or Intel — yet. “We’re not trying to replace Nvidia or challenge Intel. We want to do humble beginnings. Once we have built a base, then we can talk,” Naveed Sherwani told Bloomberg on the sidelines of a conference.

But Alat, the PIF’s advanced technologies unit, sees a world where Saudi could produce 1 mn wafers by 2030, generating some USD 10 bn in revenues. “That may set Alat up to eventually be involved in conversations around how new chip design companies in Saudi Arabia can manufacture at home,” Bloomberg suggests.

ICYMI- The Kingdom plans to make strides in semiconductors this year: Communications and Information Technology Minister and chairman of the Space Agency, Abdullah Alsawaha previously told Bloomberg that the PIF is looking to boost its semiconductors and space investments this year in an interview back in January. Additionally, Alat, the advanced manufacturing investment platform launched earlier this year by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), opened the doors at two units focused on electrification and AI infrastructure, last month.

Saudi’s AI talent pool has doubled in size since 2016 — and it’s still growing, LinkedIn says

A growing number of AI experts is flocking to Saudi for work: The number of AI professionals that have migrated to the Kingdom this year has placed it in the 15th position globally in terms of AI talent attraction relative to population size, up from 24 last year, according to a LinkedIn press release.

Sound smart: The pool of AI experts based in Saudi doubled in size between 2016 and 2023.

Businesses are hiring more AI talent: The portion of AI talent hiring relative to total hiring grew 24% y-o-y. As a result, the Kingdom has leaped to 30th position from 35th last year, in terms of AI skill penetration on a global scale, according to data from LinkedIn.

What the pundits are saying: “The latest data on labor market trends provides further insights into how Saudi Arabia is transforming into one of the most attractive places to work in the region as it marches towards Vision 2030. The insights are indeed a nod to the kingdom’s efforts to establish itself as an AI and data leader and signal a growing tech industry that is curating a savvy and adaptive workforce,” Regional Head of LinkedIn, Ali Matar said.

THE REGIONAL ANGLE- The Kingdom was number one in MENA across digital skills including development tools, materials sciences and nanotechnology. Overall, it placed second in the wider digital skills category, bested only by the UAE.

AND- More AI startups are coming to Saudi, with the Kingdom enticing them through its Regional Headquarter Program (RHQ) with “generous housing allowances, [no-cost] office space, and potential government partnerships,” writes The Circuit.

What’s behind the boom? Incentives, the prospect of government business, and ease of doing business under the government’s Regional Headquarters Program all help. But really, it boils down to the size of the market: PwC sees AI contributing USD 135 bn to the economy by 2030. The National Strategy for Data and AI sees Saudi is looking to attract USD 75 bn in investment to the sector by that date.

Big multinational players are taking note, too: Saudi’s “abundant and inexpensive” supply of energy makes it a good hub to host power-intensive AI training data centers, CEO Michael Dell said on the sidelines of the annual Dell Technologies World event in Las Vegas, last month. The global tech player sees Saudi becoming a prime location for AI-related ventures. Amazon said in March it is investing USD 5.3 bn in a Saudi hyper-scale cloud region.

Al Sagr Ins. files for SAR 160 mn rights issue to teak capital base, fuel growth

Al Sagr Cooperative Ins. wants to raise SAR 160 mn to shore up capital base and fuel growth. Khobar-based Al Sagr Cooperative Ins. is gearing up for a 114.3% capital hike by way of issuing and offering new rights to its current shareholders, it said in a prospectus (pdf) . The move — on which shareholders have not yet voted — would bring the company’s total capital up to SAR 300 mn.

What’s on offer: The company is planning to issue 16 mn ordinary shares at SAR 10 each, to be made available to its shareholders for subscription at a ratio of 1.1429 rights for every individual share they currently hold.

SOUND SMART- Rights issues are tradable securities, which means that despite them being initially exclusive to shareholders, they can be immediately sold on the open market. This allows new investors to buy these rights, granting them the option to subscribe and purchase shares of Al Sagr.

Use of proceeds: Out of the total SAR 160 mn in expected proceeds, the company will direct some SAR 79 mn towards increasing bank deposits and SAR 50 mn towards investing in debt instruments, while SAR 15 mn will go into replacing the technical system for insurance and financial operations, and about SAR 9 mn into boosting its regulatory deposits. The remaining SAR 7 mn will be used to cover transaction-related expenses.

What’s next: Shareholders of Al Sagr Cooperative are scheduled to vote on the rights issue on Wednesday, 26 June, after which the timeline of the offering would be announced.

A quick look at Al Sagr’s FY 2023: The company turned to the black with a net income of SAR 42.3 mn in 2023, and revenues were up 2.7% y-o-y to SAR 486 mn driven by an increase in its medical and general incident segment, it said in an earlier disclosure to Tadawul.

Background: The transaction comes after the company’s board of directors recommended that shareholders agree to meet Tadawul’s minimum requirements for listed ins. firms and support its expansion plans, according to a filing to the exchange. Al Sagr Cooperative had lined up Capital Market Authority approval for the transaction in April.

ADVISORS- AlBilad Capital is quarterbacking the transaction as lead manager, financial advisor and underwriter. KLA & Co. was tapped as legal advisor. PwC, AlBassam & Partners, Al Kharashi & Co will act as auditors, while Badri Management Consultancy, United for Actuarial Services and SHMA Consulting will act as actuarial consultants.

Saudi’s 10 largest banks saw strong earnings in the first quarter of the year

The Kingdom’s top 10 banks turned in solid results in 1Q 2024: Local lenders’ combined operating income grew 3.8% q-o-q to SAR 34.1 bn in the first quarter of this year, mainly on the back of 23% q-o-q growth in fee and non-core income, according to a quarterly report by global consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal’s (A&M) Saudi Arabia Banking Pulse (pdf). The increase was supported by higher cost efficiency and a decline in operating expenses, as the cost-to-income ratio fell 1.4% q-o-q. On an annual basis, combined operating income was up 4.9% y-o-y.

The methodology: A&M’s Banking Pulse analyzes data from the 10 largest listed banks in Saudi and compares their financial performance on a quarterly basis. It looks at their size, liquidity, income, operating efficiency, risk, and capital. The banks include Saudi National Bank (SNB), Al Rajhi Bank, and Riyad Bank, among others.

By the numbers: Total deposits grew 5.9% q-o-q mainly driven by an 8.2% hike in current account savings accounts. Overall, loans and advances grew by 3.5% q-o-q, a faster increase compared to 4Q 2023.

Meanwhile, net interest margins (NIM) fell 6 basis points q-o-q to just under 3%. Out of the 10 surveyed banks, seven reported a downtick in NIM — local banks’ main driver of growth in FY 2023. Yield on credit lost 7 basis points q-o-q while cost of funds remained essentially unchanged.

The outlook: “While SAMA continues to follow US Fed with respect to the benchmark interest rates, we expect higher interest rates will constrain mortgage lending growth in FY 2024. A downward rate adjustment is being predicted in the second half though both the timing and the size of the cuts have gone through many predictive revisions; nevertheless, lower rates are likely to gradually affect margins; banks will need to increase their focus on fee and transactional banking income. We also can expect a continued focus on costs throughout 2024, Asad Ahmed, Managing Director and head of ME financial services at A&M said in a press release.

Red Sea Film Foundation CEO Mohammed Al Turki steps down

Mohammed Al Turki (Instagram) is stepping down as Red Sea Film Foundation CEO to focus on “personal projects and his career as an independent film producer and businessman,” according to a statement. Al Turki will stay on as an advisor at the foundation. Mohammed Asseri, a former board member at the foundation, will act as interim CEO until Al Turki’s successor is selected.

Saudi Investment Recycling + Hellenic Environmental Center to set up environmental processing centers in the Kingdom

WASTE MANAGEMENT-

PIF-owned Saudi Investment Recycling has signed an MoU with Greece’s Hellenic Environmental Center — a global player in waste management — that would see them set up environmental processing centers here at home. Information on the timeline and financial value of the contract was not disclosed.

Possibly in the cards: The two are discussing how to sell recycling services to ships and develop industrial waste treatment facilities.

CONSTRUCTION-

Lana Contracting, a unit of Tadawul-listed Lana Company, has landed a SAR 30 mn construction project for the Unified Military Command in Riyadh, according to a disclosure to Tadawul.

REAL ESTATE-

#1- Nomu-listed Ladun Investment has locked in a five-year rental agreement with the Real Estate Development Fund. The SAR 108 mn contract will see it rent out a four-floor office building to the fund starting Thursday, 11 July.

#2- Arab Sea Information System’s BoD has recommended buying a SAR 59 mn, 23-floor office building in Al Sahafa District, which belongs to one of its members. The building is set to become the HQ of the company and its subsidiaries, it added.

M&A WATCH-

Mayar Holding subsidiary to buy two elevator companies in one go: Elevator Solutions Investment — a unit of Nomu-listed escalator company Mayar Holding — has inked a non-binding 3-month MoU to fully take over ITM and Smart Elevators, the parent company said in a filing to Tadawul yesterday. There’s no publicly available information on the value of the potential acquisition.

A consortium of Saudi investors inked a 92-year contract to establish a 120k sqm Saudi Logistics City in Djibouti Port freezone, poised to become the Kingdom’s largest foreign logistics zone, SPA reports. No additional details regarding an investment ticket or timeline for the initiative were disclosed.

Details: The hub will cover some 120k sqm in its first phase, and will include a permanent exhibition, platforms for Saudi firms, and a trade area that includes facilities such as warehouses, SPA said. The project is set to position Djibouti’s port as a gateway for Saudi exports to Africa. Authorities from Djibouti have pledged to grant Saudi Arabian industries similar facilities and incentives to those extended to their Djiboutian counterparts at the freezone, SPA added.

HOSPITALITY-

Midad is launching the Four Seasons Private Residences in Jeddah on the Corniche, according to PR Newswire. The eight-storey hotel features suspended bridges, 247 guest rooms, 21 serviced apartments, and 64 private residences, including 2 penthouses. The hotel is still under construction and scheduled to open in 2025, according to the Four Seasons website.

FINTECH-

Tabby will integrate UAE-based traveltech player Tumodo’s services into the fintech startup’s travel management, according to Wamda. The integration is designed to provide more visibility and control over travel expenses through Tumodo alongside the financial control and payment flexibility of Tabby’s BNPL options. Tabby will use Tumodo’s platform to simplify travel logistics such as flight and accommodation booking, itinerary management, and expense reporting.

The ECB is looking to revive the Eurozone economy with its first rate cut in five years expected today

ECB set to cut rates today, aiming to boost Eurozone: Economists see the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates today for the first time in five years. A 25 bps cut is likely in the cards now, but analysts wonder how much further the ECB can go: The economy needs the relief rate cuts offer, but inflation remains “stubbornly” high, the Financial Times reports.

Recovery is afoot: A downward path for rates will “breathe life” into the eurozone’s housing markets, push businesses to borrow more to fund investment, and boost consumer spending, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at German bank Berenberg told the salmon-colored paper.

The downside risk: Move too fast while inflation is high and wages are growing quickly, and the ECB will just fuel more inflation.

The consensus? A symbolic cut today, but none in July. Persistent inflation in the Eurozone — it rose to 2.6% in May — won't stop the ECB from cutting interest rates, but “it is unlikely that the ECB will move with another cut in July,” Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, told FT last month. Economists polled by Delano concurred that the ECB will hold rates steady in July.

“Markets have almost fully ruled out a July cut, and now only see around two cuts in total by year-end. As things stand, we believe an ECB cut this week may soon be viewed as a policy mistake,” Gabriele Foa, a portfolio manager at Algebris Investments, told Bloomberg.

A policy mistake? A cut today would mark the first time Europe diverges from the United States in five years, potentially backfiring as the ECB lowers the interest rates ahead of the US Federal Reserve, Mathilde Lemoine writes for the Financial Times. The rate cut is expected to weaken the EUR, possibly causing a surge in import prices, including energy imports, which might prevent businesses from investing in the short-term.

The longer the Fed waits to push ahead with cuts, “the more difficult it can be eventually for the ECB,” Frederik Ducrozet, head of macroeconomic research at Pictet Wealth Management told the New York Times.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are all in the green this morning as traders welcome both the prospect of the ECB’s rate cut and the Bank of Canada’s cut yesterday. All major Asian benchmarks we follow are in the green, with the Nikkei (+1.1%) and the Kospi (+1.0%) leading the way. European stock futures are all solidly in the green this morning and Wall Street futures inched up overnight after the S&P 500 closed at another AI-fuelled (or maybe “Nvidia-fuelled”?) record high yesterday.

TASI	11,553	-0.5% (YTD: -3.5%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,445	-0.5% (YTD: -6.8%)
NomuC	25,925	-0.4% (YTD: +5.7%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	USD 3.75 Sell	USD 3.75 Buy
Interest rates	6.5% repo	5.5% reverse repo
EGX30	26,634	-1.3% (YTD: +7%)
ADX	8,948	+0.3% (YTD: -6.6%)
DFM	3,980	-0.4% (YTD: -2%)
S&P 500	5,340	+0.9% (YTD: +11.7%)
FTSE 100	8,246	+0.2% (YTD: +6.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,035	+1.7% (YTD: +11.4%)
Brent crude	USD 78.25	+0.9%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.74	+6.0%
Gold	USD 2,374.6	+1.2%
BTC	USD 71,149	+1.0% (YTD: +68.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.5% yesterday on turnover of SAR 8,1 bn. The index is down -3.5% YTD.

In the green: Fakeeh Care (+10.1%), AWPT (+4.2%) and Ades (+3.2%).

In the red: Cenomi Retail (-5.3%), Sisco Holding (-5.1%) and Medgulf (-5%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 33.7 mn. The index is up 5.7% YTD.

In the green: Bena (+9.1%), Riyadh Steel (+6.9%) and Lana (+6.4%).

In the red: Future Care (-5.6%), Apico (-4.9%) and Group Five (-4.7%)

CALENDAR

JUNE

6 June (Thursday): Saudi Manufacturing Show, Riyadh.

10 June (Monday): #teamLabBorderless, Jeddah.

10 June (Monday): Deadline to register for school bus services for the upcoming academic year.

20 June (Thursday): Norah premiers in theaters.

14-22 June (Friday-Saturday): Banks and capital markets closed for Eid Al Adha holiday.

28 June (Friday): Start of Jeddah Season 2024, Jeddah.

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.

AUGUST

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

SEPTEMBER

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.

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

OCTOBER

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

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 2024

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

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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