Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a new week to start a new month. It’s a relatively busy start to the last month of the year, leading with new ratings from Moody’s for Saudi banks, as well as reports that Saudi and the US are moving towards a different type of military pact after months of negotiations.

^^ We have details on these stories and more in this morning’s news well, below.

BUT FIRST- The Public Investment Fund may be asking its portfolio companies to slash their 2025 budgets by up to 20%, marking the second consecutive year of cuts, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter. Some projects are reportedly already seeking external financing to offset the prospective tightening. Next year’s spending plans should be presented to the fund’s board for approval this month.

IN CONTEXT- Despite the uptick in the PIF’s overall spending, recalibrations of some of thenational gigaprojects reflect a shift in the Kingdom’s USD-tn 2030 agenda as the pressure to juggle mega-projects intensifies with the country hosting the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, the 2029 Asian Winter Games, and the 2030 World Expo.

Which projects are on the fast track? Cornerstone projects like Diriyah, Qiddiya, and King Salman International Airport remain on track, with some even accelerating construction timelines, Bloomberg wrote. Meanwhile, Neom’s budget saw a 20% trim this year, and sources say more adjustments may be on the horizon.

Al Fakhera Men’s Tailoring’s share price remained basically unchanged on the first day of trading on Nomu at SAR 6.0 apiece. Al Fakhera’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 20% stake IPO at the top of its indicative price range at SAR 6 per share, after the offering was 2.7x oversubscribed. The pricing would give Al Fakhera a market cap of SAR 180 mn at listing and should see it raise some SAR 36 mn in IPO proceeds.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Three Riyadh Metro lines will open today as part of a pilot phase, according to astatement from Riyadh’s Royal Commission. The lines going online are Line 1 (Al Olaya-Al Batha route), Line 4 (King Khalid International Airport Road), and Line 6 (Abdulrahman bin Auf Road-Sheikh Hassan bin Hussein bin Ali Road).

What’s next? Line 2 (King Abdullah Road) and Line 5 (King AbdulAziz Road) are scheduled to launch on 15 December, while the final Line 3 (Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road) is set to go live on 5 January, 2025.

Some 71% of Riyadh residents see the launch of the metro changing their transportation habits, while 60% say they will use the underground and other means of public transport to commute to work and school, according to a survey by the National Center for Public Opinion Polls. Some 81% think that the Metro will reduce traffic congestion and 83% expect it will have a positive impact on the environment.

WEATHER- Riyadh is looking at a high of 22°C and a chillier low of 12°C today. Over in Madinah, the temperature will peak at 27°C, before dropping to 16°C. Meanwhile, Jeddah will see a high of 30°C, and a low of 23°C.

NOT HAPPENING TODAY- OPEC+ pushed back its oil policy meeting to this Thursday, 5 December from today due to a scheduling clash with a GCC summit taking place in Kuwait, Reuters reports. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman held talks with his Russian and Kazakh counterparts last week ahead of the talks, with officials from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Russia also meeting in Baghdad on Tuesday. The group is reportedly considering putting off plans to begin phasing out production cuts from January to 2Q 2025 due to risks of oversupply.

PSAs-

The next round of e-invoicing: Companies that recorded more than SAR 2 mn in revenues subject to VAT in 2022 or 2023 will need to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with Zatca’s Fatoora platform by a deadline of 31 August, 2025, according to a statement from Zacta. This is the latest phase of an e-invoicing rollout that began in late 2021.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Almoosa Health has a busy pipeline through 2028: Local healthcare provider AlmoosaHealth plans to open five standalone primary healthcare centers in the Eastern Province between 2025 and 2027, namely in Al Ahsa, Al Khobar, and Dammam, the company said in its intention to float (pdf). In addition, the company plans to add a 300-bed hospital in Al Hofuf by 2027 and another 400-bed one in Khobar by 2028, bringing its overall capacity to 1.4k beds across four hospitals.

ICYMI- Almoosa plans to take a 30% stake to Tadawul’s main market, with proceeds earmarked for repaying outstanding debt and supporting growth plans.

#2- Saudi Arabia’s ins. sector is poised for an increase in M&A activities amid a wider consolidation trend in the GCC region, Moody’s Ratings Vice President and Senior Analyst Mohammed Ali Londe was quoted as saying by Zawya.

REMEMBER- Saudi Arabia stood out as a top destination for M&A activity in the MENA region in 9M 2024, according to EY. The Kingdom and the UAE saw a combined 239 agreements valued at USD 24.5 bn during the period. In addition, the Kingdom recorded the largest domestic transaction in the region, namely Saudi Aramco’s USD 8.9 bn acquisition of a 22.5% stake in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company.

#3- The Black Hat MEA 2024 cybersecurity conference earned a Guinness World Record for hosting the world’s largest Capture the Flag (CTF) hackathon, state news agency SPA reports. The three-day conference wrapped up on Tuesday, 26 November.

What are CTFs? CTF challenges involve a virtual environment in which each participating team tries to find text strings — or flags — that are hidden across the opponent’s website by exposing vulnerability points, while defending one’s own against similar attacks. The objective of the challenge is to collect the largest number of flags.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Saudi Central Bank (Sama) saw its net foreign assets add 1.4% y-o-y in October to SAR 1.55 tn, according to recent data from Sama.

#2- The Kingdom’s research and development (R&D) expenditure rose 17.4% y-o-y in 2023 to SAR 22.6 bn in 2023, data (pdf) from the General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) showed. The number of R&D employees increased 12.2% y-o-y last year to 49.3k, while the number of researchers rose 22.1% y-o-y to 36.8k over the same period.

SPORTS-

#1- Saudi Arabia’s FIFA World Cup 2034 bid received the highest rating ever at 4.2 out of 5 in FIFA’s Bid Evaluation Report (pdf), state news agency SPA reported yesterday. The Kingdom’s rating surpassed the joint bid by the US, Canada, and Mexico for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Host countries for the following 2030 and 2034 world cups will be decided at the FIFA General Assembly taking place next 11 December. The story also got ink from Reuters and BBC.

#2- Al Qahtani defeats Morocco’s Belkhait: Abdullah Al Qahtani, the first Saudi champion to partake in the MENA Professional Fighters League (PFL), came out on top in just one round against Morocco’s Marwan Belkhait in the featherweight division, state news agency SPA reports. Meanwhile in the Atomweight division, Saudi Arabia’s Hattan Al Saif knocked out Algeria’s Lilia Othmani in the second round to cap off a successful outing for the Kingdom at the PFL finals in Riyadh.

#3- The Saudi Under-20 Women’s national team scored its first victory in its debut match against Palestine (1-0) in the West Asia Football Federation U-20 Women’s Championship in Jordan, according to FlashScore. The tournament serves as preparation for the 2026 AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers and marks their first competition since forming in December 2023.

#4- Liv Golf might be merging with Europe’s DP World Tour, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The merger will see the two circuits form a shared schedule and permit golfers to play in events hosted by both tournaments. These talks are separate from those with the PGA Tour, with agreements with both circuits still on the table, added the sources.

#5- A sixth place finish was enough for Ferrari squad AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors to be crowned champions of the Fanatec GT World Challenge at the SAL Jeddah GT 2024, according to a statement. The final race of the season, which wrapped up yesterday, was secured by the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Our corner of the world is once again in the focus of the global press, with outlets across the world — including the business papers — leading with news of the surprise offensive by Syrian rebels led by former Al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir Al Sham that has taken over large chunks of Syria’s largest city, Aleppo. Following the government retreat, the rebel forces are consolidating their control of the city and are pushing into the neighbouring governorate of Hama — marking the rebel forces’ most significant advance since 2016 and a major challenge to President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. More than 300 people — including at least 20 civilians — have been killed since the offensive began on Wednesday. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | AP | New York Times | France 24 | BBC)

More aid workers were killed in Gaza yesterday following a deadly weekend of aerial assaults on the enclave. Israel claimed that one of the aid workers was involved with the 7 October attack on Israel — a claim that Israel did not provide any evidence to support and which his family and the charity deny. (New York Times | Reuters)

There's some hope that a ceasefire could be revived following the ceasefire in Lebanon, with a Hamas and Fatah delegation arriving in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials aimed at securing a ceasefire and planning how Gaza will be governed once the war ends, Al Arabiya reports, citing an unnamed Fatah official.

MEANWHILE IN TRADE WAR NEWS- Trump is setting his sights on Brics nations’ efforts to challenge the dominance of the greenback, with the president elect threatening 100% tariffs unless they abandon plans to challenge the USD’s status as the global reserve currency. “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the USD while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump said in a social media post today. (Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg | AP)

AND IN BUSINESS NEWS- Asia’s second-richest man Gautam Adani denied allegations that his conglomerate or its officials are facing charges under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, following a federal indictment alleging a USD 250 mn bribery scheme. Adani reaffirmed his company’s commitment to “world-class regulatory compliance” and described the accusations as another hurdle in the group’s resilience-building journey.

Adani blamed “vested reporting” and negative narratives for the controversy, comparing the situation to the short-seller attack by Hindenburg Research in early 2023, which also caused turmoil for the group. (Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The two-day Saudi Green Initiative Forum will kick off this Tuesday, 3 December, according to a statement. The forum will coincide with COP16 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which will be held in Riyadh between 2 and 13 December.

The Jeddah International Agriculture and Food Exhibition is scheduled for 3-5 December at Jeddah Center for Exhibition and Events.

The two-day Zakat, Tax and Customs Conference 2024 begins on 4 December at the King Abdullah Financial District.

The Red Sea International Film Festival will run from 5-14 December in Jeddah.

The two-day Impact Makers Forum (ImpaQ) is set to open its doors on 18 December, bringing together media influencers, industry experts, and digital content creators in Riyadh’s Mayadeen Hall.

The Fortune Global Forum is coming to Riyadh in December 2025, according to a pressrelease. The forum serves as a platform for the leaders of the world's largest companies, policymakers, and other influential figures to discuss global economic and business trends, challenges, and opportunities.

The FIFAe Finals 2024 returns to Riyadh from 5-12 December at SEF Arena, BLVD Riyadh City, according to a press release. This year marks the first time the event will feature multiple esports titles, including the FIFAe World Cup with Rocket League (5-8 December) and two FIFAe World Cups with eFootball (9-12 December) on console and mobile. With a total prize pool of USD 450k, the event will showcase talent from 18 countries. Fans can attend in person or watch live on FIFAe’s Twitch channel. Register here.

The International Forum for Saudi Reef is scheduled for 16-18 December in the Intercontinental Al Ahsa, covering sustainable agriculture, rural entrepreneurship, and technology in farming, alongside a three-day exhibition of rural practices, handicrafts, and local work. Register here.

The Future Hospitality Summit will take place between 14-16 April, 2025 at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah hotel in Riyadh. The forum will bring together top executives and decision-makers in the hospitality sector to probe potential investments and partnerships.

The three-day XP Music Futures Conference kicks off in Riyadh’s Jax District 3 on Thursday, 5 December, bringing top music voices together for workshops, panels, and networking prospects. Tickets can be booked here.