Good morning, friends. Geography is doing Saudi Arabia a favor this year. A Reuters poll of economists has the Kingdom as one of just two Gulf economies still growing in 2026. The East-West pipeline moves Saudi crude to the Red Sea and clean around the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint whose near-closure is pulling most of our neighbors into contraction.

The regional picture is grim, and getting more so. BMI has now pushed the MENA recovery out to 2027, seeing the region contract 0.7% this year before a 6.5% rebound the next — but nearly all of that bounce-back rests on oil exports, which in turn rests on Hormuz reopening.

Sabic deepens its China play

Sabic is eyeing a stake of up to 50% in a Chinese advanced materials project. The company signed a project development agreement with China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical to jointly develop the Jintang New Materials Project in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, according to a press release. Under the agreement, Sabic is evaluating an equity investment of up to 50% in Rongsheng New Materials, the subsidiary carrying out the project, with the agreement setting a framework toward a potential final investment decision. No investment figure was disclosed.

Why it matters: Sabic has been restructuring before re-expanding. The company sold its European units in January in a SAR 3.6 bn divestment, then returned to black in 1Q with a net income of SAR 13.2 mn after a SAR 1.2 bn loss a year earlier. A potential 50% stake in a Chinese downstream subsidiary suggests the international strategy is back on, focusing eastward rather than westward.

US, Saudi wrap nuclear talks

The Kingdom’s clearest path yet to domestic uranium enrichment is sitting unsigned on Trump’s desk. A US-Saudi civil nuclear accord that would let Riyadh enrich uranium on its own soil was fully negotiated back in October but is now stalled, awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature, CNN reports, citing draft documents and sources familiar with the talks.

Why this matters: Over in the UAE, domestic enrichment was the line Abu Dhabi agreed not to cross. The UAE’s 2009 “123 agreement” — the template Washington calls the nonproliferation gold standard — traded away enrichment and reprocessing in exchange for US technology and full IAEA oversight via the Additional Protocol. The draft Saudi agreement does neither, as it permits a degree of domestic enrichment and swaps standardized IAEA inspection for a bilateral US-Saudi safeguards arrangement, per a waiver the administration sent Congress and a May State Department letter reviewed by CNN.

What’s holding it up? Politics. Two sources told the news outlet the Iran war has made the signature awkward, given Washington justified that campaign as stopping Tehran’s own enrichment. The administration is also wary of a bipartisan disapproval resolution on Capitol Hill, where the enrichment provision and the lighter IAEA regime have already drawn concern. The accord is yet to go to Congress for the review federal law requires once it’s signed.

Ladun takes another go at Tadawul

Ladun is taking another run at Tadawul’s main market. The Nomu-listed investment company has submitted its application to transfer to the Tadawul main market, according to a filing to the exchange, targeting completion in 3Q.

REMEMBER- Ladun hit the brakes on its move to TASI late last year, less than a month after it submitted the request due to incomplete regulatory requirements.

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The big story abroad

International dailies are calmer than usual today, with the latest updates in the regional war leading the news cycle.

The US military launched another round of airstrikes against Iranian targets yesterday, marking its ninth consecutive night of strikes, the US Central Command said. The latest salvo follows the deaths of three US servicemembers this week in Jordan and Iraq.

Taiwan’s semiconductor giant TSMC is pouring another USD 100 bn into expanding its Arizona facilities, citing surging, multi-year demand for AI hardware. A major supplier of chipmaker Nvidia, TSMC reported record 2Q results last week and has not ruled out the possibility of issuing new bonds should market conditions prove favorable, its CFO Wendell Huang said.

Spain brought home its second-ever World Cup trophy after triumphing 1-0 over Argentina. The New Jersey showdown proved a stalemate until substitute Ferran ​Torres secured the winning goal in extra time.

Meanwhile at the box office, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey brought in USD 264 mn globally in its opening weekend — the director’s highest-grossing debut so far. The film — the first ever to be shot entirely on Imax cameras — flaunts an all-star cast and garnered widespread critical acclaim.