Spending via PoS transactions rises 6.3% w-o-w to SAR 14.5 bn

1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: HSBC is expanding investment banking operations in Middle East, Asia

Good morning. The long-anticipated vacation is rapidly approaching as the Ramadan season is seeing its final days. Business in the Kingdom have (expectedly) come into a near halt, with very little news to cover.

PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM Saudi will be celebrating Eid and taking next week off — we will be back in your inboxes before 7am on Sunday, 6 April. We hope you’re looking forward to a beautiful break with family and friends.

WEATHER- ⚠️ Most regions of the Kingdom are expected to see thunderstorms through next Friday, the National Center of Meteorology warned.

Riyadh: 22°C daytime / 13°C overnight
Makkah: 38°C daytime / 25°C overnight
Madinah: 29°C daytime / 18°C overnight

PSAs-

Passengers onboarding water taxis can enjoy up to 50% discount on their trips between 23 March and 3 April, courtesy of the Jeddah Transport Company, the Saudi Gazette reports. The fare is priced at SAR 25 during the period.

REMEMBER- The initial stage of the water taxi service was launched earlier this month, connecting the Jeddah Yacht Club, Jeddah Historic District (Al Balad), and Obhur neighborhood from 3:30pm to 1:30am.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

The revamped HSBC Holdings is expanding its investment banking operations in the Middle East and Asia, after scaling down its activities in Europe and the Americas, CEO Georges Elhedery told Bloomberg. The lender will target mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets in the Middle East and Asia, while shifting its global focus to debt.

Part of a bigger plan: The new strategy is expected to save the bank USD 1.5 bn in efficiency costs as part of a wider restructuring agenda to shift away from low-return consumer banking activities, Elhedery explained.

REMEMBER-Elhedery took over as CEO in September and reorganized HSBC’s global structure, grouping together the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (Menat) with Asia-Pacific operations under the newly formed Eastern Markets division.

WinVeston’s fund gets the go-ahead: Tadawul-listed WinVeston Capital received the green light from the Capital Market Authority for the public offering of its WinVeston Saudi Equity Quant Fund, the authority said in a statement.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Interior Ministry’s Absher platform processed over 24.3 mn electronic transactions in February 2025, it said in a statement. The Absher Individuals platform accounted for about 22 mn transactions, including 14.6 mn document views via digital wallets, while the business platform processed some 2.3 mn operations.

#2- Parcel deliveries in the Kingdom hit 16.5 mn shipments in the first 20 days of Ramadan, with March 19 seeing the highest volume at over 1 mn parcels, more than double the daily average, the Transport General Authority said in a post on X. The increase was mostly driven by growth in e-commerce — particularly retail shopping.

OIL WATCH-

Opec+ to stick to its guns on boosting oil output: Opec+ will likely follow through with its plan to raise oil output by 135k barrels per day (bbl / d) in May, setting it for the second consecutive monthly increase on the back of stable oil prices, Reuters reported, citing four sources it said are in the know.

The rationale: Low crude inventories support the easing of output cuts, as oil demand is expected to climb in line with seasonal summer demand. The cuts will also make it easier for the group to proceed with monthly hikes, an Opec+ delegate told the newswire.

The caveat: The oil group plans to pressure some members to cap production in order to compensate for exceeding quotas in the past months, while boosting output for members that have consistently met their monthly targets.

REMEMBER- Opec+ has set a new plan for seven members to cut oil production beyond the agreed limits to make up for previous overproduction, with monthly reductions ranging from 189k to 435k barrels bbl / d until June 2026. Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia are set to make the largest compensation cuts, while the Kingdom will make small cuts of 6k-15k bbl / d over three months.

SPORTS-

Our men in green held Japan to a goalless draw away from home yesterday in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, while Australia cemented their second-place position after securing all three points against China. The gap to Australia now stands at 3 points, along with a 9 goal differential. We face the Socceroos at home on 10 June in the final game of this round of qualifiers, five days after an away faceoff with Bahrain.

***You’re reading EnterpriseAM Saudi, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about Saudi, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Sunday through Thursday by 7am Riyadh time.

EnterpriseAM Saudi is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Tas’heel.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on saudi@enterpriseAM.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, the UAE, the MENA logistics and climate industries?

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday.
***

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, following days of US-backed talks in Riyadh, according to a White House statement. Ukraine said it would begin observing the maritime truce immediately, while Russia hinged its participation on lifting sanctions on agricultural exports and reconnecting key banks to SWIFT. (Bloomberg | BBC | CNN | New York Times | Reuters)

AND- Israel strikes Syria: An Israeli airstrike killed at least six people in southern Syria on Tuesday. The strike followed a reported exchange of fire between Israeli troops and militants near the border. (Reuters | AP)

AND IN THE BUSINESS PAGES- SAP dethrones Novo Nordisk as Europe’s most valuable company: German software company SAP has become Europe’s most valuable public company, overtaking Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, with a market cap of USD 342.4 bn. (CNBC | Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg)

Spending via PoS transactions in rises 6.3% w-o-w to SAR 14.5 bn

Consumer spending continues to be on the rise in the Kingdom: Consumer spending via point-of-sale (PoS) transactions went up 6.3% w-o-w in the week ending Saturday, 22 March to c. SAR 14.5 bn, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s report (pdf). The number of weekly transactions also rose by 0.3% w-o-w to 193.6 mn.

The details: PoS transactions on jewelry once again saw the largest increase in terms of value, growing 29.9% w-o-w to SAR 544.4 mn, followed by hotels, whose value rose by 24.8% to SAR 440 mn. Clothing and footwear rose in value at the third highest rate at 24.5% w-o-w, to just under SAR 1.9 bn.

Jewelry prices saw a significant rise over the last month: The price of jewelry, watches, and precious antiques rose by 26.7% in February, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ (Gastat) latest consumer price index (pdf).

Riyadh once again had the highest value of PoS transactions at SAR 4.9 bn, followed by Jeddah at just under SAR 2.2 bn and Mecca at SAR 933.3 mn.

Tadawul adds companies to TASI, NomuC indexes in quarterly rebalancing

Quarterly rebalancing done: The Saudi Exchange completed its quarterly rebalancing for the benchmark indices of the main market (Tadawul) as well as the parallel market (Nomu), adding seven companies to TASI and nine to NomuC, it said in a statement. The additions will be effective starting on Sunday 6 April.

Tadawul all shares index (TASI) additions:

Almoosa Health will also be added to the health care equipment & services index;
Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing will also be added to the consumer discretionary distribution & retail index;
Raoom Trading will also be added to the capital goods index;
Derayah Financial will also be added to the financial services index;
Arabian Company for Agricultural and Industrial Investment will also be added to the Food & Beverages index;
Umm Al Qura for development and construction will also be added to the Real Estate Management & Development index;
Tihama advertising and public relations will also be added to the Media & Entertainment index.

Parallel market capped index (NomuC) additions:

Albattal Factory for Chemical Industries;
Shmoh Almadi;
Itmam Consultancy;
Alshehili Company for Metal Industries;
Twareat Medical Care;
Basma Adeem Medical;
Lamasat;
Hedab Alkhaleej Trading;
Ratio Speciality Company for Trading.

New amendments ease qualified investor criteria for Nomu

Amendments for qualified investors in Nomu: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) is seeking public feedback on proposed amendments to investor eligibility criteria for Tadawul’s parallel market, Nomu, it said in a statement. The full draft is available for consultation on Istitlaa until Monday, 28 April. You can review it here (pdf).

What’s changing: Minimum entry threshold for individual investors will be reduced to SAR 30 mn in total annual transactions, down from SAR 40 mn, eliminating the requirement to complete at least 10 transactions per quarter.

The proposal also expands qualified investor status to include board members and members of special committees in Nomu-listed companies, granting them access to key market activities such as subscribing to shares, amending subscriptions, and accessing prospectuses and disclosures.

The rationale: The amendments seek to broaden market participation and strengthen the regulatory framework, with the changes “expected to have a positive impact on the market,” the statement read.

Al Rajhi Capital appoints Hossam AlBasrawi as CEO

Al Rajhi Capital named Hossam Al Basrawi (LinkedIn) as its CEO, it said in a post on LinkedIn. Al Basrawi has served as an Executive Committee member at Al Rajhi Capital since 2023, and worked previously as the general manager of corporate banking at Al Rajhi Bank for five years.

2P, Alamar, Scientific and Medical Equipment House report 2024 earnings

2P-

Perfect Presentation (2P) posted a 26% y-o-y increase in net income to SAR 163.3 mn in FY 2024, supported by a 22.55% rise in operating income and SAR 31 mn in capital gains, which offset higher finance costs and credit loss provisions, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. Meanwhile, the IT services provider saw its revenue fall 5.2% y-o-y to SAR 1.07 bn during the same period due to the completion of certain projects.

ALAMAR-

AlamarFoods’ net income fell 38.1% y-o-y to SAR 35 mn in FY 2024 on the back of one-off costs and declining sales, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. Revenues decreased 10.1% y-o-y to SAR 891.6 mn during the same period, weighed down by regional geopolitical tensions and Egypt’s currency devaluation, both of which were partially offset as the company ramped up marketing efforts and enhanced customer experience, read the disclosure.

ALSO- The company’s board approved distributing SAR 15.2 mn in dividends for 4Q 2024 at SAR 0.6 per share on 29 April, it said in a separate disclosure.

SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT HOUSE-

Scientific and Medical Equipment House Company saw its net income drop 34.9% y-o-y to SAR 24.6 mn in FY 2024, dragged by 3x higher than expected credit losses and a small rise in operating costs, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. Revenue was up 12.9% y-o-y to SAR 877.2 mn during the same year, supported by 24% growth in contracting, in addition to strong performance across the medical devices and equipment segment, and landing new projects in non-medical operations, catering, and biomedical sectors.

PFL partners up with UAE-based streaming platform Starzplay

SPORTS-

Saudi-backed PFL partners up with streaming platform Starzplay: The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will see all its content streamed on Starzplay starting 3 April, under a multi-year partnership signed with the streaming platform, it said in a statement. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

EDUCATION-

Al-Khaleej Training to lease educational complex in Riyadh: Al-Khaleej Training and Education signed a 25-year lease worth SAR 253.7 mn to rent its 19.7k sqm educational complex in Riyadh to Singapore’s Global School Holding Saudi for Education, a subsidiary of Global Schools Group, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The complex was built by Al-Khaleej on land leased from Tatweer Buildings Company. The company tapped ICREA Management Consultants as its advisor

INFRASTRUCTURE-

Keir International secured a SAR 119.5 mn contract from National Grid SA to replace 132 kV oil-filled underground cable circuits connecting the substations in the Central Operation Area of Riyadh’s Al Murabba district, according to a filing to Tadawul. The project will be implemented over 23 months.

M&A WATCH-

Gulf Union pulls the plug on its merger with Gulf General: Gulf Union Al Ahlia Cooperative Ins. decided to terminate its merger with Gulf General citing that the latter was impacted by a material adverse event that rendered the offer unfeasible, according to a statement.

RETAIL-

UAE-based hypermarket chain Lulu sets up new location in Makkah: Lulu Group inaugurated a new hypermarket in Al Rusayfah district on the Abdullah Areef street, spanning some 18.6k sqm, with an in-house dining area, according to a press release. Lulu plans to launch 45 new stores across the GCC within the next three years, according to its Executive Director Ashraf Ali Musliyam.

REMEMBER- Lulu opened its 61st store in the Kingdom back in July of last year and committed to plans that will see it operate a total of 100 stores nationwide.

LOGISTICS-

Mawani adds new shipping service to Jeddah Islamic Port: The Saudi Port Authority (Mawani) added Culines’ JPS shipping service to Jeddah Islamic Port, connecting it to Port Sudan with a capacity of 450 standard containers, it said in a statement.

Retail investors pour USD 67 bn into US stocks as institutions retreat

Retail investors are still doubling down on US stocks, pouring USD 67 bn into equities y-t-d, just shy of the USD 71 bn they invested in all of 4Q 2024, the Financial Times reports, citing VandaTrack data. The surge comes even as institutional investors pull back from the market amid growing fears of Donald Trump’s tariff threats and broader political uncertainty.

It’s become second nature: “Dip-buying has been an essentially foolproof strategy for four of the past five years,” said Interactive Brokers’ Steve Sosnick. “Doing something that works remarkably well for so long means you’re conditioned to stick with it.”

… plus: FOMO. Many investors are more afraid of missing a buying opportunity than suffering further declines, noted independent strategist Jim Paulsen. Despite a 2% drop in the S&P 500 and an 8% slide in tech stocks this year, retail investors have been net sellers on only seven trading days in 2025, according to Goldman Sachs.

Familiar names still dominate: Many continue chasing last cycle’s gainers, piling into the same high-flying names that led past rallies over the past two years but have taken a hit this year. “Retail investors tend to gravitate toward well-known stocks,” said one assistant law professor. Last week alone, they snapped up USD 3.2 bn worth of Tesla shares and USD 1.9 bn in Nvidia, JPMorgan data shows.

The dip-buying strategy has yet to reap any rewards: A JPMorgan model portfolio tracking retail’s money flows in the market indicates that retail investors have lost 7% of their capital this year — nearly double the losses made by the S&P 500 so far, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, institutional investors are heading for the exits. March saw their “biggest ever” retreat from US equities, according to Bank of America.

Is this a red flag? “Back in 1999, when my housekeeper started asking which stocks to buy, that’s when things started to fall apart,” quipped one strategist.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are still cheering the likelihood of a softer-than-expected tariff policy from the US, with Japan’s Nikkei, South Korea’s Kospi, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all up. China’s CSI 300 remained flat. Over on Wall Street, futures are also pointing towards more stability after stocks continued to gain ground yesterday, recovering from last week’s losses.

TASI	11,706	-0.6% (YTD: -2.7%)
MSCI Tadawul 30	1,484	-0.7% (YTD: -1.7%)
NomuC	30,614	0.0% (YTD: -2.7%)
USD : SAR (SAMA)	USD 3.75 Sell	USD 3.75 Buy
Interest rates	5.0% repo	4.5% reverse repo
EGX30	31,762	-0.2% (YTD: +6.8%)
ADX	9,342	-0.3% (YTD: -0.8%)
DFM	5,117	0.0% (YTD: -0.8%)
S&P 500	5,777	+0.2% (YTD: -1.8%)
FTSE 100	8,663	+0.3% (YTD: +6.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,475	+1.1% (YTD: +11.8%)
Brent crude	USD 73.02	0.0%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.89	+1.3%
Gold	USD 3,054	0.0%
BTC	USD 87,419	-0.1% (YTD: -6.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.6% yesterday on turnover of SAR 5.5 bn. The index is down 2.7% YTD.

In the green: Masar (+7.7%), Abo Moati (+3.5%) and Bawan (+2.9%).

In the red: Mbc Group (-5.5%), Spimaco (-4.8%) and Sumou (-4.6%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC stayed unchanged yesterday on turnover of SAR 28.0 mn. The index is down 2.7% YTD.

In the green:Nbm (+9.3%), Balady (+7.6%) and Marble Design (+7.1%).

In the red: Alashghal Almoysra (-18.7%), Amwaj International (-8.7%) and Aictec (-6.0%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

AbdullahAl Othaim Markets’ board signed off on a SAR 99 mn dividend payout for 4Q 2024 at SAR 0.11 per share, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The distribution date is set for 23 April.

ALSO- The company outlined its dividend policy for the coming three quarters, with SAR 0.11 per share to be distributed for 1Q 2025 and SAR 0.12 per share for both 2Q and 3Q 2025, it said in a separate disclosure.

Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) received approval from the Capital Market Authority to reduce its capital by 10% to SAR 6.79 bn, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The reduction will be completed through the cancellation of 75.48 mn shares worth SAR 754.8 mn two days after obtaining approval from the extraordinary general assembly.

Lamasat Company’s board recommended distributing SAR 12 mn in dividends for 2H 2024 at SAR 0.15 per share, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The distribution date is yet to be announced.

Egypt approves the Saudi-Egyptian Supreme Coordination Council

The Saudi-Egyptian Supreme Coordination Council secured approval from the Egyptian Parliament, according to a statement. First announced in October, the council replaces the Joint Higher Committee, bringing together senior officials to strengthen political coordination, economic development, and military cooperation in response to an increasingly challenging regional environment.

CALENDAR

MARCH

1-30 March: Ramadan.

30 March-2 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Eid Al Fitr holiday.

31 March (Monday): Deadline for applying to theReal Estate General Authority’s Regulatory Sandbox Program.

31 March (Monday): Deadline for applying to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Awards 2025

APRIL

7-9 April (Monday-Wednesday): Sports Investment Forum (SIF), Riyadh.

3-20 April (Thursday-Sunday): AFC Asian U17 Cup.

13-14 April (Sunday-Monday): Human Capability Initiative (HCI) Conference, King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, Riyadh.

13-16 April (Sunday-Wednesday): EdgeX HCI, The Ritz Carlton, Riyadh.

14-16 April (Monday-Wednesday): Future Hospitality Summit, Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh.

14-16 April (Monday-Wednesday): Umrah and Ziyarah Forum, King Salman International Convention Center, Madinah.

17-23 April (Thursday-Wednesday): 11th edition of the Saudi Film Festival, Dhahran.

18-20 April (Friday-Sunday): Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah.

21-24 April (Monday-Thursday): Saudi Food Exhibition and Conference, Riyadh.

22-23 April (Tuesday-Wednesday): AAM Middle East, Riyadh.

23-25 April (Wednesday-Friday): Construction and Real Estate Development Exhibition, Jazan.

25 April- 3 May (Friday-Saturday): AFC Champions League Elite Finals, Jeddah.

28 April- 30 April (Monday-Wednesday): Automechanika Riyadh, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh.

MAY

May: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Awards 2025 announces its results.

3 May (Saturday): Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull, Anb arena, Riyadh.

6-7 May (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

9 May (Friday): PFL Mena Season 2 Kick-off

12-15 May (Monday-Thursday): Saudi Smart Manufacturing, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

13-14 May (Tuesday-Wednesday): Global EV & Mobility Technology Forum, The Arena, Riyadh.

19-20 May (Monday-Tuesday): Tech-ecO-System Summit (ToSS), Riyadh.

23 May (Friday): Guns N’ Roses Show, Riyadh.

31 May-5 June (Saturday-Thursday): Hajj.

JUNE

6-9 June ( Friday-Monday): Eid Al Adha.

17-18 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

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

30 June (Monday): Deadline for Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties Initiative by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca).

JULY

July: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Awards 2025 awards ceremony, Geneva.

31 July (Thursday): Deadline for companies with SAR 2.5 mn or more in 2022/2023 revenues to integrate e-invoicing solutions with Fatoora.

29-30 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

AUGUST

5-17 August (Tuesday-Sunday): Fiba Asian Cup.

SEPTEMBER

15-17 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Money 20/20 Middle East, Riyadh.

17-18 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee meeting and Summary of Economic Projections.

23 September (Tuesday): Saudi National Day.

OCTOBER

28-29 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

NOVEMBER

3-9 November (Monday- Sunday): WTA Tour Finals.

24-26 November (Monday-Wednesday) The World Advanced Manufacturing & Logistics Saudi Expo, Riyadh Front Convention & Exhibition Centre, Riyadh.

27-30 November (Thursday-Sunday): The World Rally Championship (WRC), Jeddah.

DECEMBER

1-4 December (Monday-Thursday): International Conference on Nuclear Emergencies, Riyadh.

4-13 December (Thursday-Saturday): Red Sea International Film Festval, Jeddah.

December: The Fortune Global Forum 2025, Riyadh.

9-10 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Open Market Committee meeting and Summary of Economic Projections.

2026

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

8-12 February (Sunday-Thursday): World Defense Show, Riyadh.

26-29 October (Monday-Thursday): World Energy Congress, Riyadh.

2027

The World Water Forum takes place in Riyadh.

The Ocean Race finishes in Amaala on the Red Sea.

Riyadh-Kudmi transmission line to be completed.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support

Get EnterpriseAM daily