Good morning, friends, and happy hump day. We have a handful of big stories this morning, not least of which is Tasheel Holding Group divesting its stake in London-based Arena Events Group as part of the UAE’s Modon Holding’s takeover of Arena Events’ parent company.

PLUS- Acwa Power is moving towards exporting 200k tons of Saudi-made green hydrogen to Europe by the end of the decade, with a new agreement with German player SEFE to set up a green hydrogen bridge between the two countries.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Global Bankingand Markets Saudi Arabia kicks off today at the Hilton Riyadh Hotel and wraps up tomorrow. The networking event brings together over 700 local, regional, and global banking and market leaders, with representatives from government and private sector issuers and borrowers, regulators, investors, banks, and other organizations.

WEATHER- Riyadh is looking at a high of 22°C and a low of 7°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will peak at 31°C and hit a low of 23°C. Makkah will see a 30°C high and 19°C low.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- PIF-owned Riyadh Air is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for an order of up to 50 additional widebody jets as it looks to expand its fleet, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The airline is looking to secure scarce delivery slots for Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777X aircraft. However, up to half of the potential order could be classed as “non-firm options” that are contingent on what plane makers could deliver, the sources said.

Not the first we’ve heard of this: Riyadh Air’s CEO Tony Douglas told Reuters inNovember that the startup airline was gearing up for an unspecified order of Boeing 777X and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with a decision expected during the first or second quarter of this year.

REMEMBER- Saudi Arabia’s newest carrier pushed back its launch to 3Q 2025 from earlier this year, after facing delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries. The airline expects to receive as many as four Boeing 787 Dreamliners this year. Riyadh Air also placed an order of 60 Airbus A321neos in October with deliveries scheduled between 2H 2026 and 2030.

#2- Saudi Arabia and the UAE were floated as possible venues for an upcoming meeting of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir as officials from Russia visited both Gulf states in recent weeks, Reuters reports, citing two Russian sources it says are aware of the discussions. Trump previously indicated that he is willing to sit down with Putin to seek an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The caveat: Close security and defense relations with the US could prove to be a stumbling block in the way of hosting the potential summit, one of the sources said.

#3- Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef arrived in India yesterday on a four-day visit to study potential joint investments in the industrial and mining sectors, the ministry’s spokesman said on X. Al Khorayef and his delegation will visit New Delhi and Mumbai, where they will hold high-level meetings with Indian officials and industry leaders across various sectors, including mining, pharma, and petrochemicals. The visit wraps up on Thursday.

#4- Basma Adeem Medical’s (Smile Care) stock jumped 30% in its trading debut on Nomu, closing at SAR 5.72 apiece from its final IPO price of SAR 4.4 per share — the top of the range it was guiding on. The dental care services company took a 20% stake, or 4 mn shares, to market in an offering that was nearly 20x covered. Net proceeds from the primary offering, which was limited to qualified investors, will go towards setting up a new dental lab and clinics.

#5- Zoujaj + Saudi Glass M&A play gets a nod from competition watchdog: Tadawul-listed National CompanyforGlass Industries (Zoujaj) and Saudi Glass secured conditional economic concentration approval from the General Authority for Competition (GAC) for a potential acquisition or merger agreement, according to a filing to the exchange.

ICYMI- The pair had inked a non-binding MoU for the move back in 2023, which was initially set to expire in November 2024 before it was extended for an additional six months to May 2025 to carry out due diligence.

PSAs-

#1- Business owners have until 28 February to benefit from a 100% late fee exemption on debts registered before 3 March 2024, offered by the General Organization for Social Ins., according to a post on X. The initiative requires that subscriptions are paid via the My Business Ins. platform, SPA reports.

#2- GCC Residents can now perform Umrah while on tourist or transit visas, without requiring a dedicated Umrah visa, the Hajj and Umrah Ministry said in a post on X.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The Kingdom’s SME loan guarantee program Kafalah handed out SAR 13.9 bn in loan guarantees to MSMEs in 2024, according to state news agency SPA. The guarantees backed SAR 18 bn in loans, up 17% y-o-y, with some 5.3k MSMEs receiving upwards of 7k guarantees. Riyadh Province came on top with over SAR 8 bn in guarantees for 2.2k businesses, followed by the Eastern Province with SAR 4 bn for 1.2k businesses, and Makkah Province with SAR 3.6 bn for 1.1k businesses.

#2- The General Authority for Defense Development sealed agreements worth over SAR 1.6 bn in 2024 in a bid to support research across the Kingdom’s military and security sectors, Asharq Al Awsat reports.

OIL WATCH-

Opec+ sticks to its guns: The oil group decided to maintain its policy of capping supplies in 1Q before starting to ramp up output in April, according to an Opec+ statement following the conclusion of yesterday’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting. The group is so far not heeding Trump’s calls to increase output and lower prices to USD 60-70 per barrel.

Background: Opec+ initially planned to begin phasing out production cuts in October, but later pushed the plans back as oil prices fell. Production increases are now slated to begin in April 2025 and to be gradually implemented until the end of 2026.

MEANWHILE- Opec+ dropped the US’ Energy Information Administration (EIA) Norwegian Rystad Energy from its list of “secondary sources” used to track production and compliance, replacing them with Kpler, OilX, and ESAI, Reuters reports. The decision to cut the EIA from the list was due to the organization not supplying required data, an Opec+ source told the newswire.

PLUS-Pakistan will receive Saudi oil for a year on deferred payments after it signed a USD 1.2 bn agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development, Reuters reports citing a statement from Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif’s office. The move looks to roll back a considerable portion of Pakistan’s imports bill and shore up the country’s FX reserves ahead of a review for a USD 7 bn IMF bailout slated for March.

SPORTS-

No love lost between Al Ettifaq and Gerrard: The departure of Al Ettifaq’s English manager Steven Gerrard was “mutually agreed and amicable,” The Athletic reports, citing unnamed sources who explained that staff reshuffles, injuries, and the club’s underperformance contributed to the ex-Liverpooler’s decision to split. Gerrard ended his 18-month stint at Al Ettifaq last week, leaving the club in 11th place in the league, having won only 6 of 18 matches.

So what gave? Gerrard arrived at Al Ettifaq amidst much fanfare and a belief that he could lead the club into the league’s top four. However, it soon became apparent that despite significant support from petrochem player Sabic and international signings, Al Ettifaq could not go head-to-head with SPL’s top four PIF-backed teams that had access to a much wider resource pool.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Trump’s flurry of executive orders is still the primary focus of international news headlines this morning, from delaying tariffs to creating a new US sovereign fund, to latest updates on the campaign targeting US foreign aid.

Crisis averted (for now): North American leaders managed to reach last-minute agreements with Trump, postponing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, pending negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country will deploy technology and manpower to curb the flow of immigration and fentanyl across the border, while Mexico’s Sheinbaum is deploying 10k National Guard troops to “stop drug trafficking from Mexico.” Meanwhile, the US committed to curbing the flow of high-powered weaponry to Mexico.

China is still in the fray, however, as 10% tariffs are still set to take effect within a few hours. Trump is to speak with China’s Xi Jinping this week to reach an agreement, otherwise “tariffs are going to go substantially higher,” Trump said yesterday. (NYTimes | FT | Reuters | The Guardian)

Trump also signed an executive order yesterday to establish a sovereign wealth fund, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying we could see the US fund created within a year. The proposed fund could strike partnerships with “very wealthy people” and help finance the purchase of TikTok from China’s ByteDance, with an eventual target to rival investments deployed by big players like Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg | BBC | Associated Press)

MEANWHILE- The embattled US Agency for International Development (USAID) seems to be rapidly approaching a reckoning. The agency’s website has gone down, with some of its top officials put on leave. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appointed himself acting director of the agency, and confirmed earlier reports that USAID will be absorbed by the State Department.

The attack on USAID is part of a wider campaign on federal government in the US helmed by Trump’s efficiency tsar Elon Musk, who referred to the agency as a “criminal organization" and a “radical-left political psy op.” (CNN | FT | NY Times)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Proptech firms looking to participate in the experimental regulatory environment mustregister by 31 March for the Real Estate General Authority’s Regulatory Sandbox Program. The program enables developers to test their proptech solutions in a controlled environment, in a bid to raise the number of proptech companies it houses to 1.5k over the next five years, up from 270 firms currently.