{"id":82619,"date":"2023-12-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2023\/12\/07\/finmin-unveils-2024-state-budget-no-word-yet-on-mbcs-tadawul-ipo-pricing\/"},"modified":"2023-12-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T00:00:00","slug":"finmin-unveils-2024-state-budget-no-word-yet-on-mbcs-tadawul-ipo-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2023\/12\/07\/finmin-unveils-2024-state-budget-no-word-yet-on-mbcs-tadawul-ipo-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"FinMin unveils 2024 state budget + No word yet on MBC\u2019s Tadawul IPO pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. <\/strong>We\u2019ve made it through another workweek together. We hope you\u2019re looking forward to the weekend as much as we are. <\/p>\n

IT\u2019S A BIG MORNING FOR: Diplomacy<\/strong>, after Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s whistlestop tour of the Middle East, which included a visit to Riyadh for a meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. <\/p>\n

AND FOR THE ECONOMY as the Finance Ministry unveiled the 2024 state budget. <\/strong>FinMin is penciling in 4.4% GDP growth with stable spending levels and no meaningful change in the deficit, Finance Minister Mohamed Al Jadaan said at a press conference yesterday. <\/p>\n

THE BIG QUESTION of the coming week: Will countries meeting for COP28 agree to a <\/strong>phase-out or a phase-down of oil production? <\/strong>Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China lead the ranks of the holdouts, Reuters<\/a> quotes diplomats as saying. The debate comes as the US climate envoy John Kerry says<\/a> the Biden administration supports \u201clargely\u201d phasing out fossil fuels, noting that there are no low- or zero-carbon alternatives today for industries including steel and cement.<\/p>\n

KSA\u2019s position is clear:<\/strong> It\u2019s not about the mix of fuels that power our future, it\u2019s about reaching zero emissions \u2014 itself a key target of the Kingdom\u2019s economic policy, which sees us using proceeds from fossil fuels to build a diverse, green, globally competitive economy. <\/p>\n

Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman drew a line in the sand<\/strong> earlier this week when he said the Kingdom would \u201cabsolutely not\u201d sign onto a final agreement that calls for a phase-out of hydrocarbons. Any agreement at COP28 needs the unanimous support of all participating countries.<\/p>\n

^^ We have the full rundown on all of this and more in this morning\u2019s news well, below. <\/p>\n

** You\u2019re reading Zero Issue #10 of EnterpriseAM KSA. <\/strong><\/p>\n

** Think of a zero issue as a \u201cbeta.\u201d<\/strong> This issue has not been published or distributed to a wide audience. The sponsor logos above are not correct because we\u2019re still developing the new KSA template.<\/p>\n

** Did you receive this as a forward?<\/strong> Email editorial@enterprisemea.com and let us know if you\u2019d like to be added to our list of beta readers ahead of our launch.<\/p>\n

** Have a comment, criticism, or story tip? <\/strong>Hit up patrick@enterprisemea.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- The Saudi Budget Forum will kick off today<\/strong>, one day after the Finance Ministry unveiled the 2024 state budget, to give room for discussions over the government\u2019s performance for the year. Look for plenty of discussion not just of public investment, but of the private sector\u2019s role in the economy. We expect the forum to stream on the Vision 2030 website<\/a> and the Finance Ministry\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

#2- There\u2019s no word this morning on where bankers will price broadcaster MBC\u2019s <\/strong>Tadawul IPO<\/strong>, though expectations<\/a> are that it will be at the top of the SAR 23-25 range on which they guided in the price range announcement (pdf)<\/a>. Bookbuilding for the sale \u2014 which was fully covered in the first hour bankers started taking orders last week \u2014 wrapped up yesterday. Some 90% of the offering is earmarked for institutions.<\/p>\n

Bankers will price the offering by 12 December<\/strong>, and individual investors can place orders between 14 and 18 December, according to the prospectus (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

#3- COP28, Day 8: <\/strong>It\u2019s a relatively quiet day in COP Land today. There\u2019s a panel organized by Fertiglobe that will discuss how to promote the use of sustainable marine fuels and there are discussions elsewhere on food waste and textile circularity. There\u2019s also a \u2018mindful origami\u2019 workshop, for those inclined. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #4- Residents of GCC countries can come to KSA on e-visas<\/strong> after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed off on the measure yesterday. The tourism e-visas will be valid for one year and allow multiple entries with stays of up to 90 days. <\/p>\n

PSA-<\/strong> Mixed weather today. Riyadh<\/strong> will enjoy clear skies with a high of 26\u00b0C, while Dammam<\/strong>will see a high of 27\u00b0C. Jeddah <\/strong>will have seasonally warm weather with the mercury peaking at 32\u00b0C, while folks in Madinah<\/strong> can expect fog this morning, prompting the National Center for Meteorology to issue a yellow warning for the province. <\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- <\/strong><\/p>\n

E-visa for Fifa Club World Cup ticket holders: <\/strong>The Foreign Affairs Ministry said Fifa Club<\/a>World Cup<\/a> ticket holders can apply for e-visas regardless of their country of origin, SPA<\/a> reported yesterday. That\u2019s great news for football fans looking to attend the tourney in Jennday: It kicks off on Thursday, 12 December and runs through Friday, 22 December.<\/p>\n

Exciting matches: <\/strong>The tournament, which Saudi Arabia is hosting for the first time, will see Al Ittihad (aka the Tigers), England\u2019s Manchester City, Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly, Brazil\u2019s Fluminense, New Zealand\u2019s Auckland City, Japan\u2019s Urawa Red Diamonds and Mexico\u2019s Leon in competition.<\/p>\n

In other visa news- <\/strong>Saudi Arabia and Malta will each exempt private and diplomatic passport holders from short-stay visa requirements, according to Saudi Gazette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- The economy created 13k new jobs in November<\/strong>, the National Labor Observatory said <\/a>on X<\/a>. That\u2019s a slower pace than the 17.8k jobs recorded in October<\/a>. Some 2.3 mn Saudi citizens participate in the private-sector workforce, good for a 21% share of all jobs. More than 41k citizens joined the private-sector workforce last month, a slightly lower rate of new joiners compared to 49.3k in October. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #3<\/strong>- Saudi startups topped the MNEA <\/strong>fundraising league table in November: <\/strong>Startups in the Kingdom raised USD 338 mn in nine transactions, accounting for more than 40% of the nearly USD 764 mn raised across the Middle East and North Africa, according to a report from Wamda and Digital<\/a>Digest<\/a>. Startups in the UAE placed second with USD 284 raised in 22 transactions, while Egyptian firms raised USD 130 mn in five rounds. <\/p>\n

Tamara, Tabby were kings: <\/strong>Mega-rounds are back, suggests the report, which considers both equity and debt raises. Among the standouts: a USD 250 mn debt round<\/a> raised by Saudi buy now, pay later firm Tamara and a USD 200 mn series D funding<\/a> by Riyadh-based BNPL firm Tabby. Egypt\u2019s MNT-Halan, meanwhile, raised USD 130 mn with a securitized bond.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- <\/strong>The PIF invested USD 6 bn in gaming in 9M 2023<\/strong>\u2014 that\u2019s about 56% more than what it had committed to the sector in the previous 24 months, Al Eqtisadiyah<\/a> reports. As we noted earlier in the week, officials at PIF appear to see video games as a presently-distressed asset class with plenty of room to grow when the industry shakeup draws to a close. <\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s another morning on which no single story dominates the global business headlines<\/strong>, but there are a handful of things you need to know:<\/p>\n

Google has unveiled <\/strong>Gemini<\/a><\/strong>, its \u201cmost capable\u201d AI model to date<\/strong>, which it claims processes more sophisticated reasoning and understanding of information. Google\u2019s chatbot Bard will use Gemini starting some time early in 2024 to help the chatbot with advanced reasoning, planning, and understanding. (Reuters<\/a> | CNBC<\/a> | New York Times<\/a> | CNN<\/a>)<\/p>\n

ALSO worth knowing:<\/strong><\/p>\n