{"id":85207,"date":"2024-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/04\/16\/spanish-govt-ups-stake-in-telefonica-in-bid-to-counter-stc-just-as-housing-minister-al-hogail-lands-in-town\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T00:00:00","slug":"spanish-govt-ups-stake-in-telefonica-in-bid-to-counter-stc-just-as-housing-minister-al-hogail-lands-in-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/04\/16\/spanish-govt-ups-stake-in-telefonica-in-bid-to-counter-stc-just-as-housing-minister-al-hogail-lands-in-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish gov\u2019t ups stake in Telefonica in bid to counter Stc \u2014 just as Housing Minister AL Hogail lands in town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. <\/strong>It\u2019s a brisk morning for news on this hump day. Assurances on Neom, lower growth forecasts, and, of course, tensions between Iran and Israel dominate this morning\u2019s news report. <\/p>\n

UP FIRST-<\/strong> Driving the news agenda today:<\/p>\n

#1- It\u2019s day two of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings <\/strong>in Washington, DC. Today\u2019s highlights: The release of the latest IMF World Economic Outlook and chapter one of its Global Financial Stability Report. You can check out today\u2019s schedule here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why it matters: <\/strong>The WEO is a closely-watched gauge that helps set sentiment about the global economy. We\u2019ll have full coverage tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Housing Minister Majed Al Hogail began an official three-day visit to Spain <\/strong>yesterday<\/strong> for talks with Spanish officials on housing, infrastructure and real estate development among other topics, according to state news agency SPA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will Spanish protectionism be on the agenda, too? <\/strong>Spain\u2019s government continues to buy shares of mobile network operator Telefonica, increasing its stake yesterday for the second time in three weeks as it looks to keep ahead of Stc, which is also accumulating shares. The latest buy gives Spanish state investment firm Sepi a 5% stake after it accumulated another 2% in recent days.<\/p>\n

The end-game: Edging out Stc as a major shareholder. <\/strong>\u201cThe [Spanish] government aims to buy as much as 10% of Telefonica\u2019s shares as soon as possible, which would leave it a step ahead of the Saudi state-backed telecom\u2019s plan to take a 9.9% stake,\u201d per Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #3- Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Pakistan yesterday<\/strong> for talks on potential Saudi investment there, according to state news agency SPA<\/a>. The visit comes nearly a week after Pakistan\u2019s PM discussed<\/a> a USD 5 bn investment package during a meeting in Makkah with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER-<\/strong> The Kingdom has been among key backers of the financial crisis-hit Pakistan, which is struggling with depleted foreign reserves. Saudi extended the term<\/a> of its USD 3 bn in deposits at the State Bank of Pakistan through December of this year. The country also received<\/a> last year USD 2 bn in financial assistance from the Kingdom to shore up finances.<\/p>\n

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WEATHER- Look for intermittent thunderstorms today and tomorrow in Riyadh, Eastern <\/strong>Province and Al Qassim<\/strong>, according to our favorite weather app. Public safety officials continue to warn against the risk of flash floods.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Saudization of sales professionals in the ins. industry is now in effect<\/strong>, the Ins. Authority said in a post on X<\/a>. Foreign workers in the industry can no longer be compensated with sales commission.<\/p>\n

#2- The <\/strong>local arm<\/a><\/strong> of wealth manager <\/strong>Fisher Investments<\/a><\/strong> has gotten the okay to offer <\/strong>investment management and <\/strong>advisory<\/strong> services<\/strong>, according to a Capital Market Authority statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #3- Just two weeks to go for a fresh mining round for six exploration licenses: <\/strong>The Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry has set Wednesday, 1 May as the deadline for domestic and international mining outfits to submit technical bids for six exploration licenses<\/a>, data from the ministry<\/a> showed. The ministry hopes prospectors will find gold, silver ores, copper, zinc, and lead.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND- <\/strong>The ministry unveiled last month a fresh incentives package worth SAR 685<\/a>mn<\/a> to boost mineral exploration in the Kingdom. The program is being rolled out in collaboration with the Investment Ministry and aims to reduce early-stage risk for exploration companies. <\/p>\n

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

Israel\u2019s senior military officer signaled yesterday that \u201cmissiles into the territory of the <\/strong>State of Israel will be met with a response.\u201d <\/strong>Herzi Halevi was speaking in a carefully choreographed set piece, standing in front of an F-35 fighter jet on one of the air bases Iran had targeted in the Sunday missile and drone attack. <\/p>\n

WHERE WE STAND NOW: Officials in the Arab world and the West are still working <\/strong>overtime to try to tamp things down<\/strong>, with the United States, the European Union, Germany, France and the UK all urging Israel to hold back. (FT<\/a> | WSJ<\/a> | NYT<\/a> | Politico<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/a> Saudi was<\/strong> not involved in a coalition that helped Israel intercept Iranian drones<\/strong>, sources familiar with the matter told Al Arabiya<\/a>. The sources denied reports in Israeli media<\/a> suggesting that Arab forces took part in downing drones. A Wall Street Journal<\/a> piece yesterday talked up intelligence sharing between the US and its regional allies in the lead up to Iran\u2019s strike.<\/p>\n

The tone abroad: <\/strong>A dangerous turning point in the Middle East<\/a> (FT)<\/p>\n

Regional markets were mixed as traders took things in stride: <\/strong>The Tadawul was up slightly, as was the ADX, while the DFM was basically flat. <\/p>\n

US markets reacted much as <\/strong>Mohamed El Erian suggested<\/a><\/strong> they would<\/strong>, with major benchmarks sagging at the closing bell. Traders of European equities took things with a bit more equanimity as major benchmarks closed up or little changed yesterday. Oil and gold were up a little bit in overnight trading. <\/p>\n

The EnterpriseAM Hyperbole Award\u2122: <\/strong>\u201cWe\u2019re now in the prelude to World War III precisely when humanity should rebuild its economy towards the rapid goal of decarbonization.\u201d CNBC<\/a> used the \u201cprelude to World War III\u201d bit in its front-page coverage of sentiment.<\/p>\n

Other headlines worth knowing about:<\/strong><\/p>\n