{"id":86594,"date":"2024-05-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/05\/28\/diplomacy-heavy-week-continues-in-madrid\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T00:00:00","slug":"diplomacy-heavy-week-continues-in-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/05\/28\/diplomacy-heavy-week-continues-in-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Diplomacy-heavy week continues in Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people. It\u2019s an IPO-heavy kind of morning<\/strong>, with news from Talco, Fakeeh Care, and Miahona. All three have enjoyed strong investor appetite for their main-market offerings, suggesting there\u2019s plenty of interest out there in quality Saudi names even as the Tadawul has underperformed global markets so far this year. <\/p>\n

Happening today:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- IPO WATCH- The two-day bookbuilding window for the retail tranche of Al <\/strong>Taiseer Group Talco Industrial\u2019s (Talco) IPO starts today<\/strong> with a maximum of 1.2 mn shares up for grabs. Talco priced its IPO on Tadawul\u2019s main market at SAR 43 per share, pegging it at the top of its initial price range, after its institutional offering drew in strong demand with a 68.5x oversubscription rate. The aluminum products maker is taking a 30% stake to the market<\/a> in a secondary share sale. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- Arab foreign ministers led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan <\/strong>arrived<\/a><\/strong>in Madrid last night<\/a><\/strong>, where they will push <\/strong>for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine<\/strong>, as Israel intensifies its attack on Rafah. The foreign trip by the Arab foreign ministers saw stops in Paris and Brussels. <\/p>\n

^^ We have more on both stories in this morning\u2019s news well, below. <\/p>\n

#3- The Taiwan Business Forum in Riyadh kicks off today at the Riyadh International <\/strong>Convention a<\/strong>nd Exhibition Center.<\/strong> The Jeddah iteration of the event wrapped up yesterday with 21 Taiwanese companies poking the tires of sectors including tech, foodstuffs, and medical devices, Aleqtisadiah<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

WEATHER- Riyadh<\/strong> could see dusty winds with a daytime high of 41\u00b0C and a low of 28\u00b0C. Jeddah <\/strong>will see clear skies with a daytime high of 38\u00b0C and a low of 27\u00b0C, with Makkah <\/strong>set for a high of 45\u00b0C and a low of 29\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TOMORROW-<\/p>\n

#1- Miral Dental Clinics will make its debut <\/strong>on parallel<\/strong> market Nomu tomorrow<\/strong> in a direct listing, according to a Tadawul statement<\/a>. Shares will be allowed to trade within daily price fluctuation limits of \u00b130% and static price fluctuation limits of \u00b110%. The dental group had set a price guidance<\/a> of SAR 100 per share for its direct listing on Nomu, with trading limited to qualified investors.<\/p>\n

#2- Demo day for the final round of the Sanabil 500 MENA seed accelerator will take place <\/strong>tomorrow<\/strong> in Riyadh with seven finalists. Applications for the next batch are now open<\/a> and will close on 6 August 2024.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- The total value of vehicle ins. premiums paid in the Kingdom rose 38% y-o-y to <\/strong>a record high SAR 14.3 bn in 2023<\/strong>, according to Aleqtisadiah<\/a> analysis of data from Tadawul and the Saudi Central Bank. The rise comes on the back of recently-introduced regulations that require ins. coverage for all vehicles, as well as an increase in the total number of drivers on the road as more women get behind the wheel, the newspaper suggests.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- Saudi\u2019s<\/strong> trade surplus with GCC nations grew 38% y-o-y to SAR 14 <\/strong>bn in 1Q <\/strong>2024<\/strong>, Mubasher<\/a> reported, citing compiled data from statistics agency Gastat. This increase was driven primarily by the Kingdom\u2019s trade surplus with the UAE, which more than doubled y-o-y during the period to SAR 6.9 bn. Trade surplus with Bahrain rose 76.7% to SAR 6 bn while surplus with Qatar more than tripled to SAR 522 mn.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

#1- Cargo flights between Saudi and Nigeria are set to resume soon<\/strong>, Nigeria\u2019s Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo said in a post on X<\/a>. Officials discussed \u201cthe resumption of cargo flights operations between both countries that had gone comatose over the years\u201d during the Future Aviation Forum last week in Riyadh, Keyamo said. Saudi had suspended flights<\/a> to and from Nigeria during the pandemic in 2021, and cargo service has never really returned.<\/p>\n

#2- <\/strong>The Saudi Roadway Code will be rolled out in three phases <\/strong>as officials look to standardize the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads across the Kingdom, state news agency SPA<\/a> reported. The breakdown:<\/p>\n