{"id":87574,"date":"2024-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/07\/07\/aramco-says-a-report-its-talking-to-santos-is-inaccurate-and-stcs-bid-for-altice-portugal-has-reportedly-failed\/"},"modified":"2024-07-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-07T00:00:00","slug":"aramco-says-a-report-its-talking-to-santos-is-inaccurate-and-stcs-bid-for-altice-portugal-has-reportedly-failed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/07\/07\/aramco-says-a-report-its-talking-to-santos-is-inaccurate-and-stcs-bid-for-altice-portugal-has-reportedly-failed\/","title":{"rendered":"Aramco says a report it\u2019s talking to Santos is \u201cinaccurate\u201d and Stc\u2019s bid for Altice Portugal has reportedly failed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends, and welcome to a busy news day<\/strong> packed with M&A and investment news and an interview with Steve Lutes, the US Chamber of Commerce\u2019s lead for our part of the world, on the state of play in the bilateral relationship. Let\u2019s jump right in: <\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/p>\n

It\u2019s wholesale and retail week<\/strong>, organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at), the authority said in a statement<\/a>. Networking between business owners and government officials is one of the key features of the event, which will see activities at SME support centers in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, and Khobar running through Thursday, 11 July. You can register here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Speaking of SMEs: They\u2019re enjoying more access to credit. <\/strong>Credit facilities to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Kingdom rose 16.3% y-o-y in 1Q 2024 to SAR 293.4 bn, according to Sama\u2019s monthly bulletin (pdf)<\/a>. Banks provided 94% of that figure, while non-bank financial services firms accounted for the rest. <\/p>\n

WEATHER- Expect hazy skies in <\/strong>Riyadh with a daytime high of 42\u00b0C<\/strong>, while Makkah will see the mercury will peak at 43\u00b0C. Expect some wind in Madinah today and a high of 44\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

M&A WATCH-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Oil giant Aramco said media reports of it exploring a bid for Australian oil and gas <\/strong>firm <\/strong>Santos were<\/strong> \u201cinaccurate,<\/strong>\u201d <\/strong>Reuters<\/a> reported, citing an emailed statement. The remarks by an Aramco spokesperson came after Bloomberg<\/a> reported Aramco and the UAE\u2019s Adnoc were separately considering bids for Santos, company, which has liquefied natural gas projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste, and a market cap of c. USD 17.4 bn<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- Stc\u2019s bid to buy Altice\u2019s Portugal operations has reportedly failed. <\/strong>Telecoms giant stc and Patrick Drahi, the owner of European telecom group Altice, reportedly ended talks that would have seen stc buy Altice\u2019s telecoms business in Portugal, Portuguese business newspaper Eco<\/a> reports. Talks reportedly collapsed after the two parties disagreed on the final price, Eco cites sources as saying. Stc submitted two months ago the highest binding offer<\/a> to acquire Altice Portugal, which Eco estimates is worth c. USD 8 bn.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND- <\/strong>Interest from STC, which is 64% owned by the Public Investment Fund, and others come as Drahi looks to sell shares in a bid to pay down debt. Drahi was hoping to bag a lofty EUR 10 bn from the sale<\/a>, a price tag that scared off most potential buyers.<\/p>\n

PIF WATCH<\/p>\n

<\/a> USD 500 mn investment in Hong Kong: <\/strong>The Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed a non-binding MoU with financial services outfit Hong Kong Chaoshang Group<\/a> that could see the fund invest a total of USD 500 mn over a five-year period, according to a statement (pdf)<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s Chaoshang? <\/strong>The Hong Kong-listed firm focuses on trading, lending and factoring, and financial leasing. It has lined up a USD 100 mn convertible and a USD 400 mn loan. They now have three months to ink a definitive agreement. <\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the money going?<\/strong> Chaoshang would use the funds to support its working capital and expand its business, as well as \u201cundertake strategic initiatives including but not limited to investments into different industries such as mining and healthcare and \/ or other sectors as the opportunities arise.\u201d<\/p>\n

In context: <\/strong>Tadawul, the PIF, Aramco, and Neom are among the high-profile Saudi institutions that have led a steady charge to deepen business and investment ties between Saudi and China in the past 10 months or so. <\/p>\n

RETAIL WATCH-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- <\/strong>US private equity firm L Catterton <\/strong>is mulling the full exit of its stake in gourmet food <\/strong>brand<\/strong> Bateel<\/a><\/strong>, the grower and retailer of our favorite brand of dates, Bloomberg reports<\/a> citing people it says have knowledge of the matter. <\/p>\n

How much is in play? <\/strong>The PE firm, which is backed by global luxury fashion house LVMH, is reportedly working with UBS to sell a stake of nearly 20% stake. L Catterton had initially bought into Bateel back in 2015 in an international expansion push. <\/p>\n

And a capital increase? <\/strong>Bateel\u2019s majority shareholders, Al Sudairi family, may sell more shares in the company as it looks to drum up capital to fund growth plans, the sources said. No further information was provided. <\/p>\n

About Bateel: <\/strong>It started as a date farming business in 1936 before expanding to open boutiques for its premium dates and opening a number of cafes and restaurants here and globally.<\/p>\n

#2- BinDawood to sell franchise rights in Qatar:<\/strong> Tadawul-listed supermarket group BinDawood Holding has inked a non-binding MoU with Qatar-based Regional Group Company<\/a> to provide commercial franchise rights for the opening of eight branches under the \"BinDawood\" brand in Qatar, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul<\/a>. BinDawood provided no further information on when the supermarkets might open, how much the agreement might be worth, or whether it was taking a stake or offering technical assistance as part of the potential transaction. <\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

Senegal looks set to scrap a planned desalination project by renewables giant <\/strong>Acwa <\/strong>Power<\/strong>, Reuters<\/a> reported, citing statements by the West African country\u2019s Water and Sanitation Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Diey. \u201cThe price of water will become more expensive in the long run because of the technology used to produce it,\u201d the minister said in televised statements. \u201cI said that it [the project] is not going to happen.\u201d <\/p>\n

Dakar would be turning its back on <\/strong>what could have been<\/a><\/strong> the <\/strong>Subsahara's<\/strong> largest <\/strong>desalination plant.<\/strong> Acwa Power signed the contracts for USD 800 mn project back in March. <\/p>\n

OIL WATCH-<\/p>\n

#1- Aramco slashed the official selling price for sales to its Asian customers for a second <\/strong>consecutive month<\/strong>, Bloomberg<\/a> reported. <\/p>\n

#2- The Kingdom\u2019s overseas crude shipments hit a 10-month low in June <\/strong>at 168 mn barrels \u2014 about 5.6 mn barrels a day \u2014 as summertime demand for energy<\/a> peaks, Bloomberg<\/a> reports, citing vessel tracking data and other data providers. The figure for daily exports is only 250k barrels above the lowest level since the pandemic in 2020. Shipments of Saudi crude to China hit its lowest since mid-2020 with 1.27 mn barrels a day, with exports to India reporting its lowest since mid-2021.<\/p>\n

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Is the pace of investment in new production slowing? <\/strong>That\u2019s one way of interpreting the latest Baker Hughes Worldwide Rig Count Report<\/a>, which shows that: <\/p>\n