{"id":88384,"date":"2024-08-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/08\/04\/finance-ministry-mulls-lifeline-for-saudi-binladin-group-as-kingdom-gears-up-for-world-cup-expo-construction-rush\/"},"modified":"2024-08-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-04T00:00:00","slug":"finance-ministry-mulls-lifeline-for-saudi-binladin-group-as-kingdom-gears-up-for-world-cup-expo-construction-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/08\/04\/finance-ministry-mulls-lifeline-for-saudi-binladin-group-as-kingdom-gears-up-for-world-cup-expo-construction-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Finance Ministry mulls lifeline for Saudi Binladin Group as kingdom gears up for World Cup, Expo construction rush"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Good morning, friends, and welcome to the first full business week of August. <\/strong>Can you believe we have just two weeks (or so) before the kids head back to school? We hope you enjoy the last two weeks of summer. <\/p>\n

UP FIRST- Is something about to happen with Saudi Binladin Group? <\/strong>The Finance Ministry is mulling a \u201cnumber of measures\u201d to \u201csupport\u201d the high-profile contractor with a view to \u201cstabilizing its financial position,\u201d state news agency SPA<\/a> writes. The ministry is exploring a range of measures including loans, help rescheduling payments owed to creditors, and the state taking a larger stake in the group. <\/p>\n

The message: <\/strong>The ministry sees a lifeline to Saudi Binladin as key to some components of Vision 2030, SPA noted, name-checking projects in Makkah and Madinah. The news comes as the Kingdom gears up for a big construction push to build stadiums<\/a>, infrastructure, and other projects for the 2034 Fifa World Cup and Riyadh Expo 2030. <\/p>\n

BACKGROUND-<\/strong> The Public Investment Fund has reportedly appointed Morgan Stanley<\/a> to advise on the acquisition of the 36% Saudi Binladin stake owned by the Finance Ministry. <\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meet Palestinian President <\/strong>Mahmoud Abbas in Riyadh today, <\/strong>the Times of Israel<\/a> reports, citing two unnamed senior Palestinian officials. The meeting comes just days after Israel\u2019s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran triggered threats of retaliation by Tehran and its ally Hezbollah. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- Qualified investors will be able to place their orders for the Nomu IPO of recruitment <\/strong>and HR agency Tharwah HR starting today<\/strong> through Sunday, 11 August. We have more on the transaction in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/p>\n

WEATHER- <\/strong>Riyadh will see a daytime high of 44\u00b0C today. It\u2019s almost as hot in Makkah, where the mercury will peak at 42\u00b0C, while Jeddah will see a high of 36\u00b0C and a low of 30\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

\n

HAPPENING TOMORROW-<\/p>\n

Bookbuilding for <\/strong>ASG Plastic Factory\u2019s IPO<\/a><\/strong> on Nomu wraps up tomorrow.<\/strong> The plastics manufacturer is taking a 10.6% stake to Tadawul\u2019s parallel market and has said it will price the offering at SAR 40-44 per share. The final allocation of shares will take place on Sunday, 11 August.<\/p>\n

\n

PSAs- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- <\/strong>Car <\/strong>rental agencies are not allowed to hold onto customers\u2019 official documents<\/strong> and shouldn\u2019t retain copies of them, either, the Transport General Authority said in a post on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n

#2- Italian national carrier ITA Airways launched a Rome-Jeddah route with three weekly <\/strong>round <\/strong>trips<\/strong>, it said in a statement (pdf)<\/a>. ITA operated its first flight from Rome-Jeddah last Thursday. This is the airline\u2019s second Saudi destination, after launching direct flights between Riyadh and Rome in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n

#3- Flynas is looking for pilots with experience flying Airbus A320<\/strong>, it said in a post on X<\/a>. The budget carrier made a USD 30 bn<\/a> order last month from Airbus, doubling the low-cost airline\u2019s total Airbus orders to 280. Applications can be submitted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

#4- Some 24 projects are up for grabs on the <\/strong>Furas<\/a><\/strong> platform: <\/strong>18 projects in Asir municipality, and 6 in Qassim municipality, state news agency SPA reported (here<\/a> and here<\/a>). The projects are in the sectors of commerce, sports and entertainment, and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

The Esports World Cup (EWC) Festival in Boulevard City has reeled in 1 mn visitors<\/strong> only four weeks into the eight-week event, according to a post on LinkedIn<\/a>. The EWC has so far handed out awards valued at USD 16.5 mn.<\/p>\n

\n

OIL WATCH-<\/p>\n

OPEC said on Friday it would leave oil production unchanged <\/strong>as it continues to \u201cmonitor the impact of its [current output cuts] on global markets,\u201d Bloomberg<\/a> notes. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Get Enterprise<\/b> daily <\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n

Subscribe here<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

***
<\/strong>DID YOU KNOW that we also cover <\/strong>Egypt<\/a><\/strong> and the <\/strong>UAE<\/a><\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Were you forwarded this email? <\/strong>Tap or click here<\/a> to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday before 7am Riyadh time \u2014 without charge, thanks to our friends at Cenomi.
***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

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

No single story leads the front pages of the global business press this morning <\/strong>as we disgest a busy weekend of news on both the business and politics fronts. <\/p>\n

The rundown: <\/strong><\/p>\n