{"id":88589,"date":"2024-08-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/08\/11\/washington-rolling-back-weapons-sale-ban-agthia-plans-saudi-expansion\/"},"modified":"2024-08-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T00:00:00","slug":"washington-rolling-back-weapons-sale-ban-agthia-plans-saudi-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/08\/11\/washington-rolling-back-weapons-sale-ban-agthia-plans-saudi-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington rolling back weapons sale ban + Agthia plans Saudi expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.<\/strong> We\u2019re kicking off this week without a large volume of news, but the news we do have is rather significant. Leading this morning\u2019s news well is reports that Washington is lifting its three-year ban on weapons sales to the Kingdom, meaning sales could resume as early as next week. <\/p>\n

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WEATHER- <\/strong>Riyadh <\/strong>will see a high of 45\u00b0C and a low of 30\u00b0C today, while Jeddah <\/strong>could see more rain with a high of 38\u00b0C, and a low of 32\u00b0C. <\/p>\n

PSAs- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Applications are now open for the second phase of the CIT Ministry\u2019s <\/strong>Source Tech<\/a><\/strong> initiative<\/strong>, which is designed to support outsourcing companies, and freelancers, the ministry said on X<\/a>. Eligible companies will have access to training programs, while their employees will have financial support of up to SAR 100k each across a period of 24 months as long as their contract is still valid. Companies can submit their applications here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The initiative\u2019s first phase saw more than 15 centers launched across six regions in the <\/strong>Kingdom<\/strong>, providing outsourcing and tech services. These centers can also be used as headquarters for companies that get accepted, according to the ministry\u2019s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Proposed exec regs for off-plan sale + lease law:<\/strong> The Real Estate General Authority\u2019s proposed executive regulations for the Off-Plan Sale and Lease Law are up for public consultation on<\/a>Istitlaa<\/a> until Friday, 23 August. The regulations include, among other things, penalties for violating the law, including fines up to SAR 500k, removal from the developers' registry, revoked approvals, and activity bans.<\/p>\n

#3- Clamping down on corruption in gov\u2019t contracts:<\/strong> The General Authority for Competition handed down fines worth a total of SAR 77 mn to six contracting companies a total of SAR 77 mn on charges of collusion in government bids and tenders, it said in a statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n

#4- Some 12 investment projects are up for grabs in the Northern Borders Municipality<\/strong>, including a medical center, gas stations, and commercial spaces, Mubasher<\/a> reports. Investors have until Wednesday, 11 September, to submit their bids for the tenders on the Furas platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Agthia has earmarked AED 30-40 mn to expand its footprint in the Kingdom<\/strong>, the company\u2019s Snacking and Government Relations President Mubarak Al Mansouri told Mubasher<\/a>. The ADX-listed company is set to use the funds to expand its distribution network in Saudi next year. Agthia launched a SAR 92 mn protein manufacturing facility in Jeddah last month<\/a>, with a production capacity of up to 9k tons of manufactured protein over 9k sqm and export to more than 25 countries. <\/p>\n

!_InserLine_!<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- Aramco expects to reach financial close on its planned stake purchase in EIG\u2019s LNG <\/strong>unit<\/strong> MidOcean <\/strong>Energy this quarter<\/strong>, Argaam<\/a> quotes Aramco CEO Amin Nasser as saying in an investors\u2019 call. The oil giant agreed in September 2023<\/a> to acquire a USD 500 mn minority stake in MidOcean Energy.<\/p>\n

International expansion in the cards: <\/strong>The company will announce more investments in China this year or next, Nasser said without elaboration. South Korea and India are on the company\u2019s radar for potential investments, with expectations for potential tenders from Tokyo and Seoul, Nasser said, without providing further details. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? <\/strong>Aramco plans to increase its drilling rigs to 300 by the end of this year, and ramp up its gas operations by over 60% by 2030.<\/p>\n

!_InserLine_!<\/p>\n

#3- The local electric car market is expected to grow 6% annually until 2030<\/strong>, Aleqtisadiah<\/a> quotes Lucid Group COO Mark Winterhoff as saying. EV sales in the Kingdom are projected to reach between 210k-250k by that year, and is in line with the government\u2019s target to produce 500k vehicles per year with USD 50 bn in investments. The broader Middle East electric car market is forecasted to expand to USD 8 bn by 2028, up from its current USD 2.7 bn. <\/p>\n

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DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

#1- <\/strong>Remittances from expats living in the Kingdom rose 11.3% y-o-y to USD 3.2 bn in <\/strong>June, Arab News<\/a> reports, citing Saudi Central Bank figures. Meanwhile, remittances by Saudi nationals to other countries were down 1% y-o-y to SAR 5.1bn. <\/p>\n

#2- Cargo handled at Mawani\u2019s ports increased 9.1% y-o-y in July to 27.4 mn tons<\/strong>, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) said in a statement<\/a>. The number of import containers grew 15.7% y-o-y to 271.5k containers, while export containers declined 2.5% to 243.8k. Meanwhile, maritime traffic dropped 11.2% y-o-y last month, and the number of passengers dropped 32%, to 52.2k.<\/p>\n

#3- The entertainment industry is booming: <\/strong>The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) issued 7.3% more licenses y-o-y to 1.5k in 2Q 2024, it said in a statement<\/a>. Entertainment events saw a 130% y-o-y increase in the number of visitors to 16 mn.<\/p>\n

#4- We have enough dates to cover local demand and then some:<\/strong> Saudi\u2019s date production is sufficient to cover 124% of local demand, with production exceeding 1.6 mn tons, according to state news agency SPA<\/a>. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER-<\/strong> Date farmers, sellers, marketers, and buyers are now required to use a<\/a>centralized platform for trading<\/a> after the National Center for Palms and Dates launched a seasonal markets system. <\/p>\n

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SPORTS-<\/p>\n

Tottenham\u2019s Richarlison de Andrade will not be joining the Saudi Pro League this<\/strong> summer<\/strong>, despite receiving a lucrative offer, the Athletic<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

WHISPERS- FC Barcelona winger Raphinha has reportedly received an offer from Al<\/strong> Nassr worth EUR 100 mn <\/strong>which is triple his current salary, Barca universal<\/a> reported. However, FCBN<\/a> reports that the actual offer is about EUR 65 mn. Despite the offer, Raphinha has reaffirmed that he is not interested in leaving Barcelona.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s another day of no single story leading the conversation in the international business <\/strong>press<\/strong>, leaving us with a patchwork of headlines to sift through this morning: <\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s campaign said it was hacked yesterday<\/strong>, after Politico began receiving<\/a>authentic internal communication<\/a> documents late last month. The breach came from \u201cforeign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,\u201d a Trump campaign spokesperson said, pointing a finger of blame at Iran. (Reuters<\/a> | CNBC<\/a> | Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n

US junk loan funds faced their largest withdrawals since early 2020 amid recent market<\/strong> declines<\/strong>, with USD 2.5 bn pulled out in a week due to concerns over a potential economic slowdown. Most of these withdrawals came from ETFs, the Financial Times<\/a> writes.<\/p>\n

Israel killed nearly 100 Palestinians when it launched an airstrike on a school compound<\/strong> that was used as a shelter for displaced children and women early on Saturday morning. The attack \u2014 which came as the victims were gathering for Fajr prayers \u2014 has so far claimed the lives of more than 93 Palestinians, including 11 children and six women, according to Palestine\u2019s civil defense spokesperson. (Reuters<\/a> | Washington Post<\/a> | CNN<\/a> | Washington Post<\/a> | Guardian<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Calls for resumed ceasefire talks:<\/strong> The leaders of Egypt, the US, and Qatar called for an urgent meeting this Thursday, 15 August, in Doha or Cairo to resume ceasefire negotiations. \u201cThere is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement,\u201d they said in a joint statement<\/a>. The European Union also released a statement<\/a> supporting the call. (The Guardian<\/a> | ABC<\/a> | CBS<\/a> | FT<\/a> | Reuters<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry <\/strong>condemned<\/strong> the attack \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d and reiterated the necessity of putting an end to the \u201cunprecedented humanitarian crisis\u201d the Palestinian people are facing due to Israel\u2019s ongoing aggression. <\/p>\n

ELSEWHERE- <\/strong>Susan Wojcicki<\/strong>, former CEO of YoTube, died on Friday<\/strong> at the age of 56 due to lung cancer. (Financial Times<\/a> | Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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OLYMPICS- <\/p>\n

It was another eventful weekend at the 2024 Paris Olympics<\/strong>, especially for our part of the world with Egypt and Algeria securing two golds.<\/p>\n