{"id":90403,"date":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/10\/10\/riyadh-season-kicks-off-this-weekend\/"},"modified":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","slug":"riyadh-season-kicks-off-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2024\/10\/10\/riyadh-season-kicks-off-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Riyadh Season kicks off this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, everyone, and happy THURSDAY.<\/strong> We\u2019re rounding out the week with a much calmer news flow compared to yesterday, although there\u2019s still plenty to keep things interesting. Leading our news well this morning is Modern Mills securing a SAR 871 mn murabaha facility from Saudi National Bank to restructure its debts. <\/p>\n

BUT FIRST- <\/strong>King Salman has recovered from lung inflammation<\/strong>, medical tests confirmed, state<\/a>news agency (SPA)<\/a> reports. The story got ink from Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/p>\n

<\/a> Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih is in Islamabad today<\/strong>, leading a high-level delegation scheduled to discuss cooperation with Pakistani officials across several sectors. The minister and the accompanying delegations are expected to meet with officials from the energy, IT, communications, food security and research, and industries and production sectors, Pakistani news outlet Samaa<\/a> reports, citing sources it said are in the know. Multiple investment agreements are likely to be finalized after the discussions.<\/p>\n

On tomorrow\u2019s agenda<\/strong>: The delegation will meet with Pakistan\u2019s military leadership, and tour the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park.<\/p>\n

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\u26a0\ufe0fWEATHER WARNING-<\/strong> Al Taif, Maysan, Adham, and Al Ardiyat in the Makkah Province,<\/strong> as <\/strong>well as Al Baha, Aseer, and Jazan will see moderate to heavy rainfall<\/strong>, coupled with strong winds and possible hailstorms until Sunday, according to a warning<\/a> issued by the General Directorate of Civil Defense on X. Meanwhile, the Eastern Region, Madinah, and some areas in Makkah will see light to moderate rainfall.<\/p>\n

OVER THE WEEKEND-<\/p>\n

The capital city is gearing up for a busy weekend<\/strong>:<\/strong> Riyadh Season<\/a> is set to kick off with the<\/a>Crown Showdown<\/a>, featuring boxing heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, as well as Shakur Stevenson versus Joe Cordina at the Battle of the Giants<\/a> this Saturday. The events \u2014 which will be held at the Kingdom Arena \u2014 have drawn global attention to the ever-growing domestic sports scene.<\/p>\n

MEANWHILE-<\/strong> The three-day Global Logistics Forum<\/a> will host key discussions on the future of global trade, as experts from various sectors gather in Riyadh to give their two cents on critical supply chain issues, including international tensions, economic instability and climate change. <\/p>\n

PSA- <\/p>\n

<\/a> Beneficiaries of the Sakani program can now extend their real estate financing<\/strong> repayment for up to 30 years<\/strong> under the Real Estate Development Fund\u2019s new Tamkeen initiative, according to a statement<\/a>. The move aims to boost beneficiaries\u2019 purchasing power and provide more flexible financing options.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> Some <\/strong>20 Canadian companies expressed their interest in investing in Saudi\u2019s tech and<\/strong> digital<\/strong> sectors<\/strong>, state news agency SPA<\/a> reported. The identities of the companies, which signaled their interest during a meeting organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers yesterday, were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

#1- Saudi\u2019s trade surplus with the US fell 33.7% y-o-y to SAR 420 mn in August<\/strong>, Mubasher<\/a> reports, citing US Census Bureau data. The Kingdom\u2019s exports to the USA fell 17.9% to SAR 4.2 bn during the period, while its imports from the US decreased 18.6% to SAR 3.8 bn. <\/p>\n

#2- <\/strong>Madinah welcomed 14.1 mn visitors in 2023, up 72% y-o-y<\/strong>, the Al Madinah Region Development Authority said on X<\/a>. Tourist spending at the holy site surged to more than SAR 49.7 bn during the period while average stays by tourists stood at around 10 days. <\/p>\n

SPORTS-<\/p>\n

The Metropolitano Stadium is now the Riyadh Air Metropolitano: <\/strong>Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Metropolitano Stadium will be renamed Riyadh Air Metropolitano after Saudi Arabia\u2019s second flag carrier Riyadh Air bought the naming rights to the stadium until 2033, according to a press release<\/a>. The venue has been called Civitas Metropolitano since 2022 under an agreement with the Spanish real estate developer. The LaLiga club will reportedly bag between EUR 250-300 mn from the title sponsorship, according to the Madrid-based outlet Expansi\u00f3n<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OIL WATCH-<\/p>\n

Kazakhstan continues to flout Opec+ production limits: <\/strong>Oil production at Tengiz, Kazakhstan\u2019s largest oil field, hit a record 699k bpd this month as production at the site continues to ramp up following the conclusion of maintenance in August, Reuters<\/a> reports citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The boost in output makes it less likely that Kazakhstan \u2014 which was cited by the oil producing cartel along with Iraq and Russia for lack of compliance<\/a> in a meeting earlier this month \u2014 is adhering to Opec+ limits. <\/p>\n

And numbers seem to confirm that Kazakhstan cheated in September:<\/strong> Meanwhile, Kazakhstan\u2019s production for the previous month exceeded its 1.468 mn bpd limit by some 170k bpd, the newswire said citing its own tally. The country is set to swing back to compliance this month as some oil fields go offline for maintenance, but excess production is expected to resume once more in November as maintenance efforts wrap up. <\/p>\n

Are we seeing the last day of Opec+ voluntary cuts?<\/strong> Continued lack of compliance could push Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members to abandon oil cuts altogether<\/a>, RBC Capital\u2019s Helima Croft had told Reuters earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Russian Deputy PM Alexander Novak expressed uncertainty about <\/strong>future market <\/strong>demand,<\/strong> saying it was \u201ctoo early,\u201d to determine if a plan to wind back some of the cuts and reintroduce 180k bbl \/ d<\/a> of production was justified by market conditions, Reuters<\/a> reported yesterday. <\/p>\n

REFRESHER- <\/strong>Opec+ opted to stay the course<\/a> on its planned production targets at its policy meeting last week, including plans to phase out supply cuts by December. The meeting also saw the Saudi-led cartel say that it was increasing its scrutiny of members that have a patchy compliance record. The group is scheduled to reconvene on Sunday, 1 December to decide whether to hold steady or adjust according to market conditions.<\/p>\n

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

Hurricane Milton in the US and the looming Israeli retaliation on Iran <\/strong>are still getting top billing in the foreign press, as dozens were killed by Israeli airstrikes in an escalation of violence in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton is approaching landfall as it makes its way to Florida, though it has dropped to a Category 4 storm. (France24<\/a> | Reuters<\/a>) <\/p>\n

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke yesterday<\/strong> as Biden looks to rein in the latter\u2019s response to Iran\u2019s airstrikes on Israel, and while it was the first phone call in over a month, there were no clear conclusions on next steps. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised a \u201clethal, precise, and surprising\u201d retaliation against Iran, Reuters<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n

The US is trying to propose a milder response<\/strong>, like a fresh round of sanctions against Iran, sources told Bloomberg<\/a>. <\/p>\n

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Several stories are getting attention: <\/strong><\/p>\n