Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a brisk but unremarkable morning for business news — and we expect three big international meetings to drive the news agenda over the next 24-48 hours.

We’re also looking forward to Avalon Pharma’s Tadawul debut tomorrow as bankers wrap the exchange’s second big share sale of the year, and we’re looking forward to seeing how Amiantit’s tradable rights issue goes — it also kicks off tomorrow.

Things happening today on which we expect to be reporting back to you tomorrow morning:

#1- Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Governor Ayman Al-Sayari will meet with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Brazil, where they’re attending a meeting of their Group of 20 counterparts, Reuters reports.

#2- The UN World Trade Organization is hosting its once-every-two-years ministerial in Abu Dhabi. Ministers will tackle everything from e-commerce and the WTO’s dispute resolution system to rules on e-commerce and trade in agriculture. The gathering runs through Thursday.

Speaking of Thursday: It’s a leap year. February has 29 days this year, making it a perfect time to watch this sappy classic.

#3- Egypt, Qatar to host two rounds of ceasefire talks: Cairo and Doha will host the latest round of talks for a truce in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of captives, Al Qahera News reports, citing an unnamed Egyptian official.

The “basic contours” of a hostage and ceasefire agreement have already been agreed uponduring recent negotiations and an agreement could be reached “in the coming days,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said yesterday.

MEANWHILE- Two weeks from today and it’s Ramadan.

So, when do we eat? Maghreb is at 6:01pm on the first day of Ramadan. We’ll have until 4:47am to sort out sohour before fajr prayers.

WEATHER– It’s shaping up to be a sunny day in Riyadh and Madinah with some scattered clouds in Makkah.

  • Riyadh: 23°C daytime / 12°C overnight
  • Makkah: 34°C daytime / 20°C overnight
  • Madinha: 28°C daytime / 15°C overnight

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Public Investment Fund wants to ramp up its assets under management overseas to make it account for 20-25% of its total assets, Argaam reported yesterday, citing statements by fund governor Yasir Al Rumayyan at the FII Priority conference in Miami last week. Al Rumayyan said the PIF’s assets abroad currently account for less than 25% of the fund’s total assets, adding that more than 70% of its AUM were local investments.

#2- The General Authority for Competition (GAC) has reportedly handed retailer Panda an SAR 400k fine for violating the Competition Law, Mubasher reported yesterday, citing a statement by the competition watchdog. The information service writes that the authority found Panda had failed to file notice that it planned to acquire an IT services firm.

What the law says: Article 7 of the Competition Law stipulates that parties “seeking to join an economic concentration transaction” notify GAC at least 90 days prior to its completion. The stipulation is invoked, according to article 12, if one of the parties to the transaction has total sales above SAR 100 mn per year.

#3- Our friends at Value Makers Studio (VMS) and MENA and Africa edtech platform EYouth have launched a program to boost entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, they said (pdf) yesterday. The three-month Saudipreneur program, which VMS and EYouth say is the largest of its kind here, includes entrepreneurship training, mentoring and guidance sessions.

#4- Investment management firm Musharaka Capital is eyeing the launch of 13 real estate funds this year through a private placement, Managing Director Ibrahim Alassaf told Argaam in an interview yesterday. The funds will focus on real estate in Riyadh, he said. Alassaf also said that his firm plans to increase the value of its assets under management by 50% this year from last year’s SAR 5 bn.

BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a (fairly typical) slow Monday in the global business press. A rebound in (developed market) housing prices leads the front page of the Financial Times, while the Wall Street Journal has split its focus, writing that Donald Trump is “on the brink of securing” the Republican nomination and that Nvidia is on the cusp of entering a new, much larger market — with significantly more competition. Reuters also has Trump on its mind, while Bloomberg can’t really decide what’s news, leading the homepage with a spot report on the price of oil.

For our fellow tech nerds: Lenovo earlier this morning showed off a prototype of a laptop with a see-through screen and a no-key keyboard (ugh), while Apple is said to be preparing for a March event. Look for the tech giant to unveil its first iPad Pro redesign in years, a new iPad Pro keyboard that looks more Mac-like, and MacBook Airs with M3 processors.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Human Capability Initiative will open on Wednesday, 28 February in Riyadh. It wraps on Thursday.

Riyadh will host the International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in the Arabian Peninsulafrom Monday, 4 March to Wednesday, 6 March. The conference will address regional challenges caused by sand and dust storms and discuss monitoring systems, mitigation strategies, economic and infrastructural impacts, and more.

Tickets are on sale for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, scheduled for Jeddah from 7-9 March.

Riyadh will host a World Economic Forum special meeting on 28-29 April.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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