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TOURISM-
The Tourism Ministry highlighted potential investments in Saudi’s tourism sector with several unnamed global investors at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. They highlighted a new tourism investment program unveiled last month to facilitate doing business and attracting local and foreign investors.
ICYMI- The Tourism Investment Enablers Program (TIEP) includes regulatory reforms for tourism licensing depending on type and scale of operations and reduced fees. It aims to lure in investments of up to SAR 42 bn (c. USD 11 bn) with inflows of SAR 16 bn to GDP by 2030.
REMEMBER- The ministry recently doubled its target for 2030, hoping now to be host to 150 mn tourist trips after it hit its target last year ahead of schedule. The new 2030 target sees 80 mn by domestic travelers and 70 mn by international travelers.
DEBT WATCH-
Nomu-listed National Building and Marketing has renewed a nine-month SAR 85 mn shariah-compliant credit facility with Alinma Bank to finance its working capital, it said in a regulatory filing to Tadawul. The Riyadh-based group manufactures and installs construction materials including glass, aluminum and iron.
ENERGY-
Caribbean island St. Kitts and Nevis secured USD 40 mn soft loan from the Saudi Fund for Development on the sidelines of IMF / World Bank spring meetings, state news agency SPA reports. The funds are earmarked for the construction of a 18 MW dual-fuel power generation station.
MANUFACTURING-
GameChange Solar + JZNEE to build 3 GW component production facility in Saudi: US-based solar tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar (GCS) and Chinese renewables firm Jiangsu Zhenjiang New Energy Equipment (JZNEE) will partner on building a 3 GW capacity tracker manufacturing facility in Dammam, with hopes to expand to 5 GW, according to a statement. The components produced — including actuators, node controllers, and drive systems — will be used for GCS’s Genius Tracker projects, the statement said, without naming any specific projects. The facility is expected to be operational by June.
LOCALIZATION-
Tadawul-listed telecoms operator Zain has unveiled a new fleet management system that’s 100% locally produced, the company said in a press release. The new service offers businesses a real-time GPS tracking option on their logistics operations, allowing them to optimize travel routes and curb fuel consumption. The monitoring solution is connected to a local cloud-based platform.
FINANCIAL SERVICES-
The Saudi Economic and Development Securities Co. has been cleared to offer its SEDCO Capital Multi Asset Traded Fund units on Tadawul as a close-ended traded fund, a statement from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) read. The fund, which has a capital of SAR 1 bn, invests in real estate.
