Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a packed issue. Officials reassured investors yesterday that they’re not scaling back their gigaproject ambitions, though they hinted at the possibility that some see timelines stretched out, calling them “modular.” That’s in line with guidance from Finance Minister Mohamed Al Jadaan during last fall’s budget process, when officials could choose to pace-out components of some projects.

AND- We have updates on two Tadawul IPOs, including our first rundown on labor agency Smasco after the release yesterday of its prospectus.

^^ All of this and more in this morning’s news well, below.

THE BIG STORY here at home: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the Kingdom is working with its global partners to help “reach a resilient global economy,”state news agency SPA reported yesterday. He said Saudi has provided direct support and made investments in development to help promote economic and financial stability across multiple economies. His statements came during a special dialogue session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting in Riyadh.

^^ We have full coverage of the second and final day of the forum at the top of this morning’s news well, below.

BUT FIRST- On brand in so many ways: Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan was spotted driving a Lucid-branded luxury EVwith his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts on their way to a US ministerial consultative meeting for Gaza in Riyadh, Al Arabiya reported.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Sama regional meeting on reserve management wraps today: The Saudi Central Bank (Sama) is holding a high-level regional meeting on reserve management in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements, state-run SPA reports. The meeting, held in Riyadh, kicked off yesterday and wraps up today.

Automechanika Riyadh opens today and runs through this Thursday, 2 May at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The annual trade fair will showcase the automotive industry’s latest advances and innovations.

Also today: The US Federal Reserve kicks off a two-day monetary policy meeting. By late tomorrow, we could be a bit wiser on where the Fed’s head is at right now on when it might start cutting interest rates.

WEATHER- Thundershowers in Riyadh and Al Taif are expected today with a high of 28°C and a low of 19°C. Makkah too with a high of 34°C and a low of 25°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- US investment giant BlackRockis set to host a “private” gathering in Riyadh as the asset manager solidifies its footing in Saudi and the government continues to burnish the case it makes to foreign investors, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The event — which BlackRock is hosting with the Finance Ministry — is set to highlight potential investments in the Kingdom for key corporate executives and regional investors. “There is significant interest from our clients in the many investment [possibilities] in Saudi Arabia, arising from the continued economic transformation in the Kingdom,” the business information service quotes a BlackRock spokesperson as saying.

Who we can expect to see: Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir Al Rumayyan and Energy Minister Prince Abdeulaziz bin Salman are set to speak at the event.. They will later join BlackRock CEO Larry Fink for talks on potential investments in Saudi, the sources told Bloomberg. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could make an appearance at the private event, some of the sources said. It’s unclear when the event is due to take place.

REMEMBER- BlackRock is said to be on an “aggressive hunt for growth in Saudi Arabia,” with Fink coming to town multiple times per year. The firm’s 20-person Saudi team — the biggest among its peers and challengers — is “embedding itself in different parts of the country’s institutions and capital markets,” the business information service writes.

#2- Neom has invested some SAR 2.5 bn (c. USD 675 mn) to date in foreign companies, with most of the capital deployed focused on mobility technology, Asharq Business cites Neom Deputy CEO Ryan Fayez as saying at an event yesterday. They include a USD 175 mn investment in German flying taxi maker Volocopter and multiple rounds of funding from the Neom Investment Fund in hydrogen-electric aircraft developer ZeroAvia.

Neom is all-in on non-traditional mobility solutions: Volocopter’s eVTOLs will be essential to the mega city’s smart and sustainable multimodal mobility system, which will be fully powered by renewables. It is also building a USD 8.4 bn green hydrogen facility — slated to be the world’s largest of its kind.

#3- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will set up a regional office in Riyadhunder a freshly-penned partnership with the Health Ministry, it said in a statement. The office will help implement a plan to eradicate polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where polio is endemic. Saudi has written a USD 500 mn ticket to push forward the foundation’s anti-polio drive. Separately, the Kingdom has earmarked USD 100 mn to support a development initiative that aims to reduce poverty in 33 of the least wealthy Islamic Development Bank member countries.

#4- Luxembourg-based air freight operator Cargolux has chosen Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport as its HQ for air freight operations in Saudi, Aleqtisadiah quotes Transport and Logistics Minister Saleh Al Jasser as saying. He did not provide further details on when operations would be launched or the fleet set to be used by Cargolux. Authorities are also planning to establish logistics freezones at Dammam and Jeddah airports similar to the one at Riyadh Airport, Al Jasser said.

#5- A Malta-flagged container ship was reportedly hit by three Houthi missiles while traveling to Jeddah from Djibouti, Reuters reports, citing British maritime security firm Ambrey. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed the explosion near the vessel and assured safety of the crew, while Ambrey suggested the ship was targeted due to its operator’s trade relations with Israel.

#6- Sabic aims to convert 1 mn tons of waste into feedstock by 2030, Mubasher reported, citing statements by Sabic CEO Abdulrahman Al Faqih during a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting yesterday. “We have adopted an alternative energy [source] from plastic waste, which we have used to begin manufacturing petrochemicals. We aim to have 1 mn tons by 2030,” he said. He highlighted Sabic’s commitment to sustainability, saying that the leading petrochem firm was able to slash its carbon footprint by 12.7% last year under a goal to reach net zero by the end of the decade.

DATA POINT-

Assets held by real estate investment trusts grew 34% y-o-y in value terms to SAR 164.2 bn in 4Q 2023, the highest level they’ve been at in 15 quarters, according to Aleqtisadiah data. The newspaper attributes the increase to the number of participants in the asset class reaching a record of 61.1k in 2023 — that’s 66% of the total number of people who have bought into any investment trust in the same period.

OIL WATCH-

Asian buyers may be looking at higher crude prices from the Kingdom in June, Reuters reports, citing traders. Saudi Arabia is reportedly mulling a USD 0.70-0.90 per-barrel hike that would bring the prices of most of its crude grades to a five-month high.

In context: The price hikes come as market supply remains tight, Reuters notes, with prompt prices exceeding futures. The traders Reuters surveyed expect official selling prices of Arab Light, Arab Medium, and Arab Heavy to spike, “supported by tight supply amid OPEC+ cuts and robust fuel oil margins.”

PSAs-

Taxpayers not yet selected for integration in the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca) electronic invoicing Fatoora portal will be notified six months in advance of a set period for their integration, Zatca said in a post on X. The e-invoicing rollout began in late 2021.

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DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt and the UAE?

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Gaza leads the front pages of the global business press, with hope rising in some quarters that an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement may be near.

Could fresh talks begin as soon as today in Cairo? Israel has reportedly agreed to send a team of negotiators, and Hamas said it is “studying” a ceasefire proposal, but hasn’t yet confirmed it will participate.

The downside risk: An unconfirmed report by Egyptian broadcaster Al Qahera News claims the Hamas delegation left Cairo overnight and will respond in writing to the proposal (watch, runtime: 0:22).

The hope: We could see something along the lines of a 40-day ceasefire in Gaza and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in return for the release of c. 33 Israelis held by Hamas. The exact details vary from report to report.

Antony Blinken sounded like a hawker in Khan El Khalili as he told Hamas to accept Israel’s “extraordinarily generous” offer, hinting it wouldn’t be on the table for long. The US Secretary of State is expected to leave Riyadh for Jordan and Israel, staying close to the region after meeting yesterday with Arab foreign ministers. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry would say only that he’s “hopeful.”

The spin: Israel has “significantly softened” its stance.

Joe Biden put in calls to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to push forward the talks, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken met yesterday in Riyadh with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (We have more on Biden and Prince Mohamed in this morning’s Diplomacy section, below.)

MEANWHILE- US politicians are circling the wagons and threatening the International Criminal Court “with US retaliation” if it goes ahead with plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the conduct of the war in Gaza. Some lawmakers are already preparing legislation that would make the sanctions real. The Biden administration has claimed the ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over events in Gaza and said that arrest warrants could stop movement toward a ceasefire.

AND- At least 20 lawyers in the Biden administration are breaking ranks with the White House, calling on the president to block further arms shipments to Israel.

AWAY FROM GAZA- Worries are mounting about the chances of mass killing in Darfur. | Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is not resigning. | The FT’s obsession with Chinese spies continues.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- All Dubai government entities will appoint chief AI officers as part of a new AI blueprint aimed at adding AED 100 bn from digital transformation to the emirate’s economy, according to an X post by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. The blueprint will also see the emirate introduce a comprehensive program geared towards attracting data centers, AI company licenses, as well as AI incubators, the crown prince said, without disclosing further details.

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