Good morning, wonderful people. You may be receiving today’s issue a bit late as our current email service provider has decided to have issues this morning. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and hope to be back to our regular schedule tomorrow morning.

UP FIRST- Washington could resume deliveries of offensive weapons to Saudi in the “coming weeks,” ending a three-year hiatus, the Financial Times reported, citing US officials it says have knowledge of the situation. While the resumption of sales is not directly related to an anticipated Saudi-US defense pact, the paper says, it suggests an agreement is imminent, in our view.

BACKGROUND- Officials in Riyadh and Washington are putting the final touches on a series of agreements including a security and defense pact and another that could see us get US assistance building out the domestic nuclear power industry. We expect a third agreement will cover artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Arab foreign ministers led by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan are in Brussels for talks with their 27 European Union counterparts. Expect Gaza to be the word of the day. The Arab FMs were in Paris over the weekend where they stressed the urgency of a ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

#2- The Smart Data and AI Summit gets underway in just a couple of hours at Riyadh’s JW Marriott Hotel. The two-day event will welcome some 40 keynote speakers, 300 “pre-qualified” experts in AI, IT and robotics from over 150 leading organizations in those fields to give their two cents on next-gen technology, digital transformation, smart urban development, the online economy, and the future of open data, among other issues.

Key speakers include:

  • Isa Truchet, senior advisor to the assistant director general at the Saudi Data and AI Authority;
  • Nayef Al-Otaibi, vice president and chief digital officer at Aramco;
  • Akram Nour, chief of digital transformation at the Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority;
  • Eyad Buhuaiga, chief data and digital strategy officer at Saudi Electricity;
  • Faisal AlNasser, chief information officer at Almarai.

IPO WATCH #1- Bookbuilding for the retail tranche of Riyadh-based Saudi Manpower Solutions (Smasco) closes today as its IPO on Tadawul’s main market pushes on. The institutional tranche of the labor agency’s IPO drew in SAR 115 bn in orders, making it 128x oversubscribed.

IPO WATCH #2- The final allocation of shares for Fakeeh Care Group is happening today, after its institutional offering closed with a 119x oversubscription rate. Fakeeh has priced the transaction at the top of the range at SAR 57.50 per share, which would give the business a market cap of SAR 13.3 bn at the start of trading. The pricing means Fakeeh is set to raise SAR 2.9 bn from the offering.

Sound smart: With more than one IPO in the market at the same time, strong oversubscription rates underline rising institutional appetite for new Saudi paper even as the Tadawul underperforms global markets: The all-share index is down 1% year to date and the MSCI Tadawul 30 is off5%, while US and European benchmarks are up 7-11% so far. Still, the TASI is doing better than the ADX (-7.8% for the year) and the DFM (-1.2%).

WEATHER- Riyadh could see scattered showers tomorrow with a daytime high of 41°C and a low of 27°C. Makkah is sunny with a high of 45°C and a low of 26°C. Meanwhile, Jeddah is still windy, bringing a daytime high of 36°C and a low of 27°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Mining could be coming to AlUla: The Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry has approved a mechanism with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to grant mining licenses within an area of the heritage site outlined by the RCU, the ministry said on X. RCU planners will consider specific areas of mineral reserves of important minerals and ores as they plan projects.

Licensing requirements: Companies looking to obtain licenses should present an environmental impact study, develop a plan for rehabilitation of the exploration site and preserve water, environment and wildlife, according to the statement.

#2- Nomu-listed Watani Iron Steel has submitted a request to the exchange to transfer to Tadawul’s main market after satisfying all the requirements, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. Watani has a market cap of SAR 501 mn, satisfying the SAR 300 minimum market cap requirement for issuers to list on the main market.

The requirements in the nutshell: Issuers must have done business for a minimum of three years under the same management, according to the exchange website. They must also take a minimum stake of 30% to market, and have at least 200 public shareholders. The move would also require Watani to start publishing quarterly and annual financial statements post-listing.

#3- An unnamed “commercial establishment” in Hafar Al Batin was forced to temporarily shut down its operations over suspected food poisoning, Hafr Al Batin Municipality said in a post on X. Health authorities have collected samples to determine the cause of a suspected outbreak in the city, the municipality said.

The government is sending a message on food safety: Earlier this month, officials ordered the recall of Bon Tum mayonnaise after it traced the Hamburgini-linked food poisoning outbreak to the condiment brand. The move comes after a laboratory analysis by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority identified clostridium botulinum bacteria in the mayo used by the local burger chain. One person reportedly died of food poisoning and more than 70 were made sick, with a number of them sent to the intensive care unit.

PSAs-

#1- Travelers coming to Saudi from Europe for Hajj are encouraged to receive the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement. The recommendation comes after the agency said it was monitoring 12 cases of pilgrims diagnosed with the invasive meningococcal disease after performing Umrah.

#2- The deadline to register for school bus services for the upcoming academic year is Monday, 10 June, Okaz reports. The deadline applies to all areas and schools across the country. Parents can register for the services via the Education Ministry’s Noor e-platform for SAR 200 per year. Students with disabilities and children from social security families are exempt from transportation fees.

DATA POINT-

The Kingdom’s fashion industry was valued at SAR 92.3 bn in the first quarter of 2024, small and medium enterprises regulator Monsha’at said in a statement. Spending on local brands came in at SAR 46.9 bn, while spending on imported fashion brands totalled SAR 27.4 bn.

SPORTS-

Al Hilal will go head to head against rival Al Nassr on Friday in the Saudi King’s Cup final in Jeddah. Al Hilal has its eyes on the treble after being officially crowned the Saudi Pro League title last week with an unbeaten streak and securing the Saudi Super Cup title last month. Officials are yet to specify when kickoff will take place.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a reasonably quiet morning in the global business press, as is often the case on Mondays — and even more so when it’s a long weekend: Markets are closed today in both the United States (Memorial Day) and the UK (spring bank holiday).

Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv yesterday for the first time since January in what defense analysts are saying is a demonstration of resilience, the Associated Press reports. Eight rockets were launched from Rafah and several were intercepted, the Israeli military said.

Israel, in turn, killed dozens in airstrikes on Rafah hours after Hamas’ attacks. At least 35 people were killed and dozens injured.

Negotiations due to resume in Cairo tomorrow: Another round of ceasefire and hostage swap negotiations is due to kick off in Cairo tomorrow, CNN and Reuters report, citing unnamed officials. Egyptian and Qatari mediators will lead the talks with US involvement.

Aid delivery resumes: Some 200 aid trucks and four fuel trucks departed from Egypt to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing yesterday, bypassing the Rafah crossing that has been closed for several weeks, Al Qahera News reports.

A bad morning for nervous flyers: The press is picking up on the idea that significant in-flight turbulence is becoming more common thanks to global warming after a dozen people were injured yesterday on a Qatar Airways flight that ran into turbulence over Turkey. The incident came just days after dozens were hurt in a similar Singapore Airlines incident. The story is all front pages this morning.

Signs of the times: Hedge fund managers are blaming slow fundraising on the slow pace of exits by their counterparts in private equity. Both rely on pension plans, foundations, and endowments for assets under management, but with PE exits slowing, limited partners have less cash to put into hedge funds and other asset classes, the Financial Times writes.

Keep an eye on: Closing arguments in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, which begin on Tuesday, and parliamentary elections in South Africa, which start on Wednesday.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Demo day for the final round of the Sanabil 500 MENA seed accelerator will take place this Wednesday, 29 May, in Riyadh with seven finalists. Applications for the next batch are now open and will close on 6 August 2024.

The #Growth Summit is set to kick off on Wednesday, 5 June, bringing together marketing, product and growth experts at the InterContinental in Riyadh. You can request your invite here.

The Global EV and Mobility Tech Forum will open its doors on Wednesday, 10 July to Thursday, 11 July at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will bring together policymakers, NGOs, and startups.

Saudi will host the UN Trade and Development Global Supply Chain Forum in 2026, according to a statement by Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani).

The World Water Forum will take place in Riyadh in 2027under the theme “Together for a better tomorrow,” state-run news agency SPA reports.

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