Good afternoon, friends, and welcome to the start of a new week. It’s a relatively calm Sunday morning — as is typically the case — with updates on Aramco’s secondary offering continuing to take the spotlight.

PLUS- We sat down with homegrown restaurant management player Foodics CEO and co-founder, Ahmad AlZaini, for a chat about his business and future financing and expansion plans.

^^ We have both these stories and more in this morning’s news well, below.

Before we get started: Do you enjoy EnterpriseAM Saudi? If so, the best thing you can do to help us is to hit “forward” on this email and send it to a friend with a suggestion that they subscribe, too, if they find it valuable.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Aramco’s newly sold shares will start trading on Tadawul today, after the final allocation of shares took place this past Friday. Excess subscription funds if any will be refunded by Tuesday, 11 June. We have more updates on the offering in this morning’s news well, below.

#2- Gulf foreign ministers are in Doha today to attend a GCC ministerial meeting to review the implementation of a declaration agreed during the Doha summit last December, state news agency SPA reported. They will also review reports by the GCC ministerial and technical committees related to joint Gulf action and strategic ties between GCC nations and global counterparts and blocs.

ALSO- GCC ministers will hold two separate meetings with Turkey and Yemen, according to SPA. The GCC-Turkey meeting will focus on a joint action plan and bolstering cooperation across the board between Gulf nations and Turkey, while the GCC-Yemen meeting will focus on supporting the political process in Yemen.

WEATHER- It’s going to be another scorcher, complete with thunderstorms: Makkah will withstand a daytime high of 46°C which will drop towards 31°C at night with thunderstorms expected at some point. Riyadh will experience some heat as well with a daytime high of 44°C and a low of 29°C during the night. Jeddah is the cooler of the three, experiencing highs of 40°C and lows of 28°C.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Blinken is coming back to the region — with no stop in Saudi? US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and Jordan starting tomorrow until Wednesday to hold discussions on the latest ceasefire proposal laid out by US President Joe Biden, the State Department said. Saudi does not appear to be part of Blinken’s travel itinerary.

On the agenda: Blinken is set to “emphasize the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month.” Blinken will also attend a conference in Amman co-hosted by Jordan, Egypt and the UN on urgent humanitarian response to war-torn Gaza.

REFRESHER– Blinken said last month that Riyadh and Washington may only be “weeks away” from concluding a bilateral defense pact. However, US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney said last week that the agreement was still in the works as officials continue negotiating the terms. A timeline for the pact remains unclear, Ratney said, with a finalization of an agreement largely dependent on Israel’s approval of a two-state solution with Palestine as a precondition for the agreement along with a clearance from the US Senate.

PSAs-

#1- You can now make Eid plans: Businesses will be off for four days for Eid Al Adha starting Saturday, 15 June, the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry said in a post on X. Tadawul will be closed to trading after the closing bell on Thursday, 13 June and will reopen on Sunday, 23 June in observance of Eid Al Adha,

#2- Good news for travelers heading to Madinah: Passengers arriving at the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport will see a smoother entry into Madinah thanks to the newly inaugurated smart path solution, according to an Interior Ministry statement. The new system uses AI and biometric technology including face cameras to reduce the time and effort typically required for entry into the holy city. A similar system was rolled out at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh last year.

#3- Prospective investors in Al Baha’s planned coffee city project can bid for the project through the Furas platform, state news agency SPA reported. The site at the Qilwah governorate covers 5.5 mn sqm, while the site in Al Mandaq spans 581.7k sqm.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Showing the flag at the upcoming G7 summit: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman will join 12 other heads of state in Italy for the G7 summit on 13-15 June, Reuters reports. This is the Kingdom’s first invitation to the summit.

What’s on the agenda: Leaders are expected to chew over topics on artificial intelligence, energy, along with discussing challenges in Africa, China, and the Mediterranean.

#2- Amended rules for buyback, sale of listed companies shares up for national dialogue: The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has put forth proposed amendments to the buyback and sale of listed companies’ shares on the government’s survey platform Istitlaa for public consultation until Saturday 6 July. You can review the draft here (pdf).

What we know: The proposed amendments see a share buy-back cap in a single day increased to 25% of the average trading volume of a company’s shares in the five days preceding a transaction. This would be raised from a current cap of 10% of total quantity approved by the general assembly in one trading day. The CMA said the amendment aims to scrap a link between the number of shares bought back during a single trading day and the percentage of shares approved for buyback by the general assembly. The maximum limit for treasury share sales was also increased to 25% based on the same rationale from a current cap of 10%.

#3- Texas-based design firm HKS has set up shop in Saudi, expanding its office network to 29 cities globally, it said in a statement. HKS already boasts around 50 years of experience worth of design projects in the Kingdom, delivering work on the Arena in Diriyah and the AMAALA Triple Bay Master Plan among others, according to the statement.

#4- Subscription to Sedco Capital’s SAR 1 bn multi-asset shariah-compliant traded fund will run until Thursday, 27 June, a three-week extension from its original deadline of Thursday 6 June, Tadawul said in a statement on X.

REMEMBER- Sedco wants to place 70% of the fund with institutional investors and will build a “diversified portfolio of local and international private and public investments that are compatible with Shariah standards and controls.” It will invest up to 80% of its assets in local and global equities and “income assets” and another 20% in less-liquid “global private equity investments.”

#5- The Kingdom has been elected as a member of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the 2025-2027 term, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X. The Kingdom will aim through its membership to advance its sustainable development goals, digital transformation and others, the ministry said.

#6- We might be getting direct flight routes connecting Saudi and Russia with talks currently underway between authorities in both countries to establish direct flights, an official at the Russian Embassy in Riyadh told Aleqtisadiah. It is still too early to determine exact dates for the launch of direct flights between different airports in both countries, the official said.

#7- The Environment Ministry launched an environmental grants and incentives program aimed at boosting investments in the sector, state news agency SPA reported. The program will provide incentives and grants to small and medium sized enterprises, companies, research centers, and others. It aims to promote investments in the environment and meteorology sector and improve environmental adherence across various development sectors.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Some 30.8k additional Saudi employees joined the private workforce last month, the National Labor Observatory said in a post on X. The total number of private sector workers reached 11.37 mn — including 2.35 mn Saudi nationals comprising 1.38 mn men and 971.3k women. A total of 9 mn expats are employed in the private sector.

#2- Tasi snapped its longest losing weekly streak since the end of 2022 to close in the green last week at 11.5k points, Aleqtisadiah reported. The weekly rise was driven by a rally in listed banks.

OIL WATCH-

Oil prices slipped at market close on Friday on the back of US employment data lowering expectations of near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, which investors “weighed against” Opec+’s decision on the phaseout of voluntary cuts starting October, Reuters reported. Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to USD 79.62 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate slightly slipped to USD 75.53. Despite oil prices being supported by Opec+, crude still posted its third consecutive weekly loss with Brent down 2.5% and WTI dipping 1.9%. Meanwhile, US labor data showed an accelerated job surge, maintaining the Federal Reserve’s plans to begin lowering rates until September at the earliest.

REMEMBER- Opec+ could start pumping more oil into the market over the fall. The alliance will keep in place current production cuts of 3.66 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) until the end of this September, before beginning to “phase out the cuts of 2.2 mn bbl / d over the course of a year from October 2024 to September 2025.” They are scheduled to meet again on Sunday, 1 December 2024.

Also on the Opec+ front: Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the oil cartel could backtrack on planned oil production increases if the market was not strong enough, Reuters reported. Bin Salman criticized Goldman Sachs for having a bearish outlook on oil, which he said is based on incorrect data. Some media reports and forecasts “fiddle with the market,” The National quotes the minister as saying.

Opec+ can still work around market uncertainties: “It’s a year and a half agreement, it has all the mechanics, some of the mechanics are not new, we have also exercised it before… Especially this issue of pausing or reversing,” bin Salman said on the alliance previously pausing the pumping of more oil when necessary.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

An Israeli raid to release hostages is dominating headlines across the globe, but the detail that 210 Palestinians were killed in the operation targeting four hostages is tellingly absent from much of the international press. “To [release] four people, Israel killed dozens of innocent civilians,” a paramedic told Reuters, describing the bombardment that centered on a market place and mosque as a “massacre.”

Some corners of the international business press are focused once again on tech oligarch Elon Musk and Tesla shareholder opposition to his record USD 56 bn pay award, with a Norwegian sovereign wealth fund making clear its intention to vote no on the award when it comes up for a vote on Thursday.

AND- the European Central Bank slashed rates on Thursday for the first time in five years, just a day after the Bank of Canada also cut rates. But we won’t be seeing the Fed following suit anytime soon, say traders, who still see rates keeping steady when the Fed meets to review interest rates this week and then again when it meets in July.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The G7 Summit in which the Crown Prince is expected to take part will begin on Thursday, 13 June to Saturday, 15 June in Italy’s Borgo Egnazia resort in Apulia. Talks are set to focus on AI, energy, and addressing opportunities and challenges in Africa, China, and the Mediterranean.

Saudi Film Nights by the Film Commission will land in Australia this month with screenings of four Saudi films, state news agency SPA reported. Movie enthusiasts in Sydney and Melbourne can watch adventure movie Hajjan, short film Me & Aydarous, comedy film Alhamour H.A and animated short movie Saleeg between Wednesday, 26 June to Friday, 28 June.

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.

The Conference on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in Energy, Oil, and Gas will be held in GCC countries for the first time in 2025, coming off the signing of a partnership between the GCC Commercial Arbitration Center, the Scottish Arbitration Center, and the International Conference on Law, according to state news agency SPA. The conference will bring together experts in international arbitration to discuss the legal, geopolitical, economic, and security aspects and challenges related to energy disputes in the GCC.

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