Good morning, wonderful people. We have a reasonably light issue for you this morning as we prepare for an extended weekend here at Enterprise World Headquarters™.

** PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM Saudi is off tomorrow (Thursday, 4 July). We take a small handful of publication breaks in summer, around holidays, and in the final week of the year to retool and plan new things. We’re doing that tomorrow and will be back in your inbox on Sunday morning at the usual time.

UP FIRST- Confirmation that 155 civil servants have been arrested on corruption charges has sent shockwaves through a number of government ministries. Investigators from the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (better known as Nazaha) took 155 government employees into custody last month in some 924 investigations, the Saudi Gazette reports citing Nazaha.

The allegations: The officials face a range of charges for alleged financial crimes including bribery, abuse of power, forgery, and money laundering. Some of those arrested have since been released on bail.

The ministries: Interior, health, education, housing, commerce, transport and logistics and culture as well as municipal, rural affairs and housing.

THE MESSAGE- The palace has been sending clear messages that graft (in the US sense of the word) won’t be tolerated as the government spends bns of SAR on economic growth and diversification projects. It has stepped up news coverage of arrests and regulatory enforcement and taken a high-profile heads, including the arrest of then-Royal Commission for AlUla chief Amr AlMadany in January.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The eight-week Esports World Cup will open today and run through Sunday, 25 August Riyadh’s Boulevard City. It will see the world’s best esports clubs competing for a pool of USD 60 mn — the largest purse in esports.

WEATHER- Expect hazy sunshine in Riyadh with a daytime high of 43°C. Madinah is set for windy weather with a high of 40°C, while Jeddah can expect daytime high of 41°C.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Tomorrow is the last day for property owners in five Riyadh neighborhoods to register their assets without threat of a fine, the Real Estate General Authority (Rega) said in a statement.

You can still register a property after the deadline passes, Rega said, but could be face a fine.

The neighborhoods in question: New entries in the national Real Estate Registry (RER) include Al Hada and areas in Sidra, Al Shuala, Al Fursan, and Al Nukhba.

BACKGROUND- The RER is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund and aims to establish a real estate registry across the Kingdom to make it easier for individuals and corporations to know who has a clear title to a property when buying or selling.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT-

Narrowing the gap in GDP per capita between different regions of the Kingdom could boost the economy: Market consultant Arthur D. Little suggested in its latest viewpoint report (pdf) that closing the GDP per capita gap between established centers such as Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah and growth centers such as Aseer and Al Qassem by only 10% could generate SAR 27 bn additional contribution to GDP every year.

IN CONTEXT- Annual GDP per capita in major urban centers averages around SAR 107k, while in growth centers it’s around SAR 73k.

It’s easier said than done: The report outlines five major enablers for this ambitious target including developing local market competitive advantages, devising a clear governance framework, developing talent, along with financing infrastructure projects, and fresh investment incentives

DATA POINTS-

Loan guarantees to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) under the Kafala program jumped 4.6% y-o-y in 1H 2024 to SAR 6 bn, according to local media reports (here and here), citing data from Kafala. The program backed loans worth SAR 8, an 11.7% increase over the first half of last year.

About Kafala: Kafalah is a loan guarantee program for SMEs that seeks to facilitate their access to financing products. It primarily targets SMEs that have the growth potential, yet lack the necessary collateral to secure loans from financial institutions. Kafalah offers 10 products to SMEs (You can find the details for each product here).

PSA-

June 2024 tax filing deadlines, per the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority:

  • Wednesday, 10 July: Deadline to file withholding tax returns for June 2024;
  • Monday, 15 July: Last day to submit excise tax returns for May and June 2024;
  • Wednesday, 31 July: Deadline to file VAT for June and for 2Q 2024.

And a friendly reminder: Businesses have six more months to submit their tax returns if they want to take advantage of a tax-fine waiver scheme put in place by Zatca. It has extended the deadline to file to 31 December, 2024.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Picking up exactly where we left off yesterday, the global business press remains squarely focused on fallout from the US presidential debate and a court ruling on Trump’s presidential immunity.

Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hushmoney trial was delayed to 18 September, only weeks before US voters go to the poll, Reuters reports. The delay comes after the controversial Supreme Court ruling on his immunity from prosecution for “official acts” while in office. At question is whether the judge will now have to throw out evidence that bolstered prosecutors’ case.

Meanwhile, Biden is still blaming his debate performance jet lag as more Democrats raise concerns around his health and ability to serve a second term. See:

The bottom line: As Biden digs in, some top Democrats want him out of the race this week, writes CNN.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- It looks like a Paramount-Skydance merger is still on the cards despite earlier bids falling through. Shareholders have agreed with Paramount’s parent firm, National Amusements, on new merger terms that will see Skydance pay some USD 1.75 bn for the sale. The news sent Paramount’s shares up 9% in after hours trading. (CNBC | Reuters | WSJ)

AND- Tesla’s shares also rose 10% yesterday on better-than-expected deliveries.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

This year’s edition of security-focused expo Intersec Saudi Arabia will run from Tuesday, 1 October to Thursday, 3 October at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

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