id: 2024-09-01-04:02:33:515t

Welcome to September, wonderful people. We’re not quite sure where the summer — or nearly three-quarters of the year — have gone. It’s a relatively calm start to the week and a new month, with M&A largely leading the news cycle on this Sunday morning.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Al Khorayef will embark today on a one-week mission to East Asia, state news agency SPA reports. The trip aims to boost bilateral relations and drum up investments, including joint ventures, with China and Singapore.

On the agenda: High-level meetings with major Chinese firms including GAC Group, General Lithium, and Huawei, as well as visits to key locations in Hong Kong including Hutchison Ports, Cyberport, and Johnson Electric. In Singapore, the delegation is expected to make visits to the Tuas Port, and connect with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation.

[wwt1] #2- Saudis at the Paris 2024 Paralympics: Track and field athlete Abdulrahman Al Qurashi will compete in the 400m preliminaries at the Paris 2024 Paralympics today, state news agency SPA reports. Meanwhile, sprinter Nour Al Sina’a will race in the 100m final, while Ghalia Al Anzi will play British table tennis player Megan Shackleton in the round of 16.

#3- It’s hunting season in the Kingdom: The Fall hunting season kicks off today and is set to run until 30 November, according to the National Center for Wildlife. The winter season will run from 1 December through to 31 January, 2025. Applications for hunting permits are processed via the Fatri platform here.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Trading on Savola Group’s SAR 6 bn rights offering continues until this Thursday, the company said in a filing to Tadawul. The trading period allows shareholders and investors to buy and sell shares as part of the offering. Meanwhile, the subscription period where shareholders can choose to exercise their rights to purchase additional shares, as offered in the rights issue concludes on Tuesday, 10 September.

REMEMBER- The offering aims to boost Savola’s capital by adding 600 mn shares valued at SAR 10 apiece. The Tadawul-listed player will then reduce its capital before offloading its entire 34.5% stake in Almarai to its existing shareholders, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

#2- It’s PMI week: Riyad Bank’s purchasing managers’ index for Saudi Arabia is set to be released this Tuesday, 3 September at 7:15am KSA. Saudi’s PMI figure slipped to 54.4 in July, from 55.0 in June, showing continued growth in output levels and purchasing activity despite falling new orders.

Also releasing PMI data on Tuesday: Egypt, Kuwait, and Qatar. The UAE will follow on Wednesday, 5 September.

#3- The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters continues until this Saturday, 7 September, at Green Halls in Riyadh. The third round kicks off today, while the round of 32 begins on Tuesday. World no.1 Mark Allen has already booked his spot in the round of 32, along with Mark Selby, reigning world champion Kyren Wilson, and former world champion Judd Trump and several others. Saudi’s 14-year-old Ziyad Al Qabbani lost against 17-year-old Brit Stan Moody in the first round on Friday, according to EuroSport. You can check out the full schedule here.

PSAs-

#1- In-person classes are suspended in Madinah today due to heavy rains overnight, with online classes continuing via the Madrasati platform for all students and staff in the region, the Madinah Education Administration said. Taibah University has also suspended in-person classes today for students at the main campus in Medinah and its branches in Al Hanakiya, Badr, and Khyber.

#2- The next round of e-invoicing: Companies that had more than SAR 4 mn in revenues subject to VAT in 2022 or 2023 will be required to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with Zatca’s Fatoora platform from 1 March, 2025, Zatca said in a statement. This is the latest phase of a e-invoicing rollout that began in late 2021.

#3- Another extension for social ins. late fee waiver initiative: The General Organization for Social Ins. extended its late fees waiver initiative for another six months, it said on X. The extension gives business owners additional time to pay overdue contributions without incurring penalties, as long as they settle their outstanding dues.

#4- The Saudi Food and Drug Authority is seeking feedback from the public on its updated table of violations and penalties under the Food Law by Sunday, 15 September, Argaam reports. The changes aim to ensure that fines reflect the severity of violations, enhance penalty effectiveness, and support food safety goals. For food manufacturing violations involving prohibited substances, fines are capped at SAR 500l for large establishments, SAR 400k for medium-sized ones, and SAR 300k for small businesses. Handling expired food incurs fines running between SAR 12k-20, depending on the size of the business.

#5- The Capital Market Authority has convicted 14 board members and employees of Raydan Food for false reporting and insider trading, violating the Capital Market Law, it said in a bulletin. The convicted individuals have been ordered to pay over SAR 77 mn in avoided losses and have been fined an additional SAR 50.6 mn for the charges of false reporting and insider trading. Four individuals received 90-day prison sentences, while 11 were barred from working in CMA-supervised entities for up to three years. Raydan’s share price dropped 2.5% to SAR 28.8 at Thursday’s close.

#6- Farm owners can now register online for the Liquid Fuel Displacement Program via the Environment Ministry’s Naama website, state news agency SPA reported. The program allows off-grid farms that rely primarily on diesel for electricity generation to connect directly to the national power grid. The program targets to replace up to 1 mn barrels of liquid fuels across the agriculture, industry, and utilities sectors by 2030.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Webook going public? Homegrown ticket booking platform Webook is mulling a potential IPO, General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Al Sheikh was quoted as saying by local news outlets (here and here). Webook sold some 11 mn tickets in under a year, with sales value topping SAR 1 bn, according to the reports. The platform’s user base has reached over 5 mn people from across 160 countries.

#2- The franchise tour starts in Qassim next week: Some 56 companies are currently exploring potential franchises as part of Monsha’at’s franchise tour initiative, which aims to establish more than 200 franchise brands by 2026, Aleqtisadiah reports. The program targets five cities in 2024, starting in Al Khobar and Abha, with the next round scheduled for Qassim on 9-10 September. Hail and Jeddah will follow this year, before seven more cities join next year.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Remittances from expats living in Saudi rose 21.5% y-o-y to SAR 12.9 bn in July, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) monthly bulletin (pdf) . Remittances by Saudi nationals to other countries dipped 0.2% y-o-y to SAR 5.81 bn during the month.

#2- The Saudi Pro League is now valued at EUR 1.08 bn, according to data from Transfermarkt. Al Hilal currently has the highest market valuation at EUR 219.5 mn, followed by Al Ahli (EUR 179.3 mn) and Al Nassr (EUR 153.8 mn). As for players, Al Ittihad’s Moussa Diaby is the league’s most valuable player at EUR 55 mn.

#3- The Transport General Authority issued more than 283k professional driver cards in 1H 2024, rising 179% y-o-y, the authority said on X. The total figure includes 253k cards issued through the electronic Logisti platform, marking a 220% y-o-y increase.

#4- The Saudi General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT) referred 915 investment and export opportunities to the Investment Ministry and the Saudi Export Development Authority last year, down from 948 in the previous year, Argaam reports, citing GAFT data.

OIL WATCH-

OPEC+ is likely to stick to its October production boost, Bloomberg reports, citing delegates it says are involved in the discussions. The group plans to increase output by 180k barrels a day, continuing their gradual recovery from the voluntary cuts made in 2022. Despite market jitters and whispers of a potential pause due to China’s demand slump, the group is not showing signs of pushing back on hikes, the officials said.

SPORTS-

#1- You might spot Toney this week at Al Ahli: English striker Ivan Toney has officially joined Al Ahli under a GBP 40 mn contract, Al Ahli confirmed on X. The footballer’s move to the Saudi Pro League was rumored for weeks but remained unconfirmed as he considered alternative offers that would give him a chance to play in the Premier League. Toney’s move to Al Ahli was finalized on the Premier League’s transfer deadline day. The New York Times and Reuters took note, among several others.

ALSO COMING TO SAUDI- West Ham’s Kurt Zouma completed his transfer to Al Orobah on loan, West Ham said on X. The central defender’s move also got ink from the New York Times and the BBC.

#2- Neom SC reportedly lands in Egypt to get Al Ahly’s Percy Tau onboard: Officials from club Neom SC landed in Egypt in an effort to secure the signature of Al Ahly’s South African striker, Percy Tau, Egyptian sports journalist Omar Rabie said on X.

#3- Coco Gauff rallies behind Riyadh WTA finals: US tennis champion Coco Gauff expressed her support for the WTA finals set to be held in Riyadh this November as a chance for rising athletes in Saudi and the region to find inspiration in the sport, Saudi Gazette reports. “Hoping that there is a player or a kid from Saudi who can say, ‘This WTA Finals changed my outlook or made me realize I had a dream in this sport.’ That’s what tennis is all about — bringing our community to new parts of the world,” the 19-year-old said.

#4- The Saudi table tennis team earned a record 17 medals at the West Asia Championship in Jordan from 26-31 August, including 8 gold, 2 silver, and 7 bronze, setting the highest medal count in the tournament’s history, SPA reports.

#5- Saudi Arabia is set to host the Asian Racing Conference (ARC) in 2026, Arab News reports. The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia was handed the event flag by the Japan Racing Association at the ongoing ARC in Sapporo. The major horse racing event will see 1k competitors in Riyadh.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

As is often the case on Sundays, there’s no one story dominating the (digital) front pages of the international business press, with the press’ obligatory updates on the seemingly never-ending US presidential election competing for space with tech oligarch Musk’s feud with the Brazilian government and depressingly familiar reports of horrors from Israel’s nearly year-old war on Gaza.

OVER IN US ELECTION NEWS- Things are looking increasingly up for the Democrats post-Biden, with Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris has gained an edge of around 2 percentage points on Republican candidate Donald Trump among likely voters in seven key US swing states, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. Harris is tied with or beating Trump in all seven states and has virtually erased the lead Trump enjoyed over Joe Biden prior to ending his bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Meanwhile, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found Harris leading Trump among registered voters nationwide by a margin of 4 percentage points, up from the 1 percentage point lead registered by the polling agency in late July.

Despite Harris’ overall bump in polls, the Democratic candidate is facing a stepped-up pressure campaign from pro-Palestinian activists following a televised interview Thursday in which the presidential nominee reiterated that she would not cut military aid to Israel if elected president. Activists have pledged to disrupt Harris campaign events in the coming weeks.

MEANWHILE IN TECH WORLD- X goes dark in Brazil as feud with Musk escalates: X saw mass service disruption yesterday in Brazil after CEO Elon Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative for the company’s operations in Brazil led the country’s Supreme Court to issue an order for X’s suspension late Friday. While supporters of the left-wing government’s drive to make social media companies more accountable for online content applauded the court’s move, right-wing politicians blasted the decision as an attack on conservative politicians, many of whom communicate with their supporters on social media. (Bloomberg | The Associated Press | Reuters)

AND IN OUR CORNER OF THE WORLD- Around 2k medical and community workers are set to begin carrying out a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza that will see some 640k children targeted for vaccination during daily eight-hour pauses in hostilities across the enclave. The campaign comes after the World Health Organization confirmed that a two-year-old had been paralyzed by the poliovirus, the first case of the disease recorded in Gaza in 25 years. At least 90% of children will need to be vaccinated twice over the coming four weeks in order for the campaign to be successful, according to WHO officials — a tall order given the destruction that Israel has wreaked upon the enclave.

Israeli forces killed at least 48 people in Gaza during the hours before the campaign commenced, with fighting ongoing in central and southern Gaza in the early hours Sunday. Meanwhile, Israeli forces pushed forward with their assault on the West Bank city of Jenin, with Israeli attacks reportedly killing at least 18 Palestinians in one of the largest Israeli operations in the West Bank in months.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The EFG Hermes London Conference kicks off next week: EFG Hermes will hold its annual conference in London on 9-12 September, giving investors “unique and unparalleled access to leading equities in MENA and key frontier emerging markets.”

The two-day Data Center Xpo summit will kick off in Riyadh on Tuesday, 3 September.

The Crown Prince Camel Festival runs until Tuesday, 10 September at the Taif Camel Racing Track, featuring 610 rounds of racing and a purse of SAR 56 mn.

SRMG Academy’s technology journalism course will kick off in Riyadh on Sunday, 15 September. The five-day, TikTok-backed program will run until 19 September.

Fenaa Alawwal cultural center will kick off the contemporary art forum Muntada FAA on Sunday, 15 September at the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh. The forum runs until Thursday, 19 September.

Smart Cities Saudi Expo 2024 runs 24-26 September at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

The two-day Kingdom Business and Luxury Travel Congress will kick off on Wednesday, 25 September, at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel and Convention.

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