Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We’re rounding out the week with a very meaty issue, courtesy of all the updates from the second and penultimate day of the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh. We have chapter and verse on everything you need to know in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Sab Invest Hang Seng Hong Kong ETF begins trading on Tadawul’s main market today under the ticker symbol 9411, according to a Tadawul disclosure. The ETF will have a daily cap of ±10% on price fluctuation. The ETF tracks Hong Kong-listed stocks, which follows last year’s listing of the first Saudi-focused ETF on the Hong Kong exchange.

It’s been a busy week for ETFs: Bank Albilad’s CSOP MSCI Hong Kong China ETF started trading yesterday on Tadawul.

WEATHER WARNING- Moderate to heavy rains, winds of up to 60 km/h, floods, and hail will hit parts of Makkah and Madinah from today through Monday, hitting their peak on Thursday and Friday, the National Center of Meteorology warned in a weather report (pdf).

PSA-

Some 230 Mercedes S-class vehicles are being recalled over manufacturing defects in the engine control unit system that may lead to loss of vehicle torque, high exhaust temperature, damage to surrounding components, and fire, the Commerce Ministry said in a post on X. The vehicles are from the 2022-2023 model year. You can tell if your vehicle is affected by going to recalls.sa and typing in your VIN number. Distributors Ibrahim Al Juffali Automotive Company will set things right without charge.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) plans to open a Riyadh office in 2025, aiming to facilitate Middle Eastern investors’ access to Hong Kong’s financial products, HKEX said in a statement.

IN CONTEXT- This comes a few months after the Hong Kong edition of Tadawul’s flagship Capital Market Forum in May, which was then followed by a five-day trip that saw some 30 senior officials from Hong Kong touch base in Riyadh, Abu-Dhabi, and Dubai to ramp up cross-border investments.

#2- The Kingdom is looking to put up 6 GW of gas turbine combined cycle power plants for tender in 2025, Energy Minister AbdulAziz bin Salman said, according to Zawya. The facilities, which will have carbon capture and storage readiness, will be procured by the Saudi Power Procurement Company under an independent power producer model. No information was provided on the number or value of the tenders.

#3- Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) is seeking a license from the Capital Market Authority to establish a Saudi-based subsidiary, which will operate in fund management, investment banking services, and investment advisory, CEO Ali Khalil told Asharq News (watch, runtime: 1:25).

DATA POINTS-

#1- Neom has allocated over SAR 60 bn to investments in private sector projects and over SAR 30 bn to debt funding during the past 18-24 months, Neom’s Deputy CEO Rayan Fayez was quoted as saying by Reuters.

#2- Retail gold purchases in the Kingdom — including gold jewelry and bullion — fell 9.25% y-o-y in 9M 2024 to 36.3 tons, Mubasher data shows. In 3Q 2024, retail gold purchases also dropped 15.9% y-o-y to 11.6 tons in 3Q 2024.

OIL WATCH-

Another delay? Opec’s planned oil output hikes in December could be pushed back for another month or more amid persistent concerns of soft oil demand and a glut in supply, four sources close to the matter told Reuters.

REMEMBER- Opec+ initially planned to start phasing out production cuts in October, but later pushed the plans back to December as oil prices fell.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

For the first time in a while, business news is making it to the top of the foreign press’ front pages as Big Tech continue to report their 3Q earnings — with Meta and Microsoft both out with their figures for the quarter. Plus: The latest US economy figures are out, and Israel and Lebanon could be approaching a ceasefire.

Concerns among investors that AI investments will not translate into tangible returns anytime soon continue this quarter, with only Google owner Alphabet seeming to prove that the payoff is real so far.

#1- Microsoft’s shares fell in overnight trading after the tech giant forecast constricted growth in its Azure business due to a lack of data center capacity, bringing jitters back to investors who have been waiting for tech firms’ AI investments to pay off. The otherwise upbeat results saw a 16% y-o-y increase in revenues and net income come in higher than expected. (Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

#2- Meta’s earnings came in slightly lower than expected, pushing shares to decline in after hours trading, on slower-than-expected growth in daily active users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned that more AI investments will come as the company continues to prioritize projects like the metaverse and AI-powered glasses. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

IN MACRO NEWS- The US economy grew at a 2.8% clip in 3Q 2024, slightly short of economists’ expectations of 3% growth. The results come just a few days before elections begin, and a week before the Federal Reserve meets to decide on interest rates. (FT | CNBC | New York Times)

CLOSER TO HOME- Israel is in talks for a potential ceasefire in Lebanon, with a draft proposal carried by Israeli media yesterday suggesting a potential agreement that could see a 60-day pause in fighting. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said talks with the US envoys suggest an agreement could be reached before the end of the month and before 5 November.

US envoys for the Middle East Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk are due to land in the Middle East today to discuss the potential agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Bloomberg | Reuters | FT)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

WWE Raw is coming to Riyadh for the first time ever on next Saturday and Sunday, 2-3 November, kicking off on the back of the WWE Crown Jewel event the day prior, Turki Alalshikh said in a post on X. You can book your Raw tickets here, and your Crown Jewel tickets here.

The two-day Road Safety and Sustainability Conference and Exhibition will open its doors next Sunday, 3 November, bringing global experts together to discuss technological advancements, AI applications, and sustainability in the transport sector.

The Saudi Rail Conference and Exhibition will take place on 20-21 November at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. The event will showcase developments in the railway sector and provide insights from over 150 local and international speakers.

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