Good morning, friends. It’s another unexpectedly busy Monday, starting off with the Public Investment Fund’s SAR 7.5 bn acquisition of a majority stake in MBC Group. We also have a roundup of Tadawul-listed banks’ earnings in 3Q 2024, as well as the latest on BinDawood’s acquisition of Zahrat Al Rawdah Pharma.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- The Road Safety and Sustainability Conference and Exhibition wraps up today, bringing global experts together to discuss technological advancements, AI applications, and sustainability in the transport sector.

#2- The two-day HR Tech Saudi Summit kicks off today at Voco Riyadh. The forum will focus on the Kingdom’s digital transformation through AI and its impact on local talent and technology. Key topics on the event’s agenda include supporting AI literacy, ethical data use, and workforce strategies to retain and develop local talent.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK + NEXT-

#1- Shares of Naqawa for IT (Purity Tech) will start trading on parallel market Nomu tomorrow, according to a Tadawul statement. The Riyadh-based tech company’s offering of a 20% stake was nearly 6x oversubscribed, pushing it to price its shares at the top of the range it was guiding on at SAR 8 apiece. The final pricing should see it lock in some SAR 24 mn in IPO proceeds, giving a market cap of SAR 120 mn on listing.

#2- Qualified investors have until next Monday, 11 November to subscribe to Mufeed’s 10% stake offering on Tadawul’s parallel market Nomu, after the window opened yesterday. Each investor can subscribe to a minimum of 10 shares, and a maximum of 323k. The final allocation of shares is slated for Thursday, 14 November, while refunds (if any) will take place on Monday, 18 November 2024.

WEATHER- Riyadh is looking at a high of 32°C and a low of 20°C today. Over in Jeddah, the temperature will peak at 33°C and hit a low of 28°C. Madinah will see moderate rainfall, with a high of 33°C and a low of 21°C.

PSAs-

#1- Subscriptions for the November round of the government’s retail sukuk program Sah kicked off yesterday and will close at 3pm tomorrow, the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said on X. The instruments carry a fixed yield of 4.89%. The minimum subscription amount is set at SAR 1k, with a SAR 200k subscription ceiling per investor.

#2- Taxpayers will have until 31 December to benefit from Zatca’s fines and penalties waiving initiative, it said in a statement. The initiative waives penalties for late registration, payment delays, late filings, VAT corrections, and e-invoicing violations. Penalties for tax evasion and fines already paid are excluded.

#3- Property owners in several districts of seven Qassim cities have until 6 February, 2025 to register their properties online through the Real Estate Registry website, according to a statement. The cities are Buraydah, Al Bukayriyah, Unaizah, Al Badayea, Riyadh Al Khabra, Al Khabra and As Sahabin, and Ar Rass.

#4- Air Sial takes off with weekly flights to Riyadh: Pakistan-based private airline Air Sial has launched two weekly flights from Islamabad to Riyadh, adding more options for travelers between the Kingdom and Pakistan, Arab News Pakistan reports, citing a company statement. The airline plans to expand its routes with flights from Lahore and other Pakistani cities to the Kingdom.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Tourism Ministry sees the number of hotel rooms in the Kingdom climbing 107% y-o-y to 443.2k by the end of 3Q 2024, it said in a post on X. The ministry also noted a 99% y-o-y rise in hospitality facility licenses, reaching nearly 4k by the end of 3Q 2024.

#2- Eastern Municipality greenlights 2.4 mn sqm industrial city in Dammam: The Eastern Province Municipality awarded a project to an undisclosed company to establish a 2.4 mn sqm integrated industrial city in Dammam, state news agency SPA reports.

About the city: The planned industrial area will feature facilities including factories, light industries, employee housing and various support services. The project will support local industry without government capital investment, reducing budget expenditure, Eastern Province Mayor Fahad Al Jubeir told SPA.

DATA POINTS-

#1- The number of workers in the Kingdom totaled 16.8 mn by the end of 2Q 2024, Argaam reports, citing data from the General Authority for Statistics. Foreign workers made up 76.6% of this figure, at about 12.9 mn, while Saudi citizens accounted for 23.3%, or 3.9 mn workers.

Other key stats:

  • The private sector employed some 66% of total workers;
  • The average monthly wage stood at SAR 10.2k for nationals, and SAR 4.4k for foreigners;
  • A total of 39% of Saudi workers held a bachelor’s degree, while a little above a third of foreign workers completed secondary education;
  • Riyadh is home to 63% of all Saudi workers, followed by the Eastern Province (26%), and Makkah (25%).

#2- New residential mortgages financed by banks in September rose 16.8% y-o-y to SAR 6.8 bn, according to the latest Sama monthly statistical bulletin (pdf). Mortgage financing for houses dropped 2.4% y-o-y to SAR 3.9 bn, while that for apartments grew 62.5% to SAR 2.5 bn, and land mortgages rose 33.7% to SAR 397 mn.

#3- The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell 1.7% m-o-m in October, with SAR 146.7 bn in turnover by the end of the month, according to a monthly report by the exchange.

Al Rajhi was the most traded in terms of value at SAR 9.6 bn in monthly turnover, with shares rising 0.92% in October. Saudi Aramco came in second at SAR 6.8 mn, with its shares dipping 0.4% over the month. Alinma was the third most traded stock at SAR 5 bn in turnover, with its share price notching down 1.4% in October. AlBaha was the top gainer, seeing its shares rise 18.2% during the month.

Investor mix: Saudi institutional investors traded SAR 35.3 bn-worth of shares in October, while Saudi individual investors’ turnover came in at SAR 173.8 bn. Meanwhile, turnover from qualified foreign investors came in at SAR 73.7 bn and GCC institutional investors’ turnover was SAR 2.8 bn, according to Tadawul’s monthly stock market ownership and trading activity report (pdf).

OIL WATCH-

Opec+ confirms output hike delay: Opec+ pushed back its planned 180k bpd output hike for December for another month amid persistent concerns of soft oil demand from China and a glut in supply, according to a statement. The group still intends to move forward with its plan to revive 2.2 mn bpd of idle supply over the year, it said.

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

SPORTS-

World no.2 Iga Swiatek overcame a rocky start in yesterday’s WTA Finals match to defeat Barbora Krejcikova (4-6, 7-5, 6-2) fighting through a two-month break to keep her title defense alive. Meanwhile, the US’ Coco Gauff secured a two-set victory over Jessica Pegula (6-3, 6-2).

Coming up today: Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina (who lost to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini on Saturday) and China’s Zheng Qinwen (who lost to world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka) will play at 2:30pm. Meanwhile, Paolini and Sabalenka will meet at 5pm. The semi finals are set for Friday and the final match will take place on Saturday.

Deloitte is out with a roadmap for transforming Saudi clubs into commercially successful enterprises: The consultancy has published a study (pdf) for prospective sports club owners detailing a four-phase approach — control, build, operate, transform. Starting with a focused first 100 days strategy, the plan focuses on building governance, financial stability, and long term growth channels to attract a global audience.

Praise for privatization: Deloitte highlights that privatizing Saudi clubs will create financially viable sports entities that appeal to international investors and enrich the region’s sports landscape, according to a statement. Saudi Arabia’s privatization drive, currently in its second phase, has opened 14 clubs to both local and foreign investors.

Future of Saudi sports: The study notes Saudi’s sports market is set for strong growth, with an expected increase of 8.7% by 2026. The Kingdom’s young, tech-savvy population — 63% of whom are under 30 — is likely to drive demand for engaging digital and interactive sports content, positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in the regional sports boom.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

On the eve of voting day, the international press has its attention fixed firmly on the US presidential election as both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump deliver their closing messages.

The race remains very much neck-and-neck this morning, with the New York Times / Siena College polls showing that Harris and Trump’s standings in seven key states are “within the margin of sampling error,” which means that a clear lead remains uncertain. However, Harris currently has a narrow lead in Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, while Trump is closing the gap in Pennsylvania and is in the lead in Arizona.

Who’s going to tip the scales? For Harris, it’s likely to be young women, while for Trump it’s likely to be “disaffected young men.” The elections are leading the front pages of the Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC, among others.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

The two-day Impact Makers Forum (ImpaQ) is set to open its doors on 18 December, bringing together media influencers, industry experts, and digital content creators in Riyadh’s Mayadeen Hall.

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