Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a relatively busy Thursday issue to round out the week, with the latest hospitality figures from Gastat and another IPO set to hit Nomu leading this morning’s news well.

PLUS- The Saudi Central Bank (Sama) cut interest rates by 25 bps, in line with the US Federal Reserve’s move to cut rates in its meeting yesterday, according to a Sama statement. The move will see the reverse repo rates falling to 4.50%, while Sama’s repo rate is now at 5.0%. We have more on the Fed’s decision in Planet Finance, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- It’s the final day for the following events: The Impact Makers Forum (ImpaQ), taking place at Riyadh’s Mayadeen Hall, the UN’s Internet Governance Forum, and the Forbes Middle East’s Women’s Summit.

#2- The Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker quarterfinals begin today at the Global Theater in Riyadh’s Boulevard City, featuring the world’s top 10 snooker players and two wildcards, competing for a pool of GBP 785k. The semifinals and final are scheduled for tomorrow.

WEATHER- Riyadh feels warmer today, hitting a high 20°C after a crisp 8°C early morning low. Meanwhile, Jeddah expects thunderstorms at a daytime high of 31°C, tapering off to 22°C. Madinah also faces thunderstorms but with cooler temperatures peaking at 25°C and hitting a 12°C low.

⚠️PSA- Makkah, Al Baha, Madinah, and Tabuk are expecting light to moderate rains, along with other regions in the Kingdom, according to a warning (pdf) from the National Center of Meteorology.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Engineers in the public sector will be subject to a new pay grade scheme as of Tuesday, 31 December, after Cabinet signed off on the new scale, the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry said. The new system places engineers on a salary scale depending on where they fall within four categories — engineer, associate engineer, professional engineer, and consulting engineer.

Who’s eligible? The new salary scale targets engineers with bachelor’s degrees from accredited universities in the Kingdom or abroad, who are currently employed under the public employee pay grade. Accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers is also required.

#2- United Carton Industries gets the go-ahead for its IPO: The Capital Market Authority greenlit United Carton Industries Company ’s bid to IPO 12 mn shares (or a 30% stake), according to a Tadawul statement. The exchange did not clarify whether the company plans to list on Tadawul or parallel market Nomu. The prospectus will be released before the subscription period begins.

About United Carton Industries: United Carton Industries Company is a corrugated packaging manufacturer and supplier. It currently operates five plants and 31 production lines in the Kingdom with an annual production capacity of 420k tons. It works with both international and domestic clients.

#3- The demand for parking services in the Kingdom is forecast to hit SAR 2.5-3 bn over the next three years, Batic Investments and Logistics ’ CEO Mohammed Al Zamil told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 1:34:05). He said the tourism and entertainment sectors will fuel the rise, along with increasing demand for parking close to the new Riyadh metro.

ICYMI- Batic’s subsidiary Smart Cities Solutions Company recently signed an MoU with Dubai-based public parking operator Parkin to expand parking services in the Kingdom.

#4- US-based law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is looking to set up shop in Riyadh through a partnership with AlArfaj & Partners Managing Partner Khalid AlArfaj, who was formerly an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop, Bloomberg Law reports. The Pillsbury AlArfaj office will focus on energy, infrastructure, commercial transactions, compliance, and disputes, and launch operations once its license is approved.

#5- New Data Saudi app in town: The Economy and Planning Ministry is piloting the Data Saudi platform, a unified platform featuring the latest economic and social data for the Kingdom, as well as its trade stats with other countries, state news agency SPA reports. In addition to the website, the platform is available via the App Store and Google Play.

#6- US-based cybersecurity startup Bureau is eyeing expansion into Saudi Arabia, among other markets as it seeks to scale up its operations globally, the company’s founder and CEO Ranjan Reddy told Reuters. Bureau recently closed a USD 30 mn funding round led by Sorenson Capital and was valued at USD 150 mn in a Series B funding round.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Investment funds in the Kingdom saw the value of their assets go up 14.4% y-o-y in 3Q 2024 to SAR 23.6 bn, according to a Capital Markets Authority’s report (pdf).

#2- Saudi flight routes are among the world’s busiest: The Cairo-Jeddah route was the second-most busiest international flight route in 2024, with 5.5 mn seats booked, according to a report from UK-based travel data provider OAG. This marks a 14% y-o-y increase and a 62% rise from 2019. Meanwhile, the Dubai-Riyadh route landed in the sixth spot, with 4.3 mn seats, marking an 8% y-o-y increase and a 37% rise from 2019.

ALSO- The Jeddah-Riyadh route was the sixth-most busiest domestic route globally, with 8.7 mn seats booked. Moreover, it was the world’s fastest-growing route, with a 10% y-o-y increase.

#3- Consumer spending via point-of-sale transactions in the Kingdom fell 9.7% w-o-w for the week ending 14 December to SAR 12.8 bn, according to the Saudi Central Bank’s (Sama) weekly transactions report (pdf). Similarly, the number of transactions went down 4.1% to 212.7 mn transactions.

The breakdown: Spending was highest in the restaurants and cafes sector at SAR 1.97 bn, followed by food and beverage (SAR 1.86 bn). Riyadh led the pack in terms of weekly spending with SAR 4.5 bn across 67.9 mn transactions. Jeddah and Dammam followed with SAR 1.8 bn and SAR 640.3 mn, respectively.

#4- Mineral exploration spending in the Kingdom logged 40% annual growth to reach SAR 500 mn per sqkm, higher than the average global growth rate of 6%, Industry and Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Khalid Al Mudaifer told Aleqtisadiah. The specific time period was not mentioned.

#5- Private sector exports that were backed by letters of credit from commercial banks grew 21.1% y-o-y in 3Q 2024 to SAR 40.4 bn, state news agency SPA reports, citing central bank data. GCC nations were Saudi Arabia’s top export market with SAR 25.8 bn, accounting for 64% of the Kingdom’s exports during the period.

OIL WATCH-

The Kingdom saw its oil exports hit a four-month high in October at 5.93 mn bbl / d, adding 174k bbl / d m-o-m, Reuters reports, citing data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative. Meanwhile, crude production logged a marginal drop of 3k bbl / d during the month to reach 8.97 mn bb / d.

ICYMI-Earlier this month, Opec+ pushed back the start date of production increases by three months to April 2025, with the overall production increases slated to be gradually implemented until the end of 2026.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

One single story is on every front page this morning: The Federal Reserve has slashed rates for the third time this year but will be more cautious moving forward, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks that sent US stocks falling. (CNBC | Bloomberg | FT | AP | Reuters)

^^ We have the full story in this morning’s Planet Finance.

IN TECH NEWS- The US Supreme Court will next month hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could potentially ban the application in the US. Meanwhile, the EU is pushing Apple to make its operating system more compatible with rivals.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- The three-day Future Minerals Forum kicks off on 14 January at Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.

#2- The three-day Future Hospitality Forum opens its doors 11 May at the Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh.

#3- The three-day Real Estate Future Forum kicks off on 27 January at the Four Seasons, Riyadh.

#4- The Money 20/20 fintech conference will run from 15-17 September 2025. As a global hub for payments, banking, and financial services innovation, Money 20/20 promises to bring together industry leaders to shape the future of fintech.

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