THIS MORNING: Alayed makes history as Saudi’s first woman swimmer at the Olympics

Good morning, wonderful people. Before we get underway, consider joining us in appreciation of Mashael Alayed, the first woman swimmer to represent the Kingdom at the Olympics at age 17. Alayed made a good showing in the 200-meter freestyle competition, finishing sixth out of seven in her event.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Chinese investors are piling into two new exchange-traded funds tracking Tadawul “as the dismal performance of [Chinese] equities supercharges demand for overseas assets,” Bloomberg writes. The ETFs surged the maximum 10% in each of the first two days it started trading earlier this month — and trading was suspended after managers said the premium of the share price to the net asset value had “become excessive.”

MEANWHILE- Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders.

Why attend? We’re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our industry — in our region and beyond — and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen. With that as the backdrop, we’re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what’s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we’ll be asking:

• What roles will Egypt, Saudi and the UAE play in the regional industry going forward?
• What are foreign investors looking for right now?
• Is real estate the only asset class in Egypt?
• What does the next generation of leaders think as they take over established family businesses?

Do you want to request an invitation? Tap or click the image below.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- M&A WATCH- Buruj Ins. + Medgulf eye potential merger: Buruj Cooperative Ins. inked a non-binding MoU with Mediterranean and Gulf Ins. and Reins. (Medgulf) to consider a possible merger between the two, according to two separate disclosures to Tadawul (here and here). The two companies will conduct due diligence to assess the feasibility of the merger, the value of which has yet to be determined.

The details: The potential merger would take place through a share swap, where Medgulf’s capital would be upped to allow for the issuance of new shares to the shareholders of Buruj.

ADVISORS- Medgulf tapped our friends at HSBC Saudi Arabia as its financial advisors, while Khoshaim & Associates will provide counsel. No information was provided on Buruj’s advisors.

#2- Tadawul-listed glass manufacturer Raoom Trading is looking to launch a laminated glass production line with Germany’s Benteler with production expected to kick off at the end of October, CEO Hamid Al Hamid told Argaam. The company is also eying the launch of two separate production lines with a production capacity of up to 800 kg per hour for each which are expected to come online next year. Al Hamid did not provide further information on the investment size of the new lines.

IN CONTEXT- The current production capacity of the existing glass lines is around 20k sqm per day. The expansion plan aims at covering local demand, boosting market share, and export volumes, Al-Hamid added.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Rump shares from Ayyan Investment’s rights issue will be offered to institutional investors from 10am today through to 5pm tomorrow, according to its disclosure to Tadawul. The shares will be allocated in order of priority from the highest to lowest bids, barring bids below the offer price of SAR 10 apiece. If all shares are not sold, the underwriter, Alinma Investment, will buy what remains at the offer price, it added. Investors had already subscribed to nearly 85% (or 17 mn shares).

The International Chemistry Olympiad — a competition for the world’s brightest chemistry students — wraps up today. The annual event is held in King Saud University in Riyadh with teams of four students and two mentors from institutions around the world undergoing practical and theoretical assessments in chemistry.

PSAs-

#1- Advertisements for medical devices, pesticides, livestock feed, food products, and over-the-counter drugs require sign-off from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), the watchdog said in a statement. Ads for these products must get SFDA clearance on any claims made about the product, avoid negative comparisons with other products, and must be registered with the authority. To report violations, call 19999.

#2- Private sector players can now submit expressions of interest to become the monitoring body for the Kingdom’s driving schools under a 10-year management and operation contract, state news agency SPA reports. The project is designed to improve vehicle training and testing by monitoring the performance of driving schools and managing driver tests at nearly 70 locations throughout the Kingdom. Investors can submit their expressions of interest here until 3pm Sunday, 25 August.

Want to go deeper? You can check out the project’s webpage here.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a quiet day in the foreign business press. It’s a Monday, to start with — always slow for business in the West — and front pages everywhere are dominated by geopolitical tensions, elections, and the Olympics.

Fears of a full-blown war between Israel and Lebanon dominate the front pages this morning, as foreign diplomats and global leaders race to dissuade Israel from a forceful retaliation against Lebanon after Hezbollah allegedly struck a playground in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 Israeli civilians, most of whom were children. Israel and the White House are adamant that Hezbollah is behind the attack, despite the latter denying responsibility.

Israel attacked Hezbollah targets yesterday and vowed to further retaliate, with its security cabinet giving the all-clear for the government to decide the “manner and timing” of its response, Reuters reports. The US has reportedly warned Israel against retaliation in fear that the situation will “spiral out of control,” Axios reports.

Talks continue on a potential ceasefire in Gaza: Officials including CIA director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Israel’s chief negotiator to hear new demands from the Israeli side. Talks are expected to continue, the Guardian reports.

In elections: US Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign raised USD 200 mn in its first week (the feat leads the Financial Times and Reuters at dispatch time this morning) and Venezuelan voters took to the polls yesterday in what is being billed as the country’s most consequential elections in decades. President Nicolas Maduro faces a stiff challenge from the opposition after a quarter of a century at the helm.

OLYMPICS-

The medal table now at the Paris Olympics:

• Japan (4 golds, 7 total)
• Australia (4 golds, 6 total)
• United States (3 golds, 12 total)

Egypt and Tunisia are the only Arab countries (so far) to have taken home a medal. Egypt’s Mohamed El Sayed picked up a bronze yesterday, beating Hungary’s Tibor Andrásfi in the men’s épée individual. El Sayed lost in the semi-finals to France’s Yannick Borel. Tunisia’s Fares Ferjani took silver in the men’s individual saber, beating Egypt’s Ziad Elsissy.

Yesterday’s highlight: US gymnast Simone Biles marked her return to the Olympics stage with a spectacular performance, qualifying for the final in first place despite tweaking her left calf. (The Guardian)

Today’s highlight: It’s a huge day for tennis nerds. Rafael Nadal (Spain) is set to clash with Novak Djokovic (Serbia) at 1pm for their 60th showdown, while world number-one Iga Swiatek (Poland) takes on France’s Diane Parry at the same time. There are more than a dozen matches taking place today in total.

Want to see when your favorite sport is on? Check out the official schedule here.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Crawford vs Madrimov boxing showdown will take place on Saturday, 3 August at the Los Angeles BMO Stadium. The event is the highlight of the Los Angeles Riyadh Season Card which features five other bouts. You can check them out here.

Aramco is set to release its 1H 2024 results on Tuesday, 6 August, according to its website. You can tune into the audio webcast of its earnings call here. The oil giant’s net income dipped a bit more than 14% in 1Q 2024 to SAR 102.3 bn.

Small and medium enterprises regulator Monsha’at will hold a franchise tour of five cities on 12-13 August (Monday and Tuesday). The tour, which starts in Khobar and includes stops in Abha, Qassim, Hail and Jeddah, will showcase success stories in the sector. The tour then picks up with seven stops scheduled for an installment next year.

Cybersecurity training event SANS Riyadh Cyber Leaders August 2024 will run from Sunday, 18 August to Thursday, 22 August at the Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya.

The eight-week Esports World Cup runs until Sunday, 25 August Riyadh’s Boulevard City. The world’s top esports clubs are competing for a pool of USD 60 mn — the largest purse in esports.

The two-day Middle East LPG Expo – Saudi Arabia 2024 will open on Tuesday, 10 September, bringing together upwards of 4k liquified petroleum gas (LPG) experts to discuss the future of the fuel gas in clean energy. Saudi accounts for 50% of demand for LPF in the Middle East and Africa.

The TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup Final 2024 between Egyptian rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek will be held in Riyadh on Friday, 27 September. The venue and kick-off time of the match will be announced at a later date.

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.

International food and beverage expo InFlavour is returning to Riyadh on Tuesday, 1 October. The three-day event — which will be organized in collaboration with the Environment, Water and Agriculture Minister, Tahaluf, Pepsico, Al Rabie, Arasco and Nadec — will take place in Riyadh’s Front Exhibition and Conference Center.