Good morning, friends, and welcome to the first full business week of August. Can you believe we have just two weeks (or so) before the kids head back to school? We hope you enjoy the last two weeks of summer.

UP FIRST- Is something about to happen with Saudi Binladin Group? The Finance Ministry is mulling a “number of measures” to “support” the high-profile contractor with a view to “stabilizing its financial position,” state news agency SPA writes. The ministry is exploring a range of measures including loans, help rescheduling payments owed to creditors, and the state taking a larger stake in the group.

The message: The ministry sees a lifeline to Saudi Binladin as key to some components of Vision 2030, SPA noted, name-checking projects in Makkah and Madinah. The news comes as the Kingdom gears up for a big construction push to build stadiums, infrastructure, and other projects for the 2034 Fifa World Cup and Riyadh Expo 2030.

BACKGROUND- The Public Investment Fund has reportedly appointed Morgan Stanley to advise on the acquisition of the 36% Saudi Binladin stake owned by the Finance Ministry.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Riyadh today, the Times of Israel reports, citing two unnamed senior Palestinian officials. The meeting comes just days after Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran triggered threats of retaliation by Tehran and its ally Hezbollah.

#2- Qualified investors will be able to place their orders for the Nomu IPO of recruitment and HR agency Tharwah HR starting today through Sunday, 11 August. We have more on the transaction in this morning’s news well, below.

WEATHER- Riyadh will see a daytime high of 44°C today. It’s almost as hot in Makkah, where the mercury will peak at 42°C, while Jeddah will see a high of 36°C and a low of 30°C.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Bookbuilding for ASG Plastic Factory’s IPO on Nomu wraps up tomorrow. The plastics manufacturer is taking a 10.6% stake to Tadawul’s parallel market and has said it will price the offering at SAR 40-44 per share. The final allocation of shares will take place on Sunday, 11 August.

PSAs-

#1- Car rental agencies are not allowed to hold onto customers’ official documents and shouldn’t retain copies of them, either, the Transport General Authority said in a post on X.

#2- Italian national carrier ITA Airways launched a Rome-Jeddah route with three weekly round trips, it said in a statement (pdf). ITA operated its first flight from Rome-Jeddah last Thursday. This is the airline’s second Saudi destination, after launching direct flights between Riyadh and Rome in June.

#3- Flynas is looking for pilots with experience flying Airbus A320, it said in a post on X. The budget carrier made a USD 30 bn order last month from Airbus, doubling the low-cost airline’s total Airbus orders to 280. Applications can be submitted here.

#4- Some 24 projects are up for grabs on the Furas platform: 18 projects in Asir municipality, and 6 in Qassim municipality, state news agency SPA reported (here and here). The projects are in the sectors of commerce, sports and entertainment, and manufacturing.

DATA POINTS-

The Esports World Cup (EWC) Festival in Boulevard City has reeled in 1 mn visitors only four weeks into the eight-week event, according to a post on LinkedIn. The EWC has so far handed out awards valued at USD 16.5 mn.

OIL WATCH-

OPEC said on Friday it would leave oil production unchanged as it continues to “monitor the impact of its [current output cuts] on global markets,” Bloomberg notes.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

No single story leads the front pages of the global business press this morning as we disgest a busy weekend of news on both the business and politics fronts.

The rundown:

  • The Financial Times is giving plenty of ink to Warren Buffett’s big sell-down of Apple shares.
  • The Wall Street Journal is leading with Trump’s (lack of) strategy for countering rival Kamala Harris.
  • The New York Times is running with a take about Republican VP candidate JD Vance’s thoughts on power.
  • Reuters notes that Trump has pulled out of an agreed ABC debate and is pitching instead a showdown with Harris on Fox News.

IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD- Iran has detained more than two dozen people, including top intelligence and military officials, in the wake of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Tehran has pledged to retaliate against Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. (New York Times | Reuters)

AND- Another round of ceasefire talks in Cairo ends empty-handed after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made fresh demands, Axios reports. An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in Cairo yesterday for a day of ceasefire negotiations after “strong US pressure on both Egypt and Israel” following the recent killing of Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Some believe the Israeli prime minister only “sent the delegation only to create an appearance of negotiations to relieve some of the pressure from President Biden.”

What demands? Netanyahu’s latest include an international mechanism that puts an end to weapon transfers through Gaza and other new demands that make the agreement “impossible,” Israeli officials said.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Kamala Harris is expected to announce her choice of running-mate on Tuesday. The NYT and Politico have great rundowns on where the search stands.

OLYMPICS-

It was an historic day for Caribbean nations at Paris 2024 as Julien Alfred won the first medal for St Lucia in its history by winning the women’s 100m race. Jamaican veteran Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce didn’t make the final after skipping the semis for reasons that remain unclear. St Lucia was not the only Caribbean island to make history yesterday, as Dominica won its first-ever medal when Thea Lafond secured gold in the women’s triple jump.

Egypt has advanced to the semifinals of the men’s football tournament after a thrilling 5-4 penalty shootout win against Paraguay. Egypt will face host France in Lyon tomorrow night.

Twelfth time’s the charm? After having reached the men’s soccer quarterfinals a total of 11 times, this is the first time ever that the Pharaohs have made it to the semis.

Algerian boxer Imane Khleif advanced to the semifinals in the 66 kg category, securing a medal for her country. Khleif broke into tears after her victory, following an international smear campaign on social media in recent days that accused her of being a “man.”

More history making: American swimmer Katie Ledecky — the most ever decorated US female athlete — made history by winning the women’s 800m freestyle, securing her ninth olympic gold medal, matching the record of Soviet gymnastics legend Larisa Latynina.

Ledecky’s compatriot Simone Biles showed no sign of relaxing, as she increased her gold medal tally to three in Paris and seven overall by winning the gold in the women’s vault gymnastics competition yesterday. Biles still has a chance to add to her total in today’s events.

The highlight for host France yesterday was its victory over Japan in the mixed team judo competition, decided by a golden score bout won by legendary Judoka Teddy Riner.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

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