THIS MORNING: PMI data to be released today

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a reasonably-paced Monday morning, although earnings season continues to lead the news cycle. We have updates on last year’s tourism figures — including tourist arrivals and spending habits — along with a potential new glass production facility in Jubail.

BUT FIRST- There’s still no word on whether Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met yesterday, after the Times of Israel reported on Friday that Abbas was due in town yesterday.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- It’s PMI day: S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Kuwait is set to be released shortly after we hit “send” on this morning’s issue. We’ll have the full rundown in tomorrow’ morning’s edition of EnterpriseAM Saudi.

#2- The International Falcon Production Farms Auction 2024 kicks off today and runs through Saturday, 24 August, at the Saudi Falcons Club, according to a statement. The event is expected to feature over 35 farms from 16 countries, showcasing elite falcon breeds. In the past three years, the auction has booked over SAR 18 mn in sales.

⚠️WEATHER WARNING- Brace for varying degrees of torrential rains all over the Kingdom starting today and through to Friday, with expectations these conditions could persist until the end of next week, according to a warning issued by the National Center for Meteorology (pdf). Jizan already had its fair share of rain and flooding over the weekend.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Aramco is set to release its 1H 2024 results tomorrow, 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.

PSAs-

#1- The Saudi Embassy in Beirut is urging Saudi citizens to leave the country immediately as tensions rise and the outbreak of further violence on the Lebanon-Israel borders is imminent, according to a statement on X.

FOR EMERGENCIES: In case of emergency, you can reach Saudi’s embassy in Beirut on 009611762711 or 009611762712.

#2- Businesses have five more months to submit their tax returns if they want to take advantage of a fine waiver scheme put in place by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the authority said in a statement. It set a new deadline of 31 December, 2024 after a previous deadline expired on 30 June. For inquiries call 19993.

#3- Subscribers to the Real Estate Development Fund’s programs have until Saturday, 2 November to request a deadline extension to complete construction on their home, state news agency SPA reports. Beneficiaries of the fund’s self-build program and land-and-loan program can now extend their home building deadline for a period between 4 and 16 months through the fund’s electronic service. For inquiries call 199088.

OIL WATCH-

The Kingdom has increased the price of its flagship crude oil, Arab Light, for Asian markets for the first time in three months, Bloomberg reports, citing a price list it had seen. The September official selling price was raised by USD 0.2 to USD 2 / bbl above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark. The story also got ink in Reuters.

What gives? This increase, although less than the USD 0.5 rise anticipated by a Bloomberg survey of traders and refiners, indicates Riyadh’s confidence in the demand from Asia, the world’s largest importer of crude.

Selling at a markdown to others: The price for Arab Light crude in Europe was reduced by USD 2.75, marking the biggest cut since the pandemic. Similarly, the price for the US decreased by the most significant amount since February.

REMEMBER- 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.”

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s somewhat of a mixed bag in the international business press this morning, with front-page coverage split between one of two stories — an equity selloff on the back of US recession fears, and global concerns of escalation between Iran and Israel following Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran.

Recession fears in the US after “alarming” US economy data — including a jump in unemployment rates to 4.3% — have thrown equity markets into a tailspin, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both tumbling from their record highs. Markets are now pricing in a “near 70% chance” that the US Federal Reserve will move to cut interest rates come September, with some suggesting that it could move to cut rates by 50 bps next month. Analysts say the Fed will need to bring down rates “sharply, and quickly, to support growth.”

The sell-off isn’t remaining contained in the US, with Asia-Pacific markets approaching bear market territory after entering a third day of a sell-off triggered by a surging JPY, coupled with Middle East tensions and the Bank of Japan raising interest rates last week. (Bloomberg | CNBC | Reuters | Financial Times)

The market stability also isn’t being helped by rising tensions in our backyard, with leaders bracing for retaliatory attacks against Israel from Iran and Hezbollah “as early as Monday” following Israeli assassinations of senior leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah last week. Hezbollah and Israel “exchanged limited fire” yesterday, with the Lebanon-based group saying it fired rockets into northern Israel, but it appears to be far from a full-fledged retaliatory attack. US and Arab leaders have called on Iran to “show restraint” and are pushing for a de-escalation. (Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal | New York Times)

MEANWHILE- Kamala Harris shot down Donald Trump’s pitch for a 4 September debate on Fox News, with Harris’ campaign claiming Trump is trying to avoid the originally scheduled debate on ABC. The ABC debate was penciled in with President Joe Biden before his withdrawal from the presidential race. Trump argued the debate on Fox would follow similar rules to his prior debate with Biden, featuring a full arena audience in Pennsylvania, and claimed Biden’s withdrawal effectively “terminated” the ABC debate — a point ABC has not confirmed. (Reuters)

OLYMPICS-

It was another busy day in Paris — here’s everything you need to know about day 9 of the 2024 Olympics.

Meet the world’s fastest man: Noah Lyles did not disappoint the Americans who have high hopes for him to restore the United States’ glory in short-distance track and field events. Lyles managed to nab the gold medal in the 100-meter dash, which was dramatically decided by a photo finish after both Lyles and Jamaican Kishane Thompson clocked a time of 9.79 seconds. The US also secured the bronze medal in the race through sprinter Fred Kerley.

A first for Africa: Algeria’s 17-year-old gymnast Kaylia Nemour won gold in the women’s individual event on the uneven bars — Nemour becomes the first Arab and African gymnast to secure an Olympic gold.

Djokovic secures his long-awaited Olympic gold: Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic completed the missing piece in his career by securing the gold medal in the men’s singles after defeating Spain’s golden boy Carlos Alcaraz in a marathon match with two sets, both ending 7-6. With this game, Djokovic has become the oldest Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles at age 37. He is also the fifth player to complete a Golden Slam having earned all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold, alongside Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams.

China ended America’s 40-year monopoly of the men’s swimming 4×100 medley relay with a perfect finish by the world record holder in the 100-meter freestyle, Pan Zhanle. Until yesterday, the US had never lost this race in the Olympics since it was introduced 64 years ago in the Rome Games, snagging the gold in every run of the games except in 1980, when it boycotted the Moscow Games.

Meanwhile, South Korea sweeps archery gold: The Koreans have secured all five available gold medals in archery after claiming the men’s individual gold yesterday.

Egypt is heading to the quarterfinals of the men’s handball tournament, where it will face Spain on Wednesday at 10:30am. Egypt secured its spot in the quarterfinal after placing second in their group after defeating Argentina 34-27 yesterday.

The medal standings now at the Paris Olympics:

• United States (19 gold, 71 overall)
• China (19 gold, 45 overall)
• France (12 gold, 44 overall)
• Australia (12 gold, 31 overall)
• South Korea (10 gold, 24 overall)

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

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.