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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a busy issue for you this morning, leading with a USD 972 mn, 2 GW solar power plant that’s coming to Saudi, courtesy of a Saudi-Chinese consortium. But first…
** PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM Saudi is off tomorrow. Longtime readers of our other publications know that we take occasional holidays during the dog days of summer and toward year’s end to recharge our batteries. We’re taking a day tomorrow to enjoy some time with family and friends — we’ll see all of you back here on Sunday at our usual time.
THE BIG STORY AT HOME-
US State Department confirms lifting ban on weapons sales to Saudi: The Biden administration has lifted its three-year suspension on certain weapons sales to Riyadh, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed in a press briefing on Monday. The decision came after Riyadh upheld its end of an agreement with Washington on scaling back its conflict with the Houthis in Yemen, Patel said, noting that the timing is not specifically linked to wider regional concerns like tensions with Iran or developments in Gaza. The story got digital ink in the Guardian and CNN.
PSAs-
Some 2.8k Ford F-150 vehicles are being recalled over manufacturing defects in the automatic transmission sensor that may lead to sudden deceleration in vehicle’s speed while driving, the Commerce Ministry said in a post on X. The vehicles are from the 2014 model year. You can tell if your vehicle is affected by going to recalls.sa and typing in your VIN number. Distributors Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Company and Mohammed Yousuf Naghi will set things right without charge.
This recall follows a similar move on other vehicles from two weeks ago, which affected 13k Toyota and Land Cruisers and Lexus LX600 and LX500 SUVs.
⚠️WEATHER- Today will bring similar weather to yesterday for residents of Jazan, Asir, and Hail with more heavy rain and strong winds expected. Be sure to keep your waterproof gear handy and stay safe. Meanwhile, Riyadh’s mercury will peak at 44°C, before dropping to a low of 31°C, and Makkah wil see a high of 42°C and a low of 29°C.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- Tadawul resumes trading on three companies’ shares: Trading on the shares of Development Works Food Company, Saudi Industrial Export Company, and Nayifat Financing Company resumed yesterday, after being suspended on Monday due to their failure to meet the deadline for disclosing 1H 2024 results, according to a Tadawul statement. Trading on the companies’ shares will be suspended again if they fail to publish the disclosures before market close on Monday, 9 September, and will resume once the results are published.
You can find here the deadlines for financial disclosures of Tadawul and Nomu- listed companies. Deadlines are based on the start and end dates of each company’s financial year. Nomu-listed companies are only required to publish 1H and full-year results.
#2- Sudanese peace talks in Geneva today: US Special Envoy Tom Perriello confirmed that negotiations to end Sudan’s 16-month conflict will proceed despite limited signs of commitment from either the Sudanese army or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Reuters writes. The Swiss-hosted talks, scheduled to start today and potentially extending to 24 August, will include observers from the African Union, Egypt, UAE, and the UN, with the location undisclosed for security reasons, Bloomberg reports.
DATA POINTS-
#1- The Kingdom imported over SAR 116 mn worth of aromatic oils during the first five months of 2024, while exports during the period came in at SAR 9.2 mn, Aleqtisadiah reports, citing Commerce Ministry data. In 2023, aromatic oil imports totaled SAR 329 mn, while exports came in at 15 mn. The high level of local demand was reflected in the launch of 423 new companies in the local sector in the first half of this year.
#2- The Saudi Export-Import Bank provided SAR 16.3 bn in credit facilities in 1H 2024, up 128% y-o-y, it said in a post on X. Some SAR 9.2 bn of that figure went to export ins., while the balance was allocated to export financing.
#3- The Real Estate General Authority (Rega) has registered 250k properties on its Real Estate Registry platform (RER) across Riyadh, Makkah, Dammam, Madinah, and Buraidah, since the platform was launched in May 2023, Rega said in a statement. The RER aims to establish a real estate registry across the Kingdom to make it easier for individuals and corporations to know who has a clear title to a property when buying or selling.
REMEMBER- Property owners in 11 neighborhoods in Riyadh have until Thursday, 31 October to register their assets with the RER.
#4- Hail has so far put 36 investment projects up for grabs on the Furas platform in 3Q 2024, according to state news agency SPA.
OIL WATCH-
Global oil markets, currently facing a deficit on the back of high summer demand, could shift to a surplus in the next quarter if Opec+ follows through with its plan to boost supplies in October, Bloomberg reports citing an International Energy Agency (IEA) report. Oil inventories dipped in June by 26.2 mn barrels a day (bbl / d) on the back of increased summer demand.
Demand is covered for next year: Even if the Opec+ cuts stay in place, oil inventories could gain an average 860k bbl / d next year on the back of non-Opec+ supply, the report said.
REMEMBER- The oil carter agreed to begin phasing out production cuts this fall at a June meeting in Riyadh, but said it could pause or reverse this decision depending on market conditions. A decision on this could come within a few weeks, Bloomberg said.
The next checkpoint: The group is scheduled to meet again on Sunday, 1 December 2024.
SPORTS-
Roma’s Paulo Dybala is reportedly the latest player to have rejected a move to the Saudi Pro League, turning down a what is said to be EUR 20 mn per season offer from Al Qadsiah, according to Roma Press. Dybala’s decision follows similar rejections by Vinicius Jr and Richarlison de Andrade earlier this month.
Al Ahli is mulling Brentford’s Ivan Toney: The Brentford striker is emerging as an option for Saudi clubs, especially Al Ahli which has been keen since last January, with the player yet to make a decision on moving to Saudi, sports journalist Fabrizio Romano said on X. The 28-year-old broke into the England national team recently — representing them for the Euros — after a career mostly spent in England’s lower football league tiers.
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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-
It’s a busy day in the international business press this morning, giving us a mix of business and political headlines.
FIRST UP- Starbucks has replaced its CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, a year and a half into his tenure after facing pressure to make changes in the business from activist investor Elliott Management and former CEO Howard Schultz. The coffee chain has tapped Brian Niccol — currently Chipotle’s chief executive — as its new CEO to execute a turnaround strategy after the business suffered falling sales this year and its shares have faltered. During his tenure at Chipotle since 2018, Niccol has helped lead the company’s revamped performance, driving sales up and leading its shares to rise more than threefold.
MARKET REAX- Starbucks’ shares closed up 24.5% yesterday, while Chipotle’s shares fell 7.5%. (Reuters | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg)
Ukraine is pushing forward with a significant cross-border advance into Russia’s Kursk region, where it surprised Russia last week to land “its biggest battlefield gains since 2022.” Ukrainian soldiers have captured an unspecified number of Russian troops, which Kyiv says can be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners. Russia has also reportedly withdrawn some of its forces from Ukraine, although it remains unclear how many or where they will be repositioned. (Washington Post | Reuters | Wall Street Journal | New York Times)
AND- Hamas may not participate in tomorrow’s ceasefire negotiations, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, with a senior official from the group saying that Israel’s approach to the talks is hampering progress. Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly “quietly made new demands in recent weeks, additions his own negotiators fear have created extra obstacles to [an agreement],” according to the New York Times.
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
The National Events Center will host a series of event-tech workshops on the investment landscape of the events sector, according to state news agency SPA. The events will run for four days starting on Sunday, 18 August.
The Crown Prince Camel Festival kicked off last Saturday and runs until Tuesday, 10 September at the Taif Camel Racing Track, featuring 610 rounds of racing and a purse of SAR 56 mn.
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 New Global Sport Conference 2024 is happening on Saturday and Sunday, 24-25 August, bringing together top figures from sports, esports, gaming, entertainment, and technology. This year’s theme is the Future of Fandom, highlighting fans’ role in building brand equity and revenue.
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 Kingdom Business and Luxury Travel Congress will kick off on Wednesday, 25 September, at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel and Convention.
