Good morning, friends, and welcome to a new week. The news cycle here at home continues to be busy as we (somehow already) hit the halfway point of September. We have a handful of big stories for you this morning, including S&P Global upgrading its credit rating outlook for Saudi to positive, as well as the Capital Market Authority releasing its newest three-year strategy to boost the Kingdom’s capital markets.

^^ We have details on these stories and more in this morning’s news well, below.

BUT FIRST- A big hat tip to the good people at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, who successfully completed the world’s first robotic heart transplant, state news agency SPA reported. The three-hour surgery was led by Dr. Firas Khalil, who used robotic techniques to minimize surgical intervention, reduce pain, and shorten recovery time compared to traditional methods.

HAPPENING TODAY-

SRMG Academy’s technology journalism course will kick off in Riyadh today. The five-day, TikTok-backed program will run until 19 September.

Fenaa Alawwal cultural center will kick off the contemporary art forum Muntada FAA today at the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh. The forum runs until Thursday, 19 September.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Our friends at HSBC, together with UK Export Finance and Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce, are hosting the Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum in London tomorrow. The conference will showcase investment opportunities in Egypt across different sectors — including renewable energy, water, automotive, food processing, IT, and AI — to potential investors from the UK. It will also facilitate matchmaking between institutions of both countries, bringing together government representatives, business leaders, and senior executives.

WEATHER WARNING- Storms hitting the south: Al Baha, Aseer, Jizan, Najran and Madina are in for moderate to heavy rain this week, according to the General Directorate of Civil Defense. Severe thunderstorms, heavy rains and strong winds are also in the cards, with flooding risks in low-lying areas.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Saudi Fashion Commission is heading to London for an investment tour this Tuesday, 17 September as London Fashion Week wraps up, the Saudi Gazette reports. The event — which will be held at the Twenty-Two in Mayfair — is looking to funnel international investments into the Kingdom’s fashion sector and boost its presence on the global fashion scene. It will cover key areas of the industry, namely, talent development, brand sourcing and sustainable financing.

#2- Saudi could gain access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips, the H200s, next year as the US government mulls greenlighting the move, Deputy CEO of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) Abdulrahman Tariq Habib told CNBC. The move is set to fast-track the country’s AI development.

The pitch: “It will also open a lot of doors for building the capability, the computational capabilities, in the kingdom. But most importantly, it’s not only the computational capability that’s important. We worked hard in the past three years in building capacity, in human capacity, we also build data capacity as well,” Habib said.

IN CONTEXT- The US government is considering lifting restrictions on advanced Nvidia chip exports to Saudi, Semafor reported on Wednesday, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The US has curbed the sales of Nvidia’s advanced chips in Saudi Arabia, voicing concerns that the Kingdom’s close relationship with China could grant the latter easy access to the chips.

#3- Three companies get regulatory approval for Nomu IPOs: Construction firm Multi Business Group, Balsm Alofoq Medical Company, and market research and data analysis firm Digital Research Company have all received the green light from the Capital Market Authority to each offer 20% of their shares on the Nomu parallel market, according to statements (here, here, and here).The approvals are valid for six months.

#4- The Kingdom and South Africa could be on the brink of sealing a space industry MoU, with plans for joint satellite development in the cards, South African Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Bonginkosi Blade Nzimande told Asharq Al Awsat.

OIL WATCH-

Saudi crude supply to China poised for a jump next month: The Kingdom’s oil exports to the world’s top consumer China are expected to climb to 46 mn bbl in October, up from 43 mn in September, Reuters reports, citing trade sources. The boost follows Aramco’s decision to slash the official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asian buyers to its lowest level in nearly three years.

The price cut spurred demand from Chinese refiners, including major players like Sinopec and PetroChina, keeping Saudi crude in close competition with Russia as China’s top suppliers.

SPORTS-

#1- Las Vegas’ The Sphere hosted the inaugural Riyadh Season Noche UFC fight yesterday, according to state news agency SPA. The event showcased a lineup of top UFC competitors from diverse nationalities and weight classes competing for titles in categories such as bantamweight, flyweight, and women’s strawweight. The event is sponsored by Riyadh Season.

Local footballer Fahad Al Muwalled was hospitalized in Dubai after falling from a second-floor balcony at his home on Thursday morning, Al Shabab FC said in a post on X. The 30-year-old winger suffered multiple fractures and is in the ICU. No further details on his injuries were disclosed.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Smart Cities Saudi Expo 2024 runs from 24-26 September at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

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.

The three-day Global Logistics Forum will kick off on Saturday, 12 October at Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District.

The Industrial Hackathon 2024 is scheduled for 10-11 October, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund spokesperson said on X. The hackathon will pit top Saudi talents against each other to showcase their design, production and sustainability solutions for the local manufacturing sector. Contestants will compete for a pool worth a combined SAR 1.4 mn.

The Pakistan Investment Summit and Smart Expo will kick off 2 November at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel.

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