Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a mixed bag of nuts and bolts as far as the domestic news cycle is concerned, but there’s plenty to sink your teeth into.

THE BIG STORY AT HOME is the latest trade balance data, which shows Saudi’s non-oil exports rising and oil imports falling in 3Q 2024.

^^ The full details on this story and others are in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1-The three-day World Investment Conference will kick off today in Riyadh. The conference serves as a platform for investment promotion agencies, corporations, multilateral institutions and other stakeholders to discuss global investment trends and prospects.

#2- The final allocation of shares for the IPO of United International Holding Company, which operates Tas’heel, is set to take place today.

#3- The three-day Black Hat MEA 2024 cybersecurity conference and exhibition will kick off tomorrow at the Riyadh Exhibition & Conference Center in Malham. The event will gather cybersecurity professionals and technology developers. Speakers include information security leaders from Bayer, SoftBank Investment Advisors, the US Intelligence Community, the CIA, and Knostic.

#4- Three Riyadh Metro lines will open on Wednesday as part of a pilot phase. The initial batch of lines are set to be followed by another three in mid-December, Aleqtisadiah reports, citing sources it says are in the know.

WEATHER- Riyadh is getting a rainy day today, with temperatures reaching a high of 27°C and dipping to a cool 15°C. In Makkah, expect warmer weather, with a high of 32°C and a low of 21°C. Meanwhile, the mercury in Dammam will be at a pleasant 27-17°C range.

PSAs-

Property owners in areas of Riyadh, Madinah, Dammam, Al Khobar and Al Qatif have until 27 February to register their properties online through the Real Estate Registry website, according to separate posts on X (here, here, and here).

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A new national committee for energy and petrochemicals: The Federation of Saudi Chambers launched the committee for energy and petrochemicals in a bid to support private sector involvement in these sectors, Arab News reports. Jaber bin Ayed Al Fahad will serve as chairman, with Saad bin Ajlan Al-Ajlan as vice chairman.

The committee will prioritize renewable energy projects, aiming for 50% renewable energy capacity, and local content initiatives targeting 75% local participation in the energy sector. The petrochemicals sector is expected to see USD 600 bn in investments by 2030.

#2- Fresh rules for tighter product specs and quality are out from the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization (Saso), following Cabinet approval in July, according to the state’s official gazette Umm Al Qura. The regulations came into effect yesterday.

A brief rundown: Businesses that meet Saso’s standards must obtain the Saudi Quality Mark, certifying their products’ quality. Saso will manage the standardization process, including creating, reviewing, and updating specifications through a technical team, except for products regulated by the Food and Drug Authority. Non-compliance or misuse of the quality mark may result in penalties, including license suspension or product seizures.

#3- Morgan Stanley lined up regulatory approval from the Investment Ministry to set up its regional headquarters in Riyadh, Bloomberg reports. The Wall Street bank is the latest to join a bandwagon of firms — including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Japan’s Mizuho, among others — that are setting up regional headquarters in the Kingdom.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Saudi Arabia’s money supply grew 10.5% y-o-y in 3Q 2024 on the back of a 16.7% rise in time and savings deposits, with government deposits increasing 1.1% and companies and individuals deposits growing 32.5%, according to the Economic and Investment Monitor (pdf). Meanwhile, reserve assets rose 4%, supported by a 4.1% increase in foreign exchange, foreign deposits, and foreign portfolio investments.

Touching up on 2030’s investment targets: The National Investment Strategy (NIS) aims to boost Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 6.8 tn and increase cumulative investment volumes by SAR 12 tn by 2030, which would position the Kingdom among the world’s largest 15 economies in the world. Other targets the NIS aims to achieve by 2030 include reducing the unemployment rate to 7%, raising non-oil exports contribution to the GDP to 50%, and increasing the private sector’s share of GDP to 65%. The NIS also targets to boost FDI inflows to account for 5.7% of GDP, or SAR 388 bn.

REMEMBER- Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih expressed cautious optimism about Saudi Arabia’s progress on FDI benchmarks, adding that while the Kingdom is ahead of its 2024 targets, there is still a long way to go to reach its goal of USD 100 bn in annual FDI by 2030.

#2- The domestic general ins. market is expected to grow 9.4% in 2024 to reach SAR 68.8 bn in gross written premiums, Global Data said in a report. The UK data analytics company also projects that the industry will see a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% in the Kingdom, where gross written premiums will hit SAR 105.3 bn in 2029. Health ins. is expected to remain the largest segment of general ins., contributing 61.4% of premiums in 2024, followed by motor ins. (22.7%), and property ins. (10%).

#3- Gov’t pays sixth installment of wheat arrears to farmers: State grains buyer General Authority for Food Security paid SAR 261.3 mn to 413 farmers, settling arrears for buying 139.2k tons of wheat this year, according to a post on X. This is the sixth installment of wheat arrears disbursed by the government for the 2024 harvesting season, which has seen the government pay SAR 1.9 bn to 3.8k farmers so far.

#4- The Real Estate Development Fund deposited SAR 1.2 bn in the accounts of Sakani Program beneficiaries in November, according to state news agency SPA. The program is part of a government-run housing initiative that facilitates homeownership for citizens via several financing options, including rent-to-own and mortgage loans.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s another deeply mixed morning in the international business press, giving us a range of stories and headlines to wade through. Among the stories leading the front pages this morning:

  • Huawei to launch phone with own software in sign of China-US splintering (Financial Times)
  • Israel says rabbi found dead in UAE was abducted and killed (Wall Street Journal | New York Times)
  • Hezbollah fires about 250 projectiles into Israel after deadly strike in Beirut (New York Times | Reuters)
  • Israel and Lebanon on cusp of ceasefire deal, officials say (Axios)
  • How tech bros bought “America’s most pro-crypto Congress ever” (CNBC)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Red Bull’s Les Mills is bringing the Middle East’s largest fitness festival to Riyadh on Thursday, 30 November, at The Arena. The 12-hour event features global trainers, full-day workouts, exclusive Adidas products, and a women-only “Her Zone.” You can book your tickets online.

The two-day Saudi Green Initiative Forum will kick off on Tuesday, 3 December, according to a statement. The forum will coincide with COP16 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which will be held in Riyadh between 2 and 13 December.

The two-day Zakat, Tax and Customs Conference 2024 begins on 4 December at the King Abdullah Financial District.

The Red Sea International Film Festival will run from 5-14 December in Jeddah.

The two-day Impact Makers Forum (ImpaQ) is set to open its doors on 18 December, bringing together media influencers, industry experts, and digital content creators in Riyadh’s Mayadeen Hall.

The Fortune Global Forum is coming to Riyadh in December 2025, according to a press release. The forum serves as a platform for the leaders of the world’s largest companies, policymakers, and other influential figures to discuss global economic and business trends, challenges, and opportunities.

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