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Good morning, friends, and welcome to the last few days of 2024. It’s not a particularly busy start to the week, although we expect it to pick up considering the news triggers coming up later today and this week…
NEWS TRIGGERS-
The General Authority for Statistics is also kicking off the week with the release of its FDI report for 3Q 2024 today. The data promises a detailed dive into the latest FDI trends shaping the domestic economy.
Also in the pipeline: Labor market statistics reports for 3Q 2024 are scheduled to come out this Tuesday, 31 December.
WEATHER- Riyadh will see a high of 25°C and a low of 12°C today, while Jeddah’s mercury will go as high as 30°C before tapering off to 23°C. Makkah’s weather will see a 31°C high and 20°C low.
PSAs-
#1- Saudi investors won’t have to pay taxes in Omani industrial cities under a new tax exemption enacted by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), which runs 10 industrial cities across the country, head of the Saudi-Omani Business Council Nasser Al Hajri told Aleqtisadiah.
ALSO- Saudi chemical exports will enter the Omani market directly starting this week following the establishment of a dedicated inspection facility at the Saudi-Omani border crossing, whereas they previously had to go through the Emirati borders, Al Hajri said.
#2- The next round of e-invoicing: Companies that recorded more than SAR 1.75 mn in revenues subject to VAT in 2022 or 2023 will need to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with Zatca’s Fatoora platform by a deadline of 30 September, 2025, according to a statement from Zatca. This is the latest phase of an e-invoicing rollout that began in late 2021.
#3- The Interior Ministry’s Absher platform rolled out a new service allowing hosts to report cases of overstaying visa holders, the Saudi Gazette reports. Reports can only be filed after seven days of visa expiry but before the 14th day. Reports are a one-time submission per visitor and cannot be canceled post-submission.
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- The final phase of open-air shopping center Souq7 is slated to wrap up by the end of 2025, Chairman of Azad Properties, the mall’s developer and operator, Mohammad Alawi told Aleqtisadiah. The SAR 1.5 bn Jeddah mall, which first opened its doors in January 2023, saw footfall triple y-o-y to 120k visitors in October of this year, according to Alawi.
By the numbers: While 1.2k stores are currently operational at the 700k sqm mall, some 2k stores are expected to be added by the end of 1Q 2025, with the mall set to reach 3.5k stores by 3Q. Once fully operational, Souq7 will boast some 114 buildings with 4k stores and a total rental area of 400k sqm.
#2- Derayah’s IPO gets the go-ahead: Derayah Financial Company received the green light from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to go public with a 20% stake (49.9 mn shares), according to a CMA statement. A prospectus for the offering is yet to be published. While the statement doesn’t confirm whether this is a Tadawul or Nomu listing, by offering 20% of the company’s issued shares, the company meets the threshold for a Nomu listing.
#3- Yamama Cement moves closer to mineral sector venture: Yamama Cement signed a non-binding MoU with Sultan Holding and Obeikan Investment Group to set up a holding company for investing in the minerals industry, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The company will focus on lithium, graphite, and silica production, among others. The MoU is valid until the end of June 2025. Yamama’s board greenlit the move last week.
DATA POINTS-
#1- Tadawul’s main market saw an 11.6% y-o-y rise in investment portfolios for individuals in 3Q 2024, reaching 12.8 mn, according to the Capital Market Authority’s 3Q statistical bulletin (pdf).
Who’s investing? Individual portfolio owners grew 7.3% y-o-y to 6.5 mn, with women accounting for 25.6% (1.7 mn) of the total investors. That’s around 0.4 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
#2- Nonprofit organizations in the Kingdom saw their revenues grow 33% y-o-y in 2023 to SAR 54.4 bn, according to a General Authority for Statistics report (pdf). The health sector led the growth with a 70% y-o-y increase in revenue, followed by education and research at a 53% increase, and volunteer activities at a 36% increase.
Meanwhile, nonprofits’ expenditures rose 33% y-o-y during the same year, reaching a total of SAR 47 bn. Similarly, the health sector saw the largest increase in spending with 74% y-o-y growth, followed by education and research at 55% growth. Environmental activities came in third with a 34% y-o-y increase.
#3- The Saudi Red Sea Authority issued 12 maritime tourism-related licenses over the past two months in a bid to boost tourism activity at coastal destinations, it said in a post on X. Key permits include a tourism shipping agent license for Deep Seas Shipping Agency, marina operator licenses for Sindalah Marina in Neom, Dolphin Beach Resort, and Amanah Jeddah Marina, as well as a cruise ship operator license for Red Sea Cruises (Cruise Saudi).
#4- The Social Development Bank handed out a total of SAR 8 bn in credit facilities in 2024, it said in a post on X. Of the total figure, some SAR 2.8 bn were allocated to freelancers and productive families (76k beneficiaries), SAR 2.6 bn to entrepreneurs and small businesses (7k beneficiaries), and SAR 2 bn to social finance (39k beneficiaries).
SPORTS-
The Green Falcons are facing off against Kuwait in the Gulf Cup semifinals this Tuesday, 31 December at 9:45pm after defeating Iraq 3-1 yesterday. Snagging the tournament trophy would give Saudi Arabia its first regional title since 2004, Arab News notes.
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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-
It’s a pretty quiet morning in the western press as the news slowdown drags on.
Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban: US president-elect Donald Trump is pushing for the Supreme Court to pause a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to a US company or face a nationwide ban by 19 January. Trump argued his incoming administration needs time to find a reasonable political resolution. (Reuters | BBC | CNN | Bloomberg | The Guardian)
CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
#1- The three-day Future Minerals Forum kicks off on 14 January at Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.
#2- The three-day Real Estate Future Forum kicks off on 27 January at the Four Seasons, Riyadh.
#3- LEAP 2025 will take place between 9-12 February at the Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center in Malham. The tech event will bring together over 1.8k global tech brands, 1k experts and some 680 startups. LEAP 2025 will feature over 300 hours of content across 17 tracks, covering AI, fintech, edtech, smart cities, and more. Co-located with LEAP is DeepFest, a major AI-focused event bringing thought leaders and innovators under one roof.
#4- The eight-day Big 5 Construct Saudi will take place from 15-18 February and 24-27 February at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center. The Kingdom’s largest construction event will feature over 2k exhibitors from more than 60 countries, showcasing innovations across the sector. The event is expected to attract over 75k participants.
