Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to what’s shaping up to be a diplomacy (Blinken is due in town) and defense (it’s day two of the World Defense Show) kind of news day.

UP FIRST- It looks like US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in Saudi today. Blinken is on his fifth tour of the region since Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October. The State Department said on Friday that he would visit Saudi, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank between yesterday and Thursday.

Blinken boarded an aircraft at Joint Base Andrews late yesterday afternoon, with a Reuters photographer reporting that he was “en route to Saudi Arabia.” The war in Gaza and disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea were at the top of the agenda when he spoke yesterday with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

Blinken touched base with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud ahead of the trip, emphasizing the importance of a “more integrated, peaceful region” and pushing for a “humanitarian pause that includes the release of hostages held by hamas.”

MEANWHILE- Reuters is reporting that officials in Riyadh are pushing to close a US defense pact before Joe Biden heads into election day in November. The report relies on three unnamed sources, and officials at the Foreign Ministry have said nothing official on the matter.

AND- The Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia PMI is due out at 7:15am KSA. Tap or click here to find it after it’s released — or check back with us tomorrow morning for coverage. A reading above the 50 mark indicates growing business activity.

DATA POINT- Consumer spending via Mada cards jumped 7% to SAR 1.3 tn in 2023, Argaam reported yesterday. This includes total withdrawals from ATMs, POS transactions, and e-commerce through the domestic payment network. POS transactions rose 10% y-o-y to c. SAR 614 bn last year, while withdrawals from ATMs dipped c. 1% to SAR 548.8 bn. E-commerce through Mada grew 28% y-o-y in the same period to SAR 156.9 bn.

PSA- The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca) is reminding businesses to submit their tax returns before Sunday, 30 June if they want to benefit from its tax fine waiver program, it said in a statement yesterday.

What’s on the exemption menu? Exemptions apply on fines for late registration, late payment, late filing of tax returns, and a correction for value-added tax returns among others. Tax dodgers need not apply for an exemption, nor should folks who paid fines before the exemption program began.

WEATHER- It’s a cloudy day in Riyadh and Makkah today with a lot of wind in Jeddah.

  • Riyadh: 22°C daytime / 11°C overnight
  • Jeddah: 26°C daytime / 19°C overnight
  • Makkah: 27°C daytime / 17°C overnight

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) could go to market with sukuk worth up to SAR 2 bn in 2Q on behalf of the Municipality, Rural Affairs and Housing Ministry, minister Majid Al Hogail told Al Arabiya in an interview (watch, runtime: 7:23). The issuances will be taken to both local and global markets, he said during a business event in London.

SRC had one big issuance last year as it completed a SAR 3.5 bn dual-tranche sukuk sale in November under its SAR 20 bn domestic sukuk programme. SRC is a wholly-owned unit of the Public Investment Fund.

#2- Qualified investors have until Thursday, 8 February, to place orders for the IPO of Quara Finance on Tadawul’s parallel market, Nomu, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The NBFS company plans to take an 8.8% stake to market. It aims to price the offering at between SAR 13 and SAR 15 per share

#3- Gulf Air’s first flight to AlUla International Airport took off yesterday, state news agency SPA reports. The Bahraini-based air carrier will be operating seasonal flights to AlUla twice every week from 3 February to 6 March and from 10 April to 17 April.

#4- Some 25k artifacts dating back from the early Islamic era were discovered in Jeddah, the Jeddah Historic District Program said in a statement yesterday.

SPORTS-

#1- Were you — like us — impressed by Princess Reema’s smart response to folks opposed to holding the WTA finals in Riyadh? Well, just wait until you hear Yara Alhogbani discuss her professional journey and dreams as a tennis player in an interview with Arab News (watch, runtime: 2:28). She was sharp, smart, and well spoken.

“Having more of these kinds of matches, tournaments, it’s going to help grow the sport and it would really be nice to have a lot of those WTA tournaments there [in Saudi]. They have no idea what kind of impact they can make on us,” said Alhogbani.

Alhogbani lost to Spanish player Sara Sorribes in the qualifying rounds of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open last Saturday in straight sets (6-0, 6-1). Sorribes was then beaten by US player Bernarda Pera (6-4, 6-1).

#2- Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s team emerged victorious in the inaugural electric race-boats UIM E1 World Championship hosted in Jeddah over the weekend. Marc Anthony’s Team (Miami) secured second place, while Rafael Nadal’s Team (Rafa) came in third. The series will advance to Venice on 11 May for its next leg. The Public Investment Fund is the principal partner of the championship.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s no single big story abroad this morning, as is often the case on Mondays.

In the business pages, you have your choice between a Financial Times report that claims Iran used accounts at Lloyds and Santander to sidestep western sanctions while the Wall Street Journal continues to go deep on Elon Musk with The money and drugs that tie Elon Musk to some Tesla directors. (Missed the first part? Tap or click here.)

In foreign affairs: A range of global media organizations are trying to articulate a clear US foreign policy toward the Middle East as Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads back to this part of the world. The New York Times’ Tom Friedman is still pushing his notion of a “Biden Doctrine,” while the Wall Street Journal writes that Washington is “pairing military action with diplomacy” in a bid to reshape our corner of the world. The pillars: “rolling back Iranian influence by resolving Gaza conflict, pushing Israel-Saudi normalization, and establishing a Palestinian state.”

The US struck Houthi positions in Yemen for a third day in a row yesterday. A top US national security official said yesterday that wider attacks against Iran-backed groups in the region would continue. US strikes have so far hit groups in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

NEW- The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will kick off in Diriyah on Tuesday, 20 February and wrap up on Friday, 24 May. Headlined After Rain, it will be led by German curator Ute Meta Bauer and features 92 artists from 43 countries. It will see several new commissions, including a joint project documenting “Saudi futurism” since the 1940s by local artist Ahmed Mater and Berlin-based photographer Armin Linke.

The PIF Private Sector Forum takes place in Riyadh this coming Tuesday, 6 February to Wednesday, 7 February, the PIF said on Linkedin. The event will bring together the fund, portfolio companies, private sector and others to help advance economic growth.

The Hail Toyota International Rally which will kick off on 8 February and wrap up on 10 February.

Filipino exporters are coming to town: A business-matching tour will kick off on Saturday, 10 February, where a group of Filipino exporters of food, beverage and personal care products will tour Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam to market their businesses, Arab News reports.

The Saudi Capital Market Forum will open on Monday, 19 February and wrap up on Tuesday. Held under the theme “Powering Growth,” the event will bring together members of the global financial landscape for discussions on the capital markets and investment strategies.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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