Good morning, friends. It’s going to be another super-busy pre-Ramadan morning across our part of the world as day two of Leap 2024 and Deepfest get underway in Riyadh. Meanwhile, Saudi corporates are among the headliners at day two of the EFG Hermes One on One conference in Dubai — the world’s largest investor conference devoted to emerging and frontier economies.

THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME: USD 11.9 bn. That’s the total value of investment pledged in Riyadh yesterday at day one of Leap 2024 and co-located AI-focused offshoot Deepfest. Global heavyweights including Amazon, DataVolt, IBM, and ServiceNow have massive appetite for the Saudi story — Amazon and local player DataVolt have massive data center and infrastructure investments in the pipeline.

^^ We have the rundown on all three events at the head of this morning’s news well and will have ongoing coverage through week’s end.

The lineup today at Leap includes industry leaders and top global execs, among them:

  • 500 Global partner Abdulrahman Aljiffry and 500 Global GP Amal Dokhan;
  • Zoom CEO Eric Yuan;
  • eBay VP Anna Zeiter;
  • Cisco Systems VP Harvey Jang;
  • Google managing director for AI Scott Penberthy;
  • Nokia president for mobile networks Tommi Uitto;
  • Venture Lab managing director Paris de L’Etraz;
  • STC Group CTO Haitham Alfaraj;
  • Gulf Analytica CEO David Gibson-Moore;
  • Cisco president for EMEA Fadi Pharaon.

The International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in the Arabian Peninsula will open its doors today in Riyadh.The conference will address regional challenges caused by sand and dust storms and discuss monitoring systems, mitigation strategies, economic and infrastructural impacts, and more. It wraps up tomorrow.

WEATHER- Expect another day of clear skies in Riyadh today with some shy rays of sunshine in Taif and lots of sun in AlUla.

  • Riyadh: 26°C daytime / 13°C overnight
  • Taif: 25°C daytime / 12°C overnight
  • AlUla: 28°C daytime / 13°C overnight

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A “game-changing” program to bring local and foreign tourism investors on board: Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb unveiled a new tourism investment program aimed at facilitating doing business and attracting local and foreign investors, according to a post on X. The Tourism Investment Enablers Program (TIEP) includes regulatory reforms for tourism licensing depending on type and scale of operations and reduced fees. It also includes a tailored hospitality enablers program to boost the hospitality sector. The hospitality program aims to lure in investments of up to SAR 42 bn (c. USD 11 bn) with inflows of SAR 16 bn to GDP by 2030.

REMEMBER- The ministry recently doubled its target for 2030, hoping now to be host to 150 mn tourist trips after it hit its target last year ahead of schedule. The new 2030 target sees 80 mn by domestic travelers and 70 mn by international travelers.

#2- Seera and PIF break up on Almosafer acquisition: Tadawul-listed travel services provider Seera Group Holding failed to reach an agreement with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) for the sovereign wealth fund’s proposed acquisition of a 30% stake in Seera’s wholly owned subsidiary Almosafer Travel and Tourism Co, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The two parties agreed to terminate a non-binding term sheet signed in 2022 “due to the inability to reach an agreement between the parties regarding the transaction.”

Seera’s shares fell c. 10% at market close yesterday, they’re biggest slump in nearly four years.

#3- A platform for everything mining: The Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry launched a new unified online platform, dubbed Taadeen, to provide mining related services to investors, including licensing and investment windows, according to a post on X by Digital Saudi. The ministry’s website also got a fresh makeover.

It’s part of the Kingdom’s big push into mining: Earlier this year, the ministry announced setting up a USD 182 mn mineral exploration incentive program in cooperation with the Investment Ministry. The move came as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to expand the sector and tap reserves of gold, phosphate and others. The ministry estimates that the value of untapped mineral resources is north of USD 2.5 tn, or 90% more than the last forecast in 2016, officials said at the start of this year.

#4- Jamjoom Company for Commerce & Industry (JCCI) is set to sign six agreements worth USD 2 bn with unnamed Chinese companies operating across multiple sectors, the company’s General Manager Hisham Al Sayyad told Aleqtisadiah earlier this week. The Chinese firms, which operate in construction, renewable energy and electricity, will be contracted for projects by Neom and Aramco among others, he said.

PSAs-

You can submit requests online to provide and distribute iftar meals at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet Mosque in Madinah in Ramadan through the General Authority for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques website.

SPORTS-

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) unveiled its new AI-powered platformSAFF+, designed to broadcast local matches to a wider audience, it said in a press release (pdf).

Starting with 15 competitions: SAFF+ will initially live stream 15 men’s and women’s competitions across 62 stadiums, using cloud broadcasting on its website. The new platform will also provide talent technical analysis in a bid to support scouts, clubs, coaches, and national youth teams. Trial streaming is set to start immediately, the statement reads.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Apple has been slapped with a USD 2 bn fine by the European Commission for breaching EU antitrust laws by preventing music streaming apps from informing iPhone users about cheaper subscription options paid for outside iPhone apps. The whopping fine for “abusing its dominant position” is designed to deter Apple and other giant companies from taking similar actions in the future. (Reuters | CNBC | Associated Press)

While over in the states, Trump’s legal battles are once again making the front pages: The Supreme Court overturned a ruling by Colorado’s top court that prohibited Donald Trump from running for president in the state on the basis of an anti-insurrection clause in the US constitution. Only Congress has the constitutional power to take a candidate of the ballot under the 14 amendment, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Associated Press | CNBC | BBC | Guardian)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Jeddah will host the Bloomberg Power Players Summit on Thursday, 7 March. The summit, sponsored by Bloomberg in Saudi with Asharq Business, will be held against the backdrop of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It will bring together industry leaders in sports, entertainment and technology to identify potential multi-USD investments.

Tickets are on sale for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, scheduled for Jeddah from 7-9 March.

Riyadh will host a World Economic Forum special meeting on 28-29 April.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *