Good morning, friends. While things are getting slower in the capital with Leap 2024 wrapping up within a few hours and Ramadan inching closer, it is getting busy over in Jeddah, which is hosting the Bloomberg Power Players Summit alongside the Saudi Grand Prix 2024.

Let’s jump right in.

The lineup today at Leap 2024 includes industry leaders and top global execs, among them:

  • Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha;
  • Nokia Senior VP Mikko Lavanti;
  • STC GM of infrastructure design Abdullateef Alsenan;
  • Huawei chief technology officer Jesson Ni;
  • Google growth manager Amin Siala;
  • Plug & Play partner Carolin Wais;
  • PwC Ventures scale lead Patricia Keating;
  • DHL senior VP Nabil Malouli.

OVER IN JEDDAH-

EVENT #1- The Bloomberg Power Players Summit 2024 in Jeddah today will see top industry execs and top-tier athletes discussing the trends shaping the future of global sports. Today’s lineupincludes some of the industry’s big names:

  • McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown;
  • Formula One Academy managing director Susie Wolff;
  • Esports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert;
  • Newcastle United FC co-owner Amanda Staveley;
  • Saudi Pro League COO Carlo Nohra;
  • SRJ Sports Investments CEO Danny Townsend.

EVENT #2- The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 kicks off on Saturday at the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with track action starting today, and qualifiers beginning on Friday. The Formula One event will see Max Verstappen and Red Bull leading the charge following their victory at the Sakhir season opener in Bahrain last weekend. Find today’s schedule here.

OVER THE WEEKEND- Al Awwal Park Stadium will host the Egyptian Cup final between Al Ahly and Zamalek tomorrow at 8:30 pm KSA.

WEATHER- It’s sunny all around today with clear skies and plenty of sunshine in Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah:

  • Riyadh: 26°C daytime / 16°C overnight
  • Makkah: 32°C daytime / 18°C overnight
  • Madinah: 29°C daytime / 17°C overnight

DATA POINTS-

#1- Saudi-GCC trade rose 13% y-o-y to SAR 55.6 tn in 4Q 2023, Saudi Press Agency SPA reports. Saudi exports to GCC countries came in at SAR 34.3 tn in 4Q 2023, while imports from the GCC were up 10.6% to SAR 21.3 tn. The UAE was the Kingdom’s top trade partner, followed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.

#2- Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounted for over 90% of total green bond issuances in the Arab countries which increased 40% y-o-y to SAR 6.8 bn in 9M 2023, Emirati state news agency Wam reports.

#3- The local digital economy has grown 10% to SAR 460 bn since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, Saudi Gazette reports, citing statements by CIT Minister Abdullah Al Swaha.

OIL WATCH-

Aramco raised its flagship Arab Light crude prices to Asian customers by USD 1.7 a barrel to the regional benchmark, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The hike is bigger than traders’ forecasts last week, which saw Aramco maintaining the official selling price of flagship Arab Light crude or making minor upward adjustments by USD 0.1-0.2 per barrel in April.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- An “advanced” industrial license to lure the investors in: The Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry unveiled an “updated version” of the industrial license with multiple incentives in a bid to cut red tape for industrial investors, according to a post on Linkedin by the ministry yesterday. The one-year renewable license covers the establishment, construction and production phases of industrial projects with the aim of reducing the bureaucracy involved in each phase.

Among the benefits: The incentives include tax exemptions on machinery, equipment, production inputs and others. It also allows investors to apply for industrial loans and energy allocations among others.

#2- Another day, another LNG play by Aramco: Aramco and UAE’s Adnoc are reportedly in talks to invest in US liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects as they look to compete for a market share in the flourishing gas market, Reuters reported yesterday, citing sources aware of the talks. Aramco is looking to invest in the second phase of Sempra Infrastructure’s Port Arthur LNG project in Texas, while Adnoc is looking to pour funds into the Rio Grande LNG export facility by US LNG firm NextDecade. It’s unclear if the oil giants are looking into equity stakes or sale and purchase agreements or both.

REMEMBER- Aramco wants to step up its LNG game: Earlier this week, Aramco and Shell were shortlisted among other companies by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings for the sale of its LNG trading firm subsidiary Pavilion Energy’s assets. An acquisition of Pavilion Energy’s LNG assets would help Aramco spur its LNG business, sources told Reuters earlier.

#3- The Justice Ministry has unveiled a model unified construction contract in collaboration with the Saudi Contractors Authority, it said in a post on Linkedin yesterday. The new document falls under the ministry’s Preventative Justice Initiative and aims to digitize and document construction contracts in a bid to promote transparency in the sector. No further details on the official document were provided.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Republican challenger Nikki Hailey drops out of the race for the White House, after Trump and Biden sailed to resounding victories on Super Tuesday. “The time has now come to suspend my campaign,” the former UN ambassador told her supporters, paving the way for a Biden-Trump rematch on 5 November.

MEANWHILE IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS-Cairo ceasefire talks still in deadlock: Day four of negotiations between Hamas and Egypt-Qatari mediators in Cairo failed to land an agreement on a six-week ceasefire in Gaza yesterday, as pressure mounts on all sides to secure an end to fighting before the start of Ramadan, Reuters wrote.

AND- A cargo ship is on fire and adrift off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi attack on the vessel. Four of those on board are reportedly severely burnt and another four are missing, the newswire reports.

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