Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to what we expect will be an aviation-heavy week as some 5k aviation executives from aviation majors including Boeing, Airbus, China’s Comac, and Embraer gather tomorrow and the day after for two major overlapping aviation events in the capital.

The Future Aviation Forum opens tomorrow, while the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Facilitation 2024 Global Summit kicks off on Tuesday.

The government has plans to set up six new airports as well as nine additional terminals at existing airports to help it deliver an ambitious aviation strategy to boost the Kingdom’s air connectivity, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) President Abdulaziz Al Duailej told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 5:00). The Gaca chief said the private sector will have a key role in implementing the aviation strategy, which will see the sector opening up to privatization. He said the strategy aims to bring the sector’s contribution to GDP to over SAR 8 bn by 2030.

The targets: Gaca aims to increase passenger numbers from 100 mn pre-pandemic to 330 mn and expand air connectivity from about 100 to more than 250 destinations by the end of the decade. It also aims to double air freight capacity and the design capacity for cargo warehouses to reach 4.5 mn tons of cargo.

In context: The Tourism Ministry recently doubled its target for 2030, aiming now to host 150 mn tourist trips after it hit its target last year ahead of schedule. The new 2030 target envisages 80 mn trips by domestic travelers and 70 mn by international travelers.

BY THE NUMBERS- The civil aviation sector has contributed USD 53 bn to the Kingdom’s GDP, state news agency SPA reported, citing a report by Gaca. Some USD 20.8 bn came from aviation related activities, while USD 32.2 bn came from tourism. The sector saw 241k jobs, while 717k jobs were offered in the tourism sector. Gaca will launch its inaugural State of Aviation Report during the Future Aviation Forum.

By the numbers: The Kingdom’s international seat capacity grew by 123% compared to pre-pandemic levels, surpassing the global recovery rate of 90% and the regional rate of 95%, according to the report. Passenger volumes grew 26% y-o-y to 112 mn passengers last year.

MEANWHILE- There’s no word on Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Salman’s meeting with White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan. Sullivan was due in Saudi yesterday to meet with the Crown Prince on “bilateral and regional matters, including the war in Gaza and ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting peace and security in the region,” a White House statement said. Sullivan heads today to Israel.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- A delegation of 30 Hong Kong officials headed by the HK Secretary of Justice Paul Lam arrived in Riyadh yesterday, according to a HK statement. This comes on the heels of Tadawul’s Hong Kong edition of its Capital Market Forum which wrapped up last week. The five-day trip will see the delegation also touch base in Abu-Dhabi and Dubai later this week.

Laying the groundwork to ramp-up investment in both directions: The delegation is expected to meet with executives from the “local legal and business sectors to have a better understanding of their need for cross-jurisdictional legal services. They will also call on relevant government officials to discuss and exchange views on various areas of legal co-operation,” the statement reads.

The guestlist includes officials from the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), and the Department of FDI (better known as Invest HK).

REMEMBER- Hong Kong officials are looking to set up a trade and economy office in Saudi, while Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific is looking to relaunch direct flights to Riyadh in 4Q 2024. Meanwhile, Neom has been active in the past weeks to drum up investment interest, with a recent trip to China to lure interest from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.

#2- Riyadh hosts today the Saudi Energy Convention. The convention, which runs through Tuesday, will see energy and utilities industry leaders talk about decarbonization and energy. It will also host the Saudi Utilities Convention and Saudi Hydrogen Convention to address the role and challenges of rolling out hydrogen, water and utility projects that are in line with the global energy transition. Over 10k energy professionals and 200 industry speakers should be present at the event.

#3- Environment Minister Abdulrahman Alfadley is leading Saudi’s delegation to the World Water Forum in Bali which opened yesterday, state news agency SPA reported. The Saudi delegation will host a panel discussion on Riyadh’s preparations to host the event in 2027. This year’s edition of the largest international gathering in the water industry in Indonesia wraps up on Saturday, 25 May.

#4- It’s finance week for small businesses: Monsha’at, the small and medium enterprises regulator, will hold a series of events in Riyadh, Madinah, Jeddah, and Al-Khobar, state news agency SPA reports. The events aim to raise awareness about financing options available to small businesses and to discuss challenges faced by the sector. You can sign up here.

#5- The subscription period for the fourth round of retail saving sukuk program starts today, the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said in a post on X. The instruments carry a fixed yield of 5.64%. The minimum subscription amount for the May issuance was set at SAR 1k, while the maximum is SAR 200k per investor for the total duration of the program. Get your orders in before Tuesday afternoon.

BACKGROUND- The Finance Ministry and the NDMC launched the shariah-compliant retail saving instrument in a bid to diversify the nation’s savings offerings. The program features monthly issuances by the NDMC that carry annual fixed yields varying in value from month to month depending on market conditions. Every issuance matures in 12 months and has no subscription fee.

WEATHER- Thunderstorms almost everywhere: The national weather service is advising folks to exercise caution, with thunderstorms expected in most regions today through Wednesday. Some of the affected areas include Makkah, Jazan, Aseer and Al Baha. Makkah will experience thunderstorms with a high of 44°C and a low of 30°C, while Jazan will see a similar forecast with a high of 37°C and a low of 32°C. Thunderstorms are also in the cards for Al Baha which will see a high of 27°C and a low of 20°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Mawani could ban imports from 20 carmakers based on a request by the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization citing the exporters failure to submit their 2024 supply plans on time, Argaam reports citing a Mawani circular. The report did not specify which carmakers could face a ban.

#2- You can now verify the authenticity of real estate advertisements through a new online service recently launched by the Real Estate General Authority (Rega), according to a Rega statement. The service aims to help market participants in identifying fraudulent advertisements, boost the sector’s credibility, and improve the customer experience. We couldn’t find the website link through which the service is accessible but here’s the link for the Fal service which provides applicants with licenses to operate the real estate brokerage industry.

#3- Cabinet has approved the new executive regulations for the Public Health Authority, according to the official gazette Umm Al Qura. The regulations are yet to be put on the government’s public survey platform, Istitla.

#4- Mekyal Financial Technologies has gotten the okay to experiment with offering and investing in debt instruments as part of a fintech license, according to a Capital Market Authority statement.

#5- Women can now specialize in maritime studies at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, a research area that was once only open to their male counterparts, it said in a post on X.

PSAs-

Victims of financial scams on Mada debit cards can now report incidents online through the Interior Ministry’s e-platform, Absher, the General Directorate of Public Security said in a post on X.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a fairly quiet morning in the global business news, with one story dominating the front pages.

TROUBLE IN THE ISRAELI CABINET? Benny Gantz, a central member of Israel’s three-man war cabinet, said he’ll resign his post unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopts a new war plan by 8 June. Netanyahu called Gantz’s ultimatum “washed-up words whose meaning is clear: the end of war and defeat for Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian state.” (Bloomberg | Reuters | AP)

What would Gantz’s departure mean? Gantz leaving “would leave Netanyahu even more beholden to far-right allies who have taken a hard line on negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release, and who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there,” CNBC writes.

MEANWHILE- Another Houthi attack in the Red Sea. A Panamanian-flagged oil tanker was hit by a Houthi anti-ship missile yesterday, US Centcom said in a statement yesterday.

From the Dept. of Flying Cars: Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng’s plans to deliver its flying car to customers in two years, the company’s co-president told CNBC. The flying car — dubbed the Land Aircraft Carrier —- will be available for people to pre-order this year.

AND IN AI NEWS- OpenAI has disbanded its long-term AI risk team less than a year after announcing it. The team was announced in July with the aim to “to steer and control AI systems much smarter than us.”

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Future Aviation Forum will get underway on Monday, 20 May and run until Wednesday, 22 May at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. The event, organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, will see the Kingdom showcasing some USD 100 bn worth of investment options in the aviation and logistics sector at large.

Riyadh will host the annual conference of the Airports Council International — also known as WAGA — from Tuesday, 21 May to Thursday, 23 May. The global gathering brings together leading senior executives from around the world to cover topics that shape the aviation industry. The event’s speakers include PIF-owned airline Riyadh Air CEO Rony Douglas, Saudi Air Connectivity Program Majid Khan, Riyadh Airports CEO Ayman Aboabah and others.

Demo day for the final round of the Sanabil 500 MENA seed accelerator will kick off on Wednesday, 29 May in Riyadh with seven finalists. Applications for the next batch are now open and will close on 6 August 2024.

Riyadh will host a Global AI Summit from 10-12 September, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. The event, which is organized by the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, will focus on key AI topics and trends, delving into its local and global adoptions, ethics, and infrastructure.

Dammam will host the Saudi Maritime and Logistics Congress from Wednesday, 18 September to Thursday, 19 September. The two-day event looks to gather up to 10k attendees and 200 exhibitors, and will discuss topics including interlinked logistics, developments in supply chains, digitalisation, decarbonisation, the energy transition, and workforce development.

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