Analysis Markets Aramco dividend vital to big-spending Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco’s 2024 full-year results due this week are likely to again underline the importance of the world’s largest listed oil company to big-spending Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans. Aramco has said it expects to announce fourth-quarter dividends – payouts to the Saudi government are a core source of state revenue – of SAR116.5 billion […] March 3, 2025
Mining Saudi Arabia turns to recycling to enhance mineral recovery As part of its push to make mineral mining a pillar of its otherwise hydrocarbon-dominated economy, Saudi Arabia is investigating how to increase extraction by recycling mining waste. This is providing a valuable opportunity for local startups and US technology companies. Since the start of the year, several startups in the critical minerals and rare […] February 28, 2025
Finance Arab Energy Fund raises $650m in bonds The Arab Energy Fund, formerly known as Apicorp, has raised $650 million in a five-year bond issue that was oversubscribed 1.4 times. AEF is a multilateral lender focused on the Mena energy sector, with headquarters in Riyadh. It initially planned to raise $500 million but increased the issue size after demand surged, attracting more than […] February 28, 2025
Real Estate Saudi city rental yields top the Gulf as demand surges One-bedroom apartments in Saudi Arabia’s West Riyadh and North Jeddah now command the highest rental yields across the Gulf as demand for housing in the largest Arab economy surges. Although rents in Saudi Arabia are still relatively low compared with other countries in the region, they nonetheless grew by more than 10 percent last year. […] February 28, 2025
Aviation Flynas secures $132m to acquire 3 A320neo aircraft Saudi low-cost carrier Flynas has secured a sharia-compliant loan of SAR495 million ($132 million) to acquire three Airbus A320neo aircraft, the airline said in a statement. The funding has been provided by Bank AlJazira, which trades on the Saudi stock exchange, the statement said. The new aircraft are expected to support Flynas’s network coverage, improve operational […] February 28, 2025
Markets Umm Al Qura IPO order book hits $126bn The institutional offering of Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction (Umm Al Qura), the developer of SAR100 billion ($26.7 billion) Masar, a mixed-use project in Mecca, was oversubscribed 241 times, according to a statement. The company, which is backed by the state-run General Organization for Social Insurance (Gosi) and Public Investment Fund (PIF), will raise […] February 28, 2025
Construction Barloworld rejects Zahid’s $1.25bn takeover bid Shareholders at South African construction equipment company Barloworld have voted against a takeover offer by Saudi company Zahid Group. The Jeddah-based conglomerate offered to buy shares of the South African listed company at 120 rand ($6.50) apiece, valuing it at around $1.25 billion. The deal failed to secure the majority required, Barloworld said in a […] February 27, 2025
Opinion Finance Miami’s Saudi love affair hasn’t convinced everyone Saudi Arabia is all the rage among US investors, but FDI constraints remain February 27, 2025
Manufacturing PIF weighs investment in Boeing’s Italian parts maker Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is holding talks about investing in the aerostructures unit of Italian defence company Leonardo, a news report said. The talks are at an early stage with no agreement guaranteed, Bloomberg reported. The investment could lead to the Italian company building a civil aviation manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, the […] February 27, 2025
Finance Turkey, Saudi and other emerging markets take on $4.5trn of debt Emerging markets took on $4.5 trillion of debt last year, according to the Institute of International Finance, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey were among the biggest borrowers. Global debt increased by nearly $7 trillion to $318 trillion in 2024, the highest figure on record, the Washington-based institute said in a report shared with AGBI. Emerging […] February 26, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas The Riyadh summit will shape global energy geopolitics Diplomatic pressure is rising and so is the volatility of black gold February 26, 2025
Manufacturing EV maker Lucid’s CEO quits as total losses hit $13bn Peter Rawlinson, the CEO of the Saudi Arabia-backed electric car maker Lucid Motors, has resigned after the Californian company’s total accumulated losses rose to almost $13 billion. Earlier this week, Lucid announced that its losses in 2024 were up almost 11 percent to $3.1 billion, from $2.8 billion the year before. Shares in Lucid, which […] February 26, 2025
Saudi’s first sovereign green bond oversubscribed six times Saudi Arabia’s sale of its first sovereign “green” bonds – together with more conventional fixed-income bonds – was oversubscribed six times, according to the Saudi National Debt Management Centre. The sale consisted of €1.5 billion ($1.58 billion) of seven-year, euro-denominated green bonds and €750 million 12-year conventional debt. A green bond is where the seller […] February 26, 2025
Petrochemicals Aramco-owned Sabic turns $400m profit in 2024 Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, a listed petrochemicals company that is 70 percent owned by Saudi Aramco, turned a profit last year after losing money in 2023. Sabic’s profit was SAR1.5 billion ($400 million) in 2024, compared with a loss of SAR2.8 billion in 2023. Annual revenue fell 1 percent to SAR140 billion and sales volumes […] February 26, 2025
Telecoms STC to pay special 2024 dividend as profit grows Saudi Telecom Company (STC), which trades on the Saudi stock exchange, has recommended a special dividend payout of nearly SAR10 billion ($2.7 billion) for 2024. That is over and above its fourth-quarter 2024 dividend of almost SAR3 billion. The special dividend announcement follows a near doubling in STC’s 2024 net profit to SAR25 billion. Revenue rose […] February 26, 2025
Analysis Petrochemicals Petrochemicals ‘won’t even get fleeting respite’, analysts warn Executives and investors in Saudi petrochemicals could be forgiven for needing a break from industry news after its biggest companies report what are widely expected to be lacklustre results for the final quarter of 2024. They won’t be getting that pause any time soon, however. Extra production capacity that was expected in 2024 is instead […] February 26, 2025
Logistics DHL buys stake in Saudi logistics company Ajex The US logistics company DHL has bought a minority stake in the Saudi parcel logistics company Ajex to tap into growth in the largest Arab economy. DHL eCommerce bought the stake in Riyadh-based Ajex Logistics Services, the DHL unit said, without disclosing the sum. “We are focusing on markets like Saudi Arabia that exhibit significant […] February 25, 2025
Manufacturing PIF unit to manufacture lifts in Saudi Arabia Alat, a Public Investment Fund-backed manufacturing company, is setting up a €160 million ($168 million) joint venture with Germany’s TK Elevator to manufacture lifts and escalators in Saudi Arabia, the German company said in a statement. Alat, which was launched in February last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has acquired a 15 percent stake in […] February 25, 2025
Analysis Petrochemicals Gloomy outlook for Saudi petrochemicals Saudi Arabia’s 10 listed petrochemical companies are likely to report lacklustre earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 because of an ongoing downturn in the global chemicals industry, analysts predict. The sector’s prolonged malaise means they are likely to be of little interest to international institutional investors – although all enjoy significant cost advantages over […] February 25, 2025
Renewable Energy Acwa Power planning 15GW wind and solar projects Acwa Power expects to announce new solar and wind power projects before the end of April as part of its contract to provide 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy needs. The projects will have a combined generating capacity of 15 gigawatts (GW), Acwa’s chief investment and development officer Thomas Brostrom told AGBI. That is […] February 24, 2025
