Retail Retail orders for IPO of Saudi’s Nice One hit $242m The retail tranche of Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing’s initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange was 7.9 times oversubscribed, with the order book reaching SAR908 million ($242 million). SNB Capital Company, the lead manager for the IPO, said the two-day subscription included 3.47 million shares, representing 10 percent of the IPO, at SAR35 […] December 31, 2024
Business of Sport World Cup contractors may have to register in Saudi Foreign companies hoping to capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s SAR100 billion ($26.6 billion) World Cup preparations must be registered in the kingdom, according to the chief executive of a leading Saudi-based investment company. “Don’t waste time offering services from abroad,” said Mohammed AlQahtani, CEO at Saudi Arabia Holding Company, a private equity firm in Riyadh, in […] December 31, 2024
Video length: 03:59 VIDEO Markets Investors wary of inflation as Trump pursues ‘America first’ policy When Donald Trump returns to the White House his “America First” policy is likely to increase inflation and global economic fragmentation, according to analysts. “We [the Middle East] need to be much more picky about particular geographies, asset classes and even themes that we favour,” said Ben Powell, chief investment strategist at BlackRock’s Investment Institute, […] December 31, 2024
Health UAE’s Burjeel buys Saudi physiotherapy centre Burjeel Holdings has bolstered its presence in Saudi Arabia by acquiring a physiotherapy centre in Makkah. The Specialist Physiotherapy Center was purchased for SAR6.5 million ($1.7 million) by Burjeel KSA, a subsidiary, broadening the Abu Dhabi-listed hospital operator’s footprint in the kingdom. The centre provides hotel physiotherapy solutions designed to support the needs of Umrah and […] December 31, 2024
Analysis Food & Drink Gulf restaurants urged to keep it local Restaurant operators and investors in the Gulf should open local, authentic outlets rather than imported high-end brands, experts say. Saudi Arabia, where government-backed initiatives seek to double the number of restaurants, “is definitely a growth market”, according to Duncan Fraser-Smith, CEO of Craft Hospitality Group. But the establishment needs to suit the location. Craft turned […] December 31, 2024
Real Estate Saudi mortgage issuance reached two-year high in November The number of residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia reached its highest level since August 2022 in November, according to the latest figures from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama). A total of 13,142 new residential mortgages were given by banks to individuals during the month with the value up by 51 percent year on year […] December 30, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising AI and authenticity will lead marketing trends in 2025 If human imagination is thrown into the mix, AI can be very creative December 30, 2024
People & Lifestyle Almoosa Health IPO’s retail tranche orders hit $372m The retail tranche of Almoosa Health Company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi stock exchange was 408.7 percent oversubscribed, with the order book reaching SAR1.4 billion ($372.8 million). It ran two days from December 23 and comprised 2.66 million shares, representing 20 percent of the IPO, at SAR127 per share. Individual investors will receive […] December 30, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabian non-oil exports increase by 13% Non-oil exports from Saudi Arabia increased by almost 13 percent to SAR25.38 billion ($6.76 billion) in October compared to the same month last year, according to the latest government trade report. Chemical products made up 26.8 percent of non-oil exports over the month, followed by plastics and rubber products at 23.7 percent, the General Authority […] December 27, 2024
Mining Saudi Arabia extends bids deadline for largest mineral belts Saudi Arabia has extended the deadline for submitting exploration licence proposals for its first mineralised belts. The extension was granted following a request from qualified bidders, seeking more time to complete the procedures, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said. In November the ministry announced 14 pre-qualified bidders for the five mineralised sites. The […] December 25, 2024
Tourism Saudi hotel rates are flat, but tourists are staying longer Room rates in Saudi hotels are flat, but visitors to the kingdom are staying for longer, according to government figures. The average daily room rate was SAR725.50 ($193.50) in the second quarter of 2024, said the General Authority for Statistics. This was a dip of 0.4 percent year on year. Average room occupancy rates in […] December 24, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Riyadh will take a measured, domestic approach to its World Cup The sense that the 2034 tournament will be ‘by Saudis, for Saudis’ looms large December 24, 2024
Business of Sport Prince sells English football club to US consortium Saudi Arabia’s United World Group, led by Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has sold its interest in the English Championship side Sheffield United. The club, currently sitting at the top of the table heading into the busy Christmas schedule of fixtures, has been taken over by the American consortium COH Sports for […] December 24, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Regional investors rush to Musk’s $6bn xAI funding round Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has attracted funding from regional investors including Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Oman Investment Authority. The latest Series C funding round for xAI has closed after raising $6 billion from backers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners, as well as […] December 24, 2024
Real Estate Real estate fund behind billion-riyal Medina development A billion-riyal mixed-use project has been launched in Medina as the inaugural development of a new Saudi real estate fund. The development fund is a collaboration between the Knowledge Economic City Company (KEC), Sidra Capital and Ravel Properties. The fund will develop a 33,2300sq m plot of land along King Abdulaziz Road, which is located […] December 23, 2024
Banking and Finance Subscribers to Saudi private investment funds rise by half The number of subscribers to private investment funds in Saudi Arabia has increased by more than half in the last year, official figures showed. Around 131,000 subscribers were recorded in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Argaam platform, citing data from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). This is an increase of 55 percent […] December 23, 2024
Analysis Economy Why Saudi Arabia expects public debt to rise Saudi Arabia expects its public debt to steadily rise in the next three years, despite the massive financial reserves controlled by the central bank and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Estimates by the Saudi Finance Ministry show that public debt will swell by around SAR375 billion ($100 billion) between the end of 2024 and the […] December 23, 2024
Manufacturing Alba and Ma’aden delay merger to Q2 2025 The deadline on a potential merger between Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) and subsidiaries of Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden has been extended into the second quarter of 2025. It had been hoped that a deal between the two manufacturing giants could be completed in the first quarter, according to Alba’s chief executive, Ali Al Baqali. But a note […] December 23, 2024
Markets eXtra to pay ‘exceptional’ dividend of $107m Saudi retailer United Electronics Company (eXtra) will distribute “exceptional” cash dividends for the fourth quarter of 2024 after listing of its shariah-compliant consumer finance business. The company will pay SAR400 million ($106.5 million), or SAR 5 per share, to eligible shareholders who own the stock at the close of trading on December 31, 2024. The […] December 19, 2024
Aviation Gulf-backed Heathrow announces $3bn investment plan Heathrow Airport in London – now partly owned by two Gulf sovereign wealth funds: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Qatar Investment Authority – has announced a £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) investment plan to upgrade the transport hub over the next two years. The investment will be used to introduce new baggage systems, resurface […] December 18, 2024
