MUST-READS

• Moody’s retains positive outlook for Saudi Arabia’s banking sector

  Moody’s Investors Service has retained a positive outlook for Saudi Arabia’s banking sector thanks to the Kingdom’s economic diversification programs. In its latest report, the US-based credit rating agency said the demand for credit for government-backed projects will improve loan performance and generate strong profit for banks in Saudi Arabia. “The banks’ operating environment will continue to be supported by the strong momentum in the non-oil sector, which will benefit from the accelerated implementation of the economic diversification agenda,” said Moody’s. The report added that expected interest rate cycle reversal could squeeze margins, although loan growth and lesser funding costs could soften the impact of lower rates.

• CEO interview: Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District is being ‘activated’ in 2024

  This year will see the "activation" of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), according to the CEO of the firm developing the project, and will involve building more infrastructure, including car parking spaces, more office spaces, retail and the district’s “green lung”. Gautam Sashittal, CEO of KAFD Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), said 95 buildings have been delivered in the district so far, amounting to 50% of the district area already being built on, an area of 1.6 million square metres. “Our challenge today is to keep the city active as we build for the future. So we already have 10 new projects that are either in design or under construction,” he said. 

• Report: Saudi Arabia’s PIF pitches $1bln investment into tennis

  Golf isn't the only sport Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is trying to get its hands on. In the midst of negotiations with the PGA Tour, PIF is also looking to invest in tennis, specifically the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour, Sportico reported Wednesday. PIF is not looking to take over the tours, per the report. Instead, the money invested would primarily be used to acquire licensing that would bring a Masters 1000 event to Saudi Arabia. ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi reportedly made those on the tours aware of the offer last weekend at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

• Saudi Arabia’s PIF updates its asset size to $925.2bn

  Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has revised its asset size on its website, reaching $925.2 billion, after it climbed to the fifth spot in a ranking of state-owned investment organizations. The significant rise in the Public Investment Fund’s standing follows its procurement of an additional 8 percent stake in Aramco, boosting its shareholding’s estimated value to $328 billion. This acquisition has significantly impacted PIF’s overall assets under management, exceeding $860 billion, a rise from $700 billion by the end of 2022.

• Inside Saudi Arabia’s plan to take over the mining industry

  Saudi Arabia sees vast riches beyond oil within its reach. The kingdom’s broad-ranging ambition, a top mining official told Semafor, is to extract the more than $2.5 trillion in metals in its soil, invest in minerals extraction around the world, and capture as much of the minerals value chain as possible. “Saudi Arabia is being transformed. Through this transformation we want to be an economic powerhouse,” Khalid al-Mudaifer, the vice minister for mining, said. “To be an industrial [power], we need minerals. To build projects, we need minerals. Therefore, mining of Saudi Arabia [is] the first step, bringing minerals from outside is the second step, third step is to build Saudi Arabia as a hub.”

• Saudi Arabia Data Center Market Anticipates Robust Growth with Rising Demand for IoT and 5G Technologies

  The newest industry insights underscore the significant expansion within the Saudi Arabia Data Center Market, driven by the rapidly evolving digital landscape and the burgeoning need for sophisticated technology infrastructure. The forecast period of 2024-2028 highlights an exceptional growth trajectory, fueled by the integration of cloud computing, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) services, amongst other advanced digital solutions.

• Saudi Arabia’s PIF To Ramp Up Bond Sales, IPOs to Pay for MBS’s Projects

  Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is considering plans to accelerate debt sales or obtain bank loans as it hunts for new sources of cash to help pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trillion-dollar economic transformation project. The Public Investment Fund could also line up equity offerings in its portfolio companies as part of the push, according to people familiar with the matter. The moves come as the fund’s cash reserves have dropped to $15 billion as of September — the lowest level since 2020, the earliest year for which data is available.

• Saudi inflation inches up to 1.8% in February

  Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate rose to 1.8% in February from 1.6% the previous month driven by increases in housing rents, government data showed on Thursday. Prices in the subcategory of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels climbed 8.5% from a year earlier, according to the General Authority for Statistics. Housing rents alone surged 10%, faster than the 9.3% gain for January. They account for roughly a fifth of the weighting within the consumer price basket. Prices of food and beverages increased 1.3% in February year on year ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan which began on March 11. Vegetable prices jumped 7.6%.

• Saudi Arabia Gets $13 Billion in Investment in Tourism Boost

  Saudi Arabia has attracted about $13 billion in private sector investment into its tourism industry as it aims to share the cost of spending associated with its plan to become a new travel hot spot. The investments are poised to add another 150,000 to 200,000 hotel rooms within the next two years, according to Princess Haifa M. Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s vice minister for tourism. The kingdom is also targeting raising tourism revenue to $85 billion this year from around $66 billion in 2023, she said.

• Gulf Capital partners with RDIA to deploy $100 million in Saudi tech sector

  Gulf Capital announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Saudi Research Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) to deploy over $100 million into the Saudi technology and innovation sector over the next five years. The Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed in Riyadh by Dr Rami Niazi, Vice Governor of Strategy at the Saudi Research Development and Innovation Authority, and Dr Karim El Solh, co-founder and CEO of Gulf Capital.

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