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QUOTED
“We are bullish on the Saudi market for 2025. Saudi will benefit from the portfolio flow rotation out of China. To top it off, valuations are becoming more compelling once again.” Thea Jamison, managing director at Change Global Investment LLC, Saudi Stocks Poised to Rebound as Trade War Risks Grow for Peers [BNN Bloomberg]
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TOP STORY
The Arab Coordination Group (ACG), a strategic alliance of ten leading development finance institutions, announced a landmark commitment of up to US$10 billion by 2030 to address the critical challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
Via Carrington Malin in middleeastainews.com: Microsoft has reached a major milestone in Saudi Arabia with the completion of construction for three data centres and Azure Availability Zones in the Eastern Province. The US software giant expects the new Saudi data centre region to be operational in 2026. Microsoft initially announced plans for a new Microsoft Data Centre and Azure cloud region in Saudi Arabia during LEAP 2023, to offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance combined with customer privacy, data residency, and high-speed latency standards. The move aligns with Microsoft’s $60 billion global investment in AI and cloud infrastructure for 2024. The new Azure cloud region in Saudi Arabia is critical for Microsoft both in terms of its regional and global goals. There is now a global race to build out data centre infrastructure in order to support to growing demand for AI compute and the vast, fast growing amounts of data that support it.
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Via Nancy Tartaglione in deadline.com: Imax and Saudi Arabia’s Muvi Cinemas on Wednesday hosted a grand opening event for the new Imax location at Muvi Mall of Arabia in Jeddah. This is the first Imax location from Saudi’s largest exhibitor. During the event, which was held just ahead of the kickoff of the Red Sea Film Festival, Imax revealed plans to release the first-ever Arabic-language feature in the format, Black Light Films’ action comedy Ambulance. Directed by Colin Teague and starring Ibrahim Hajjaj and Muhammed Al-Qahtani, it will release on April 17, 2025. The film, set against the backdrop of modern-day Riyadh, centers on two paramedics who stumble upon a briefcase containing 2 million riyals. What should be a life-changing moment quickly spirals into their worst nightmare as the duo becomes entangled in a web of kidnapping, blackmail and murder.
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Via Jonathan Gorvett in agbi.com: For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. The Irish capital covered 38 percent of the global total of this kind of Islamic bond at the end of this year’s third quarter – outstripping its two main rivals, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq Dubai. “A large chunk of this comes from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, too,” Bashar Al-Natoor, managing director and global head of Fitch Rating’s Islamic Finance Group, tells AGBI. “The GCC is the biggest domicile for issuers.”
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Saudi Arabia has finalised an arrangement for securing a shariah-compliant revolving credit facility worth $2.5 billion, the...[By Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba via reuters.com]
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Dakar Rally drivers and riders recount Stage 2 of the event, where competitors took two days to traverse nearly 1000 km....[via youtube.com]
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Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund plans to raise $7 billion from its first murabaha credit facility, as the fund diversifies its funding...[By Aarti Nagraj via thenationalnews.com]
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Saudi Arabia raised $12 billion from global debt markets in a three-part bond sale, attracting strong investor...[By Rachna Uppal and Enas Alashray via reuters.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the provisions of the “Use of Security Surveillance Cameras” law prohibit the transfer or publication of security surveillance camera...[via arabnews.com]
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Among the venues announced Tuesday for the 24-team regional competition were the 70,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City Stadium and King Saud University Stadium, both in...[via france24.com]
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That the Gulf’s various sovereign wealth funds have become some of the most dominant players in global dealmaking has rarely been in...[By Matthew Martin via bloomberg.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s water sector witnessed significant shifts in 2023, with a 31 percent increase in desalinated seawater production, now comprising 50 percent of the country’s...[via azernews.az]
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Saudi Arabia will need estimated funding of SAR139 billion ($37.02 billion) in 2025 to cover the potential budget deficit. Finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan has approved...[By Pramod Kumar via agbi.com]
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Saudi Coffee Company has launched its second annual Saudi Sip of Excellence Competition in partnership with the global nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence. Designed...[By April Hawksworth via gcrmag.com]
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Saudi Arabia, one of the largest bond issuers in emerging markets last year, has started 2025 with a funding spree as the country fuels its...[By Abeer Abu Omar and Matthew Martin via yahoo.com]
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Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport and Riyadh King Khalid International Airport each posted record passenger traffic in 2024, reflecting the continuing strong performance of aviation...[By Dermot Davitt via moodiedavittreport.com]
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The world’s top crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has raised the price of its crude loading for Asia in February by more than expected...[By Tsvetana Paraskova via oilprice.com]
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The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) have announced that the first mandatory phase of the...[By Aayushya Ranjan via techafricanews.com]
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In a move that has both bemused and intrigued the global beverage industry, Saudi Arabia has launched Milaf Cola, a fizzy drink made from dates....[via youtube.com]
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WWE, in partnership with The General Entertainment Authority (GEA), on behalf of HE Turki Alalshikh, announced that the 39th annual Royal Rumble will be held in January...[via wwe.com]
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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The Secretary reaffirmed U.S. support for...[via state.gov]
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Syrian rebels ousted pro-government forces from Hama on Thursday, bringing the insurgents a major new victory after...[By Suleiman Al-Khalidi via reuters.com]
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Lebanon's Hezbollah has been significantly degraded militarily by Israel, but the Iran-backed group will likely try to...[By Erin Banco via reuters.com]
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Baghdad is on high alert as several Sunni rebel groups have launched a coordinated military offensive in northwest Syria, stoking fears that the...[via amwaj.media]
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The war in Sudan is a tragic afterthought in global politics, forgotten amid the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. But 19 months of ...[By Ishaan Tharoor via washingtonpost.com]
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An armada of vessels operating near Asia’s maritime thoroughfares moves hundreds of millions of barrels of sanctioned oil. Called the “dark fleet,” the ships also...[via bloomberg.com]
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