Episode 69! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to our subscribers and listeners who celebrate. The 966 hosts kick off the second annual “Christmas spectacular” with a discussion of green hydrogen and news that Germany may be on of Saudi Arabia’s first big customers, and a discussion of Saudi Arabia as a $1 trillion (!) economy. Then the hosts welcome Todd Albert Nims, a key player in the Kingdom’s blossoming film and entertainment scene and co-producer of the film ‘Born a King.’ Then, the hosts finish up with Yallah! 6 top storylines in Saudi Arabia this week to cap off an excellent first year.
Lucien’s one big thing is green hydrogen. Saudi Arabia saw traction in two ways this week, first, in a potentially large buyer in Germany, and second, in the agreement to secure financing for the work to produce ammonia for export at Neom. Air Products, along with Neom and ACWA Power, entered into a deal in July 2020 to produce ammonia at Neom for export. The three companies are betting big that Europe would be one of the largest importers of green ammonia. The three industrial heavyweights created the Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC), NEOM’s NGHC announced yesterday that it had inked facility agreements with local, regional, and international banks and Saudi Arabia’s SIDF to finance the construction of the plant.
The 966 welcomes Todd Albert Nims. Mr. Nims, born in Saudi Arabia, is a leader in the Kingdom’s film industry. He co-produced the major feature film Born a King, shot in London and Saudi Arabia which broke box office records for the Gulf. He held the Film Producer position at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s state-of-the-art hub for inspiring creativity and global culture, Ithra, for six years where he established the Kingdom’s first cinema and assisted in launching the first Saudi Film Days (saudifilmdays.com) program to provide funding and development to Saudi filmmakers while screening their films in Hollywood. Mr. Nims owns an entertainment company based in Riyadh with several scripts and projects in development and a creative consultancy business based in the USA. He also sits as chairman of the Arts, Culture & Entertainment Committee for the American Chamber of Commerce in KSA.
Yallah! 6 Top Storylines this week…
Per Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product expanded an annual 8.8% in the third quarter, keeping the oil-rich kingdom on track to be the fastest-growing among the Group of 20 economies this year. The final figure was slightly higher than a preliminary estimate of 8.6% due to further expansion in the non-oil economy, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed Sunday. All sectors displayed positive annual growth.Saudi Arabia has previously said it anticipates full-year economic growth of 8.5%, as well as its first budget surplus in nearly a decade.
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According to Reuters, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) and TotalEnergies will join forces to build a new petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia, the French energy group said on Thursday. The project involves investment of about $11 billion, of which $4 billion will be funded through equity by Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%), the statement said.
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Per CNBC, Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group said Monday that it has completed a planned $1.5 billion equity offering. The company first announced the offering in November, when it reported its third-quarter results.
Lucid raised the majority of that cash, about $915 million, via a private sale of nearly 86 million shares to an affiliate of its largest investor, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The remaining $600 million was raised via a traditional secondary stock offering, in which Lucid sold an additional 56 million shares.
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Saudi’s Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and energy company ACWA Power have signed power purchase agreements to develop the largest solar energy plant in the Middle East, Reuters reports. The 2,060 megawatt solar facility will be built in Al-Shuaibah, in the Makkah province, and is expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2025.
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According to a report in MEMO, Saudi Arabia plans 2km high ‘megascraper’ – Saudi Arabia is planning to build a 2,000 metre high tower in the capital Riyadh. If the plans go ahead, it will be the tallest building in the world, eclipsing the UAE’s Burj Khalifa in Dubai which stands at 828 metres high. The estimated cost is around $5 billion according to a report by Middle East business intelligence (MEED). A design competition is currently underway with a participation fee of $1 million, the report said, citing sources close to the contest who also disclosed that several of the world’s leading architecture firms have already been invited to take part.
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Eurofruit reports that “Indonesia is the main focus of the latest marketing drive for Saudi dates, along with Morocco, France, the UK and the US, as the Kingdom aims to be the first choice for date consumers globally.” According to Abdullah Al-Yahya, marketing department manager at the National Centre for Palms and Dates (NCPD), Saudi Arabia alone produces more than 400 kinds of dates. “There are more than 400 kinds of dates in Saudi Arabia, but we are focusing on a dozen or so. We are trying to educate people on the different kinds available, how tasty, how juicy, how healthy they are. We are focusing on organic dates as a super fruit and a healthy fruit.”
Happy new year!
