MUST-READS

• Oil Markets
  Saudis Slash Oil Prices in Asia as Virus Causes Demand Shock

  Saudi Arabia’s state oil company made deep cuts to the price of crude it sells to Asia, where an outbreak of the coronavirus has caused a slump in demand. Saudi Aramco lowered most of its official selling price differentials for the crude varieties it sells in the world’s largest consuming region, effectively making them cheaper. One exception was -- Arab Heavy -- which was kept unchanged. All grades to the U.S. were cut from a month earlier while European refiners were to be charged more.

• IPOs
  Saudi Healthcare Firm Is Said to Seek Up to $700 Million in IPO

  Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group is seeking to raise as much as 2.63 billion riyals ($700 million) from an initial public offering that starts next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The private health-care operator, one of the largest in Saudi Arabia, will price the shares at 43 to 50 riyals a share, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. Based on that price range, and a planned sale of 15% of the company, the business will be valued at 15.1 billion riyals to 17.5 billion riyals.

• Coronavirus
  Saudi Arabia Bans Travel on Coronavirus Fears

  Saudi Arabia will stop expatriates from returning to the kingdom if they travel to China in an effort to contain the outbreak of coronavirus. The kingdom banned citizens and expatriates from traveling to China, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi citizens violating the restrictions would be penalized, while expatriates wouldn’t be allowed back into the country.

  • Arab News - Schools in Saudi Arabia on coronavirus alert
• Cyber Operations
  Iran-linked hackers pose as journalists in email scam

  In a report published Wednesday, London-based cybersecurity company Certfa tied the impersonation of Fassihi to a hacking group nicknamed Charming Kitten, which has long been associated with Iran.

• Trump Foreign Policy
  Trump praises US military build up but vows overseas troop cuts in State of the Union address

  Despite a lack of progress on that effort in the last year — about 13,000 troops in are currently deployed to Afghanistan, 5,200 troops to Iraq and 3,000 to Saudi Arabia — Trump promised that he is still working to “end America's wars in the Middle East” in the near future.

• U.S.-Iraq
  Plan to Move Patriot Battery to Iraq on Hold amid Baghdad Government Turmoil

  The plan to move a Patriot anti-missile battery from Kuwait into Iraq to protect U.S. troops against another attack from Iran is on hold. It requires approval from the Baghdad government, which is in turmoil, the Pentagon said.

• U.S.-Turkey
  U.S. halts secretive drone program with Turkey over Syria incursion

  The U.S. decision to indefinitely suspend the program, which has not been previously reported, was made in response to Turkey’s cross-border military incursion into Syria in October, the U.S. officials said, revealing the extent of the damage to ties between the NATO allies from the incident.

• Cyber Security
  Saudi Aramco calls for closer collaboration on cybersecurity in the energy industry

  In efforts to collaboratively counter cyber threats, Saudi Aramco established an Intelligence Sharing Consortium in the Energy Industry, with partners such as SABIC and Sadara. Saudi Aramco is also a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Center for Cybersecurity (WEF C4C) that promotes global collaboration and leads global initiatives across various sectors within the cybersecurity industry.

• Telecom
  Saudi Telecom must offer to buy remaining 45% in Vodafone Egypt

  Saudi Telecom Co (STC) must offer to buy the 45% of Vodafone Egypt owned by Telecom Egypt if it goes ahead with a $2.4 billion purchase of Vodafone Group’s stake in the company, Egypt’s financial regulator said. STC struck a preliminary deal on Jan. 29 to buy Vodafone Group’s 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt. Another 45% is held by Telecom Egypt, itself owned 80% by the Egyptian government and 20% as free-floating shares on the stock exchange.

• Rub Al-Khali
  Explorer saw nature’s sheer beauty and power in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter

  He was mentally prepared for encounters with dangerous creatures ranging from wild cats to deadly scorpions. But what turned out to be the biggest danger was the desert itself, Calderan said, recalling a moment when he stood before a “mountain of dunes” as high as 300 meters. “It was as if I had travelled to hell — and it was the first time in my life I started to pray in order to come out,” he said.

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