MUST-READS

• Investcorp expands its AUM in Asia and reaches $2.3bn in funds raised across

  Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by a large Asian institution to invest in South-East Asia, worth over $100 million. This adds to $2.2 billion raised by Investcorp from Asian institutional investors in the last 18 months as it continues to build its global distribution system and deliver fundraising capabilities to investors across key markets in Asia.

• Saudi Capital Market Brief: Rising Issuance Levels Are Just The Start

  We expect Saudi issuers to continue tapping the global and the local capital markets to finance Saudi Vision 2030. While this appears manageable in the short term, we are keeping an eye on the leverage build-up in the medium-to-long term. We still expect leverage to remain manageable in our base-case scenario, with private-sector debt to GDP staying below the 100% mark in the next 12-24 months. Saudi companies have led the show until now, but the dynamics are changing.  Saudi companies, including government-related entities, account for around two-thirds of U.S. dollar-denominated nongovernmental issuances on average over the past five years, but we expect banks to play a bigger role going forward. External leverage is building.   Saudi issuers, including the government, have raised more than $130 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated issuances over the past five years. This comes on top of the $144 billion that they raised locally in Saudi riyal during the same period, with the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030 explaining part of this flurry. While the government accounts for around 60% of these issuances, Saudi Vision 2030 has also created significant opportunities in the non-oil economy and the banking system.

• Saudi Arabia Participates in Ministerial Meeting in New York to Back Yemeni Government

  The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) has participated in the international ministerial meeting to support the Yemeni government, held here in conjunction with the UN Security Council meeting and co-chaired by Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak and British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer. SDRPY Director of Developmental Programs Dr. Hala Alsaleh underscored that Saudi Arabia's participation in the meeting reflects its ongoing commitment to supporting Yemen across various sectors. She highlighted the Kingdom's consistent efforts to foster peace and stability in Yemen through comprehensive development initiatives led by the program.

• Saudi labor courts issued 130,000 rulings last year, up 21% from 2023

  The Ministry of Justice said that labor courts across Saudi Arabia pronounced more than 130,000 judgments during the year 2024, and this figure records an increase of 21 percent compared to the previous year 2023. A total of 290,000 court sessions were held during the last year. The ministry said that labor courts contributed to shortening the average lifespan of a labor case to just 20 days, which is the period from the date of filing the case until it is closed. It added that the average number of sessions for closed cases was two sessions. The ministry stressed that consolidating the concept of institutionalization and the work of central departments such as the Case Preparation Center and the Case Audit Center have contributed to raising the courts’ achievement and speeding up the resolution of cases.

• Saudi National Bank Proposes 16 Million Share Buyback

  Saudi National Bank (SNB), the largest bank in Saudi Arabia by assets, has proposed the repurchase of up to 16 million treasury shares. The initiative, aimed at supporting the bank’s employees’ equity programme, highlights SNB’s commitment to empowering its workforce. The proposed buyback will be financed entirely through the bank’s internal resources, as disclosed in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange. Currently, treasury shares constitute 0.92% of the total shares designated for the equity programme. If approved, the buyback will further strengthen the programme’s foundation and align with the bank’s long-term growth strategy.

• The best residential PV system configuration for Saudi Arabia
  Researchers in Saudi Arabia have identified the best and optimum PV system configurations for the Saudi residential market. Their analysis investigated the capacity threshold that leads to a lower cost of electricity compared to grid electricity costs. They used NREL’s HOMER software to analyze the energy requirements of the residential units, the solar energy potential and weather characteristics of the selected location, and the financial parameters influencing a project’s profitability.
   

• Saudi Arabia to launch 2 Orange Line stations tomorrow

  The Riyadh Public Transport Project announced that Al-Hala and First Industrial City stations on the Orange Line will be launched tomorrow, Jan. 21. The Orange Line stretches from East Riyadh to West Riyadh, with a total length of 41 kilometers. It spans from Jeddah Road in the west to the Second Eastern Ring Road, passing along the Khashm Al-An area in the east.

• Saudi wealth fund ramps up efforts to tap ETF investors

  The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund’s investment in a recently launched exchange traded fund underlines the kingdom’s growing interest in using the mass-market fund structure to develop its capital markets. The Saudi Public Investment Fund has stumped up $200mn as a seed investor in State Street Global Advisors’ Europe-listed SPDR JPMorgan Saudi Arabia Aggregate Bond Ucits ETF, which launched in December. The ETF provides exposure to US dollar-denominated Saudi sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds with an average maturity of about 10 years. It is believed to be the first Saudi bond ETF to be listed in Europe or the US. According to its latest strategy report, the PIF’s mandate is to act as an “economic catalyst” for Saudi Arabia at a time when the kingdom aims to diversify the economy away from oil and to develop its capital markets with the ambitious Vision 2030 development programme.

• Saudi: Violations of foreign trucks surge 203% to over 26,000 in 2024

  Violations of foreign trucks in Saudi Arabia surged 203 percent to more than 26,000 during the year 2024 compared to 8,569 violations in 2023, according to the Ministry of Transport and Logistics. At a time when foreign truck drivers continue to violate decisions issued by the relevant authorities, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has decided to ban foreign trucks transporting agricultural products, livestock and fodder within the Kingdom from entering public utility markets, except after obtaining a permit issued by the Transport General Authority (TGA).

• Saudi EXIM Bank Provides Over $1.5 Billion to Support Global Mineral Flow

  Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM Bank) participated as a strategic partner in the fourth annual Future Minerals Forum (FMF), organized by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources under the theme "Year of Impact." The bank contributed insights to drive global development in the mining sector and foster international trade relationships through panel discussions and the conference’s accompanying exhibition. On the sidelines of the forum, Saudi EXIM Bank signed a $15 million credit-line agreement with Pakistan’s Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited to enhance the flow of non-oil Saudi exports to the South Asian country. Under the agreement, Habib Metropolitan Bank will provide credit facilities to importers in Pakistan to finance the purchase of Saudi products. The collaboration aligns with Saudi EXIM Bank's efforts to expand the Kingdom's export base, boost competitiveness in regional and global markets, and open new avenues for export.

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