MUST-READS

• Investcorp Capital invests $280m in growth sectors

  Bahrain’s Investcorp Capital has announced investments exceeded $280 million across various asset classes in the last six months. These potential growth sectors included real estate, infrastructure and corporate investments. The funding aligns with the company’s strategy to pay at least 8 percent dividends in semi-annual instalments, the company said in a bourse filing on Monday. The company acquired two student housing properties at the University of Florida and the University of Texas at Austin for $160 million, three US industrial acquisitions for $300 million, as well as a buyout of Stowe Family Law and accounting company PKF O’Connor Davies in the US.

• Arizona sues Saudi firm over ‘excessive’ groundwater pumping, saying it’s a public nuisance

  Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Wednesday she's suing a Saudi Arabian agribusiness for allegedly violating a public nuisance law, contending that its groundwater pumping threatens the public health, safety and infrastructure of local communities in a rural western county. The complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court alleges that the pumping at a Fondomonte Arizona, LLC. alfalfa farm has had widespread effects in the Ranegras Plain Basin of La Paz County, harming everyone who depends on basin water by drawing down supplies, drying up wells and causing the ground to crack and sink in some areas.

• OPEC again cuts 2024, 2025 oil demand growth forecasts

  OPEC cut its forecasts for oil demand growth this year and next on Wednesday, highlighting weakness in China, India and other regions in the producer group's fifth consecutive downward revision. The weaker outlook highlights the challenge facing OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia. OPEC+ earlier this month delayed its plan to start raising output until April 2025 against a backdrop of falling prices. In a monthly report, OPEC said it expects 2024 global oil demand to rise by 1.61 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.82 million bpd last month. OPEC had kept the 2024 outlook unchanged until August, a view it had first taken in July 2023. "The bulk of this revision is made in the third quarter, taking into account recently received bearish data for the third quarter," OPEC said in the report.

• Syrian leader vows to rebuild but faces cash crunch
  Syria's new interim prime minister said he aimed to bring back millions of Syrian refugees, protect all citizens and provide basic services, but rebuilding would be difficult because the country lacked foreign currency. "In the coffers there are only Syrian pounds worth little or nothing. One U.S. dollar buys 35,000 of our coins," Mohammed al-Bashir told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera. "We have no foreign currency and as for loans and bonds we are still collecting data. So yes, financially we are very bad," said Bashir, who ran a rebel-led administration in a pocket of northwestern Syria before the lightning offensive swept into Damascus and toppled President Bashar al-Assad.

• Saudi set to stage 2034 World Cup as FIFA confirms tournament hosts
  FIFA is set to confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 men's World Cups on Wednesday, with a three-continent, six-nation bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal to be awarded the former and the latter going to Saudi Arabia. In October last year, the global soccer governing body said there were no competing bids for the two tournaments, making Wednesday's decision little more than a formality. A day before the announcement it was still not clear exactly what format a vote on the decision would adopt, with acceptance by "acclamation" expected rather than a formal vote.

• PIF launches Hotel Management Company (Adeera) to develop distinct new Saudi hospitality brands

  PIF today announced the launch of the Hotel Management Company (Adeera), a new hospitality management firm that will operate and manage hotels, combining the highest industry standards with timeless authentic Saudi hospitality. Adeera, a wholly owned PIF company, will be a national champion, leading the Saudi hospitality sector and enhancing local talent and expertise. It aims to build new world-class Saudi hotel brands and to enhance the capacity of the local sector by launching programs for training and skills development, in cooperation with international hospitality specialists. At a time when Saudi Arabia is cementing its place as a major tourism destination, the company seeks to introduce a portfolio of distinctive Saudi hotel brands, serving various segments from mid-range to ultra-luxury, for different categories of visitor. It will unlock new business opportunities, focusing on the Saudi hospitality experience, working with hotel developers to maximize the contribution from the local private sector.

• Robust manufacturing sector lifts Saudi industrial index by 5%: GASTAT

  Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose by 5 percent year on year in October, driven by robust growth across key economic sectors, official data showed. According to figures from the General Authority for Statistics, the index also edged up 0.4 percent month on month, reaching 106.9 points. The mining and quarrying sub-index, which includes oil production, recorded a slight 0.4 percent annual increase, with oil output ticking up to 8.97 million barrels per day from 8.94 million a year earlier.

• Saudi Arabia Puts $52.6 M. Toward Centre Pompidou Overhaul in Deal with France

  Saudi Arabia will contribute €50 million ($52.6 million) to the €262 million renovation of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The money is part of a heritage fund established as part of a years-long collaboration between Saudi Arabia and French culture officials. The Centre Pompidou, which is considered France‘s top modern and contemporary art museum, will be closed for the overhaul of its exhibition spaces between 2025 and 2030. During that time, exhibitions will be held off-site. The announcement of the funding promise was made last week by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and Saudi Culture Minister Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud

• Saudi Arabia on Global Stage for 2034 World Cup

  On December 11, FIFA will announce that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. While this will be no surprise given the kingdom is the only bidder, the formal announcement will start the clock ticking on a decade of intense preparations ahead of the big kickoff. The 2034 tournament will be the first held in a single host country under the new expanded 48 team format. The 2026 and 2030 tournaments will also have 48 competing teams, but both will be held across multiple host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026 and Morocco, Portugal, and Spain in 2030. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. An estimated 5.4 billion television viewers tuned in for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and 3.4 million people attended the matches. Hosting the 2034 World Cup therefore provides Saudi Arabia with a huge opportunity to present itself on the global stage, attract visitors to the country, and showcase the ambitious reforms that it is pursuing under Vision 2030. It will also offer the country a chance to address the criticism it has faced in certain parts of the world for its human rights record and its continued advocacy of fossil fuel usage.

• Inside story: Hezbollah, Iran and the downfall of Assad

  According to one high-ranking regional diplomatic source, Assad’s recent visit to Moscow was a turning point. While the Syrian leader was in Russia, forces led by the Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) unexpectedly seized Aleppo without a fight. Upon his return to Syria, Assad is said to have expressed anger toward his army. In private meetings, Amwaj.media has learned, he lambasted his commanders as corrupt and untrustworthy—describing his army as a collection of “thieves” who cannot be relied upon. While Assad’s Russian host and counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had promised assistance, the senior regional source suggested that this support was limited to ensuring a safe exit. Given that Assad and his wife are now apparently in Russia, this promise has been kept—at least for now.

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