MUST-READS

• Saudi franchise registrations surge 866% in 3 years: Commerce ministry

  The accommodation and food services sector, which includes tourism-related businesses, hotels, and restaurants, led registrations with 1,232 entries, followed by the wholesale and retail division with 689 and the transport and storage industry with 257 registrations, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The ministry highlighted that a single enrollment could encompass multiple activities. Saudi Arabia has witnessed an 866% surge in franchise registrations over the past three years, reaching 1,788 by the end of the third quarter of 2024, compared to 185 in Q4 2021.

• Saudi Arabia Cuts Spending to Reform Economy Amid Lower Oil

  Saudi Arabia outlined plans to trim spending in 2025 after overshooting targets this year in an effort to progress a trillion-dollar economic transformation plan. Expenditure will fall to 1.285 trillion riyals ($342 billion), the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, as the kingdom adjusts to a recent fall in oil prices. The government is forecasting a budget deficit in 2025 of 101 billion riyals, in line with projections made last month. Spending in 2024 came in at 7.5% higher than the approved budget for the year, while revenues were 4.9% ahead of the estimates from a year earlier.

  • Yahoo - Saudi 2025 budget sees lower deficit on spending trims
• Saudi, Iraqi, Russian delegations discuss oil in Baghdad ahead of OPEC+ meeting

  The talks come amid ongoing tension in the group over some member countries producing above their quotas in 2024. This includes Iraq and Russia, which have frequently missed their targets this year. In October, OPEC's second-largest producer Iraq cut production month on month, but still produced 235,000 b/d above its quota at 4.14 million b/d, according to the Platts OPEC+ survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Iraq has vowed to cut production and submitted compensation plans to the OPEC secretariat. Russia has produced above its OPEC+ quota since April. It produced 9.03 million b/d of crude in October, according to the Platts OPEC+ survey — 52,000 b/d above its quota of 8.98 million b/d, and up 30,000 b/d on the month. Overall OPEC+ production in October was 169,000 b/d above target, the survey showed.

• Saudi 2025 budget foresees $27 billion fiscal deficit as gigaproject spending continues
  Saudi Arabia approved its state budget on Tuesday for 2025 forecasting a fiscal deficit of 101 billion riyals ($26.88 billion), as its finance minister said the kingdom will continue to spend on massive gigaprojects designed to wean the economy off oil. The deficit is in line with a preliminary government projection made in September and would equate to about 2.3% of gross domestic product. The kingdom's finance minister, Mohammed Al Jadaan, said Saudi Arabia will continue strategic spending on projects linked to Vision 2030, the kingdom's ambitious plan to overhaul its economy.

• What Will Trump’s Approach Be To Saudi Arabia And OPEC+?

  Judging from Trump’s comments on the campaign trail and in his ‘Agenda47’ blueprint for a second term, his view that oil prices should continue to be heavily influenced by the U.S. in such a way has not changed. And given these factors, his handling of the OPEC members of the OPEC+ oil cartel, and their de facto leader Saudi Arabia, will be much the same as it was in his first term in the top job.

• Saudi FM pushes for regional stability at G7-Arab foreign ministers meeting

  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan took part in an expanded session of the second meeting between G7 foreign ministers and their counterparts from Arab nations on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The meeting was hosted in Italy under the theme “Together for the Stability of the Middle East.” The session, which addressed pressing regional and international challenges, was held with the participation of Saudi, Jordanian, Emirati, Qatari and Egyptian officials, as well as the secretary-general of the Arab League.

• 6 Saudis sentenced to 5 years in prison each and SR50000 in fine for circulating counterfeit banknotes

  The Economic Crimes Wing under the Public Prosecution has completed investigations into the charges against the citizens accused of violating the Criminal Law on Counterfeiting and Imitation of Money and the Law for Combating Financial Fraud and Breach of Trust. It was revealed in the investigations that one of the defendants had requested counterfeit money, amounting to SR100,000 from a website that was operating from outside the Kingdom. This suspect had used counterfeit banknotes and circulated them together with other Saudis, and was involved in financial fraud by earning wealth through using the counterfeit banknotes.

• Saudi Arabia unveils world’s largest food park in Jeddah, eyes $5.3bn in investments

  Saudi Arabia has officially launched the Jeddah Food Cluster, a major project aimed at transforming the city into a global business hub with an investment target of SR20 billion ($5.3 billion). Spanning 11 million sq. meters, the cluster is now recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest food park in the world by area. The development is expected to create over 43,000 jobs, driving both local and national economic growth. Located in Jeddah’s Second and Third Industrial Cities, the Jeddah Food Cluster is part of a larger industrial network in the Makkah region, which also includes industrial cities in Makkah and Taif. This region, which spans more than 50 million sq. meters, hosts over 2,000 industrial facilities specializing in sectors such as food production, pharmaceuticals, metals, and chemicals. The new food cluster is designed to enhance industrial productivity through cutting-edge infrastructure and strategic investments in key enablers.

• Opinion: Better offer needed if the US wants to pull Saudi Arabia away from China

  Even outside of the oil and gas sector, Sino-Saudi trade is booming. Recognizing that China is a leading player in renewable energy—of utmost importance if Riyadh is to realize its economic diversification agenda—the Kingdom has been trying to align Vision 2030 with the Belt and Road Initiative by attracting Chinese investors and investing in China. In 2016, China became the largest foreign direct investor in the region, and China last year emerged as Saudi Arabia’s largest greenfield foreign direct investor. Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund—the Public Investment Fund (PIF)—which previously had never invested in China, has signed agreements with six Chinese banks worth 50B USD this year. PIF is now also poised to set up offices all across China. In light of this new reality, the incoming Trump administration would be hard pressed to make a better counteroffer. This is particularly given that the US has gone from being a customer of Saudi Arabia to a competitor on global oil markets. The ‘Shale Revolution’ has turned America into the world’s largest producer and third largest exporter of crude.

• Vedanta to invest $2 billion in Saudi copper projects

  Vedanta Copper, a subsidiary of India’s Vedanta Limited (NSE: VEDL), has announced plans to invest $2 billion in copper-processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, a fresh boost to the kingdom’s aspirations to establish itself as a global hub for metals and mining. The investment will fund the construction of a state-of-the-art smelter and refinery with an annual capacity of 400,000 tonnes, the company said. Vedanta also plans to develop a facility capable of producing up to 300,000 tonnes per year of copper rods —an essential component in electric cable manufacturing.

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