#SaudiArabia goes electric to launch homegrown car industry | Financial Times

Saudi Arabia goes electric to launch homegrown car industry | Financial Times

For decades, Saudi Arabia has attempted to launch its own car industry with nothing to show for it. It is now trying again — but this time with electric vehicles. 

The electric vehicle initiative is part of the kingdom’s ambitious diversification drive to wean itself off its reliance on oil income, which is its main revenue source as the world’s largest energy exporter. 

It intends to pour billions into the project to create an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, with the aim of producing 500,000 cars a year by 2030. 

The US-based Lucid Motors, in which Saudi Arabia acquired a majority stake costing roughly $2bn, intends to produce about a quarter of that target in the kingdom.

PIF completes acquisition of 30% stake in district cooling company #Saudi Tabreed

PIF completes acquisition of 30% stake in district cooling company Saudi Tabreed

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund completed the acquisition of a 30 per cent stake in district cooling company Saudi Tabreed as part of its efforts to diversify the kingdom's economy and boost its investments in energy efficiency solutions.

The investment supports “PIF’s efforts to grow and develop the local utilities and low-carbon sectors”, the fund said on Sunday.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Saudi Tabreed currently manages 779,000 tonnes of refrigeration through contracts with major companies in the kingdom. This includes Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran district cooling plant, the Jabal Omar district cooling plant in Makkah, the district cooling scheme at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and a centralised cooling plant at the Amaad Business Park in Dhahran.

Saudi Tabreed also serves the Red Sea project.

Most Gulf bourses rise on higher oil prices; Egypt down | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses rise on higher oil prices; Egypt down | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses closed higher on Sunday in response to Friday's oil price rise, driven by Russian plans to reduce crude production next month.

Oil, which fuels the region's economies, rose more than 2%, with Brent crude gaining $1.89 to $86.39 a barrel.

Russia plans to reduce crude production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, or about 5% of its total output.

Also positive for prospective oil revenues, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Sunday the group expects oil demand to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, reaching almost 102 million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) edged up 0.1%, lifted by gains in energy, consumer and real estate sectors.

Oil major Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) rose 0.2% while luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development (4322.SE) gained 0.3%

Saudi British Bank (1060.SE) climbed 2% after it reported on Thursday a 52% increase in full-year net profit.

Abdullah Al Othaim Markets (4001.SE) jumped 6.3% after it recorded a 31.4% rise in fourth-quarter net profit.

The Qatari Stock index (.QSI) inched up 0.1%, supported by gains in the industry and energy sectors, with Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) and Qatar Fuel (QFLS.QA) rising 3.4% and 0.9% respectively.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) dropped 1.9%, ending a five-session wining streak driven by government plans to sell state stakes in 32 companies over the next year.

The index was dragged down by a 4.7% loss in Commercial International Bank Egypt (COMI.CA) and a 2.9% fall in Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA).

Among other losers, Misr Fertilizers (MFPC.CA) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt (ADIB.CA) slid 3.7% and 4.3% respectively.

OPEC Chief Tells Climate Activists to ‘Look at the Big Picture’ - Bloomberg

OPEC Climate Warming Activists: February 12, 2023 - Bloomberg

OPEC’s top official urged countries to invest much more in oil to meet the world’s future energy needs and said climate policies need to be more “balanced and fair.”

“It is imperative that all parties involved in the ongoing climate negotiations pause for a moment; look at the big picture,” Haitham Al-Ghais, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Sunday at an energy conference in Cairo. They must “work towards an energy transition that is orderly, inclusive and helps ensure energy security for all.”

His comments come amid a shift among some Western governments and companies regarding fossil fuels. Prices for oil, natural gas and coal surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, pushing energy security to the top of the agenda for many leaders.

US President Joe Biden went off-script during his State of the Union speech last week and said: “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.” In Europe, Shell Plc signaled it will stop accelerating spending on renewable energy, while BP Plc slowed its planned reduction of oil and gas output.

#Saudi bourse has 23 companies waiting to go public, says CMA head

Saudi bourse has 23 companies waiting to go public, says CMA head

Saudi Arabia has 23 companies approved to list on the kingdom's stock exchange, the head of the kingdom's Capital Market Authority (CMA) said on Sunday.

There are also more than 75 applications pending approval to list and 70 signed mandates with financial intermediaries and advisers in the early part of the process, CMI Chairman Mohammed bin Abdullah Elkuwaiz told a conference in Riyadh.

Companies that secure approval from the CMA have six months to launch their public share sales. The Saudi Exchange is the Arab world's largest, with a market capitalisation of about $2.65 trillion.

"If you look at this in tandem, it gives us an indication that we still have a very, very healthy pipeline," Elkuwaiz said at the Saudi Capital Market Forum.

The Saudi stock market had 49 new listings last year, in which companies raised about 40 billion riyals ($10.66 billion), he said, adding that the market watchdog is also planning to create a regulatory framework for dual listings.

The Saudi exchange's chief executive, Mohammed Alrumaih, said in a separate panel at the conference that the bourse plans to launch depository receipts representing shares in a foreign company but traded locally.

The exchange also plans to introduce single stock options, a vehicle that gives investors the right to buy or sell a stock at a fixed priced at a future date.

Banque #Saudi Fransi logs $951.6mln net profits in 2022

Banque Saudi Fransi logs $951.6mln net profits in 2022

Banque Saudi Fransi witnessed a 3.62% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit to SAR 3.57 billion in 2022 from SAR 3.45 billion, according to the income statements.

Earnings per share (EPS) inched up to SAR 2.79 last year from SAR 2.70 in the January-December 2021 period.

The clients’ deposits amounted to SAR 157.59 billion during the 12-month period that ended on 31 December 2022, higher by 11.02% YoY than SAR 141.95 billion.

Meanwhile, the Saudi lender reported assets of SAR 232.07 billion in 2022, up 7.54% YoY from SAR 215.80 billion.

Additionally, the investments grew by 1.50% to SAR 44.51 billion in 2022, versus SAR 43.85 billion a year earlier.

In the first nine months (9M) of 2022, the listed bank’s net profits surged by 8.75% to SAR 2.67 billion, compared to SAR 2.45 billion in 9M-21.