THE BASELINE.
THE NUMBER
billion riyals, the oil sector's quarter
Oil activities at current prices reached SR310.09 billion in the second quarter, up 25.0% from SR248.08 billion a year earlier. On GASTAT's chain-linked volume table, the oil line fell 24.8%. One quarter, two directions. Coverage focused on the 4.7% fall in real GDP; the current-prices table fell less. Total output at current prices reached SR1.26 trillion, up 7.5%, in a quarter when real output fell. Less was produced, but more was earned, and payroll, tax, and procurement are settled in riyals, not volumes.
THREE SIGNALS
Domestic travel made up 46% of Almosafer's total bookings in the first seven months of 2026, with local bookings up 13% year on year and room nights up 44%. Room nights in Makkah and Madinah rose 53%, Red Sea room nights rose more than 4,000% against the same period last year, and the Red Sea recorded the highest average booking value of any destination Saudi travellers booked, ahead of Paris and London.
Even with regional tension, travellers kept moving. They changed their routes, and the destination that saw the most demand now has the highest average booking value in the market.
Mohammed Altuwaijri
Mobile payments in Saudi Arabia ran at SAR 13,100 a second in July, up from SAR 4,200 a second in July 2021 — a 210% rise across five years, and around SAR 34 billion for the month. Card sales came in at SAR 25.7 billion in the same month, up 0.3% year on year, while e-commerce set a record at SAR 37.6 billion, up 26%.
When pitching to Saudi merchants, payment infrastructure vendors should highlight the 26% e-commerce figure instead of focusing on the 0.3% card statistic. This growth is happening in an area where their buyers are not fully meeting demand.
Abdullah Alkherb
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Saudi Arabia's long-term sovereign credit rating at 'A+' with a stable outlook, and expects real GDP to contract 0.9% in 2026 before growing 8.2% in 2027, followed by average growth of 3.3% in 2028 and 2029. The agency put non-oil activities including government at around 70% of GDP, up from 65% in 2018.
When a rating agency keeps an A+ rating but also predicts a 0.9% economic contraction, it shows that the analysts are focusing on the 70% of the economy that is not tied to oil and are prepared to be patient.
Abdullah Alkherb
THE MOVE
The switch that wasn't about price
flynas agreed to buy 10% of Swissport Saudi Arabia for SR50 million, plus a call option on another 10% at renewal. The five-year handling agreement starts 6 March 2027 and covers every commercial Saudi airport. On 6 September flynas gave notice ending its contract with Saudi Ground Services, effective that date (Argaam).
annual purchases under the new agreement will be around 5% of revenue, broadly what it was already paying the incumbent. So this was not a move to get the work done cheaper. flynas paid SR50 million to sit on both sides of a contract it had just signed, and took an option on a second tenth that only pays if it renews in 2032.
how the competition authority views a customer taking an ownership stake in its supplier. The six months between notice and handover was the only warning the incumbent received.
FROM THE FIELD
We have been named the exclusive partnership sponsor for the 12th Riyadh Economic Forum, 12–14 October, under royal patronage and organized by the Riyadh Chamber. One key point to note if you are considering it: the forum's recommendations are presented to the Royal Court, and many have become government initiatives and decisions. Eleven sessions have produced 57 studies. This one covers five themes, from traffic congestion to water security, and we are choosing partners based on what each one adds. For more info, contact us: sponsorship@impactors.com.sa
