Latest Signals
Short observations on markets, growth, technology, and decision-making.
The rating that held
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.
Where the Gulf's e-commerce money goes
Saudi Arabia accounted for approximately 93% of e-commerce investments across the GCC countries by 2025, up from 46% in 2021. E-commerce penetration in the Gulf retail sector stands at 11%.
Saudi Arabia has about 93% of the region's e-commerce investment, but with only 11% market penetration, it is receiving funding for online shopping that has not happened yet.
Saudis stayed home instead
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.
Confidence at fifty-six seven
Saudi Arabia's Business Confidence Index rose to 56.7 in August from 56.5 in July, holding above the 50-point neutral threshold, according to the General Authority for Statistics. The industrial sector's index climbed to 55.8 and the services index rose to 56.1, after the overall reading dropped to 52.1 in March amid regional tensions and rebounded to 54.5 in April.
Finance directors preparing Saudi budgets for next year should interpret the figure 56.7 as an indicator of continued customer spending expectations, while the March value of 52.1 reflects the pace of change in these expectations.
Cards flat, phones compounding
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.
Six hundred seventy-one million euros
The two headline fixtures of round 6 in the Roshn Saudi League carry combined squad values of €671.11 million on Transfermarkt data. Al-Qadisiyyah against Al-Ahli totals €347.73 million, Al-Ahli at €193.9 million and Al-Qadisiyyah at €153.8 million, a gap of €40.07 million, while Al-Hilal against Neom totals €323.38 million, with Al-Hilal at €239.8 million and Neom at €83.50 million. Total league squad values stand at €1.28 billion.
Most of the value is found in just a few squads, not spread evenly across the league. When you plan your sponsorship budget, focus more on the clubs that offer the most value instead of choosing league-wide packages.
Twenty kilometres at Khafji
The Public Investment Fund launched Gulf Coast Development to build an integrated tourism and residential destination at Al-Khafji covering approximately 20 square kilometres with 10 kilometres of Arabian Gulf waterfront. The plan runs to 8 residential neighbourhoods, more than 16,000 housing units and around 1,400 hotel keys across 3 main phases, with 3 neighbourhoods in the first phase completing in 2030, plus public, commercial, tourism and educational facilities and boat marinas, targeting visitors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the wider Gulf.
This project is based on 16,000 homes instead of 1,400 hotel rooms. If you are selling here, focus on residential supply and Kuwaiti buyers from abroad, not on hospitality procurement.
A thousand ideas, four winners
The Start Smart competition concluded its 9th edition at LEAP 26 and launched its 10th, having drawn more than 1,000 submissions from which 40 ideas participated and 4 startups won: Nazra in healthcare data analytics, Findligent in smart retail, and ApolloByte in cloud design and Jamaa in collaborative commerce tied for third. Participants went through a 2-month training programme, and the tenth edition runs 4 tracks. The competition launched in 2016 and is organised by the Jameel Community Arabia Foundation with the National Program for Information Technology Development, the Digital Leadership Center and the Savola Foundation.
Receiving over 1,000 submissions and narrowing them to 40, then to 4, demonstrates an effective selection process. The primary value of a program like this lies in the top 40, rather than just the final winners.
Two and a half billion for megawatts
HUMAIN is seeking a fund with an initial target of $2.5 billion to finance 250-megawatt data centres being built with Al Moammar Information Systems, with capacity that could eventually rise to 1 gigawatt. BSF Capital manages the fund, Saudi Investment Bank is soliciting investors, and Capital Market Authority approval is expected to take 2 to 3 months, with financing structured as a mix of debt and equity.
Raising a dedicated fund, instead of using the balance sheet, positions data centre capacity as an investable asset class, with debt and equity allocated to external investors.
Ten billion and a December date
AWS is investing $10.3 billion in Saudi Arabia, including $5.3 billion (SAR 19.9 billion) in a cloud region with 3 independent availability zones launching in December 2026, and more than $5 billion in an AI zone with HUMAIN targeting 50 megawatts by 2028 and deploying up to 150,000 AI accelerators. AWS projects $191 billion of economic value from cloud services by 2033, will train 100,000 Saudi nationals including a free programme for 10,000 women, and is integrating curriculum at 11 Saudi universities.
This commitment applies to both general cloud services and AI. If you manage enterprise IT, plan your regular migration for the December launch instead of waiting for an AI project to justify the move.
Two thousand now, thirty thousand later
Expo Riyadh 2030 has nearly 2,000 people on site, expected to rise to between 20,000 and 30,000 by the end of next year. The 6 million square metre site across 5 districts is expected to host 197 nations and 29 organisations and draw more than 42 million visits, opening on 1 October 2030 and running through March 2031. Organisers said they see no anticipated issues over the next 6 to 8 months as the war tests supply lines.
Labour and local sourcing are the main challenges, not capital. If you work with the construction sector, focus on building your domestic supply credentials before the workforce grows to 20,000 or 30,000 people.
Cash falls, cards rise
Saudi consumer spending reached SAR 144.95 billion in July 2026, up 8% from SAR 134.51 billion in July 2025. Point-of-sale spending was SAR 62.85 billion, up 7%, across 1.096 billion transactions on 2.5 million terminals. E-commerce through Mada cards rose 26% to SAR 37.63 billion across 197.6 million transactions, while cash withdrawals from 14,400 ATMs fell 3% to SAR 44.47 billion. There are 70.12 million issued bank cards.
The change involves switching from one channel to another, which means that if you are running a business aimed at consumers you should shift your investments from cash handling to digital acceptance rather than considering both as part of growth.
Four billion dollars, free
Adobe, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and HUMAIN signed a partnership valued at more than $4 billion, giving more than 27 million citizens and residents aged 13 and above free access to Adobe Firefly Standard and Express Premium for 12 months. The agreement covers a culturally-tailored image generation model, Arabic right-to-left support, and free access for eligible startups through CODE and The Garage from early 2027.
$4 billion worth of software given to 27 million people is really a distribution strategy, not a donation. Adobe is securing its user base before anyone else can shape what creative tools look like in Arabic.
July's banking profit dips
Saudi banks made SAR 8.52 billion in profit before zakat and tax in July 2026, up 3% from SAR 8.24 billion in July 2025 but down from SAR 10.10 billion in June. Total assets reached SAR 5.187 trillion, up 7.30% year on year, deposits SAR 3.113 trillion, up 8.58%, and private sector credit SAR 3.266 trillion, up 5.64%. The data covers banks listed on the Saudi Exchange and foreign bank branches, from SAMA's monthly bulletin.
Banks are seeing deposits grow faster than loans, so margins are likely to be protected rather than increased. If you are selling to a bank, focus on cost-to-serve and skip the growth angle.
Two hundred forty-four million, committed
Derayah committed SAR 244 million to a fund investing in artificial intelligence, enterprise software and advanced technologies, paying 40%, SAR 97.5 million, on 28 August, with the remaining 60% due over 24 months. The fund targets SAR 4.5 billion and is capped at SAR 5.62 billion, with roughly 15 portfolio companies expected.
SAR 244 million has been committed to a SAR 4.5 billion fund that will support approximately 15 companies. The selection of the Saudi AI cohort is currently underway.
Sixteen countries become twenty-four
The Riyadh-based Digital Cooperation Organization approved 8 countries as membership candidates — Albania, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Zambia — with Tajikistan approved as an associate member, taking the organization from 16 members to 24 on accession and covering roughly 980 million people, about 12% of the global population. The DCO launched in 2020 with 5 founding countries and is working to a 2025–2028 agenda.
The expansion from 5 founding countries in 2020 to 24, now representing approximately 12% of the global population, demonstrates that standards are being set collectively. The rules on data and cross-border digital trade are determined by those who participate.
Fintech lends to factories
Fintech lending to Saudi industrial projects rose 130% in H1 2026 to SR541 million, from SR234 million in the same period last year, with fintech partners expanding to seven from three. Fintech financing to the industrial sector reached SR774 million in 2025, up 36% from SR569 million in 2024 and SR317 million in 2023. The H1 2026 figure represents about 70% of last year's full-year total.
SR317 million in 2023 increased to SR774 million by 2025 and reached SR541 million by mid this year. This rapid growth does not reflect innovation but instead points to an ongoing gap in conventional credit.
Two quarters, two directions
Saudi Arabia's trade surplus reached SAR 154.72 billion in H1 2026, up 53.17% year on year, on total foreign trade of SAR 1.052 trillion, with exports up 7.3% and imports down 2.7%. The half was front-loaded: Q1 delivered SAR 93.2 billion of the surplus and Q2 SAR 61.52 billion. March surged 213.7% to SAR 56.49 billion, February was the strongest month for total trade at SAR 183.17 billion, and June the weakest at SAR 158.21 billion.
The surplus rose by 53.17% in the first half of the year. The second quarter surplus was SAR 61.52 billion, down from SAR 93.2 billion in the first quarter. This growth was driven by a strong first quarter, although the trend is now declining.
Fifty megawatts becomes 250
Al Moammar Information Systems received a letter of award expanding its AI data centre project with HUMAIN from 50 megawatts to 250 megawatts, adding 200 megawatts in phases. The expanded contract value exceeds 689% of the company's total 2025 revenue, which was SAR 1.27 billion; the original award announced in March represented more than 155% of 2024 revenue. Work on the first 50 MW continues while engineering, procurement and construction begin on the additional capacity, with contract procedures to be finalised within two weeks.
The company increased its capacity from 50 to 250 megawatts and reported SAR 1.27 billion in revenue last year. This rapid growth in scale exceeded the pace of business development.
Fifty days and 6,681 riyals
Saudi Arabia's Musanad platform reported that in H1 2026 the average domestic worker recruitment period was 50 days, at an average cost of SAR 6,681, with the service running across 39 countries. The platform handled more than 122,000 service transfer requests and more than 450,000 insurance contracts, working with approximately 6,164 approved external offices, and expanded wage payment channels to 16 digital options.
The state has made this market measurable, with transfers exceeding 122,000. Focus on preparing for customer transitions rather than prioritizing first-time recruitment.
What the 49% ceiling costs
Morgan Stanley estimates that raising Saudi Arabia's 49% foreign ownership ceiling to 75% would draw about $4.3 billion in passive inflows, and that removing the cap entirely would draw about $7.4 billion. Saudi Arabia is the last major Gulf market keeping a blanket 49% limit.
The difference between $4.3 billion and $7.4 billion represents the cost of fully removing the cap. Most passive funds are released when the ceiling is eliminated, rather than when it is raised to 75%.
Ten billion in Paris
Deals expected to be signed between Saudi and French entities at the Saudi–French Roundtable Investment Meeting in Paris exceed $10 billion, spanning advanced industries, transport and logistics services, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. The Crown Prince attended alongside French officials and business leaders.
ُhe four named sectors are advanced industries, logistics, AI and digital infrastructure، energy is not among them, which is what a diversification agenda looks like once it reaches the deal table.
School fees hit the card data
Point-of-sale spending fell 2.8% to SR14.19 billion ($3.79 billion) in the week ended 15 August across 249.68 million transactions, down 1.5%, while education transactions jumped 62.7% week on week to SR446.08 million. Food and beverages led at SR2.2 billion, down 3.7%, and Riyadh accounted for SR4.84 billion across 79.80 million transactions.
The 62.7% increase in education spending, despite a 2.8% overall decline, reflects a calendar effect rather than increased consumer confidence. Households shifted funds rather than increasing total spending.
Three trillion riyals, out the door
Saudi listed banks' Q2 2026 numbers, per Al Rajhi Capital: net loans rose 7% year on year to SR3.25 trillion ($865.2bn), deposits rose 9% to SR3.15 trillion, pushing the loan-to-deposit ratio to 103%, while net interest margin improved 5 basis points to 2.96%.
On the surface deposits are exceeding loans even though the loan-to-deposit ratio is still rising above 100٪, so this year wholesale funding costs should be the figure you look at rather than headline loan growth.
Cybersecurity becomes managed service
Purity Information Technology signed a SAR9.3 million contract, including VAT, with Qassim Emirate for three years of operation, maintenance and cybersecurity support services.
The SAR9.3 million, three-year contract makes cybersecurity an operating commitment; manage service quality and incident response as tightly as the initial technical delivery.
Ten percent of the country
Aramco and Maaden are forming a joint venture, Maaden at 51%, Aramco at 49%, to explore Zone-4 of the Arabian Platform, about 182,000 square kilometres, close to 10% of The kingdom's land area, targeting copper and other energy-transition minerals along a 100-km-wide corridor. Saudi mineral wealth is valued at over SR9.3 trillion ($2.5 trillion), against a Vision 2030 target of lifting mining's contribution to GDP to SR240 billion.
Aramco’s 49% stake, rather than a controlling interest, positions this as a capability contribution. Aramco provides subsurface data, while Maaden will operate the business.
PIF publishes its year
The Public Investment Fund's 2025 results show revenue up 9% to $120 billion and net profit more than doubling to $17 billion, with assets under management above $900 billion against $530 billion in 2021, annualised total shareholder return of 5.8% since 2017, 80% of assets held domestically and 55% in alternatives. PIF put its contribution at 11% of Saudi non-oil GDP in 2025 and $342 billion cumulatively from 2021 to 2025, with $199 billion deployed domestically over that period and international investments up 12% in 2025.
Revenue grew 9% and profit more than doubled, and the gap is portfolio companies beginning to pay out, not the fund's businesses running twice as well. The maturation of the new strategy is built on, showing up before the strategy did.
The second SIM tells the truth
Opensignal's Saudi read puts stc at 49.0% of the market, Mobily at 23.8% and Zain KSA at 14.6%, with virtual operators collectively near 12% and 7.4 million subscribers in early 2026. Zain customers are likeliest to carry a second SIM at about 37%, against 27% at Mobily and about 17% at stc; operators have invested over $1.5 billion in 5G spectrum since 2019.
Dual-SIM rates show pre-churn behavior, so focus your pricing and packaging on the second SIM instead of comparing only to a competitor's main plan.
What BNPL actually earns
Argaam's read on the sector after SAMA lifted the BNPL financing ceiling to SAR 10,000 puts the Saudi market at $4.96 billion in 2025, $5.29 billion in 2026 and $7.31 billion by 2031, a 6.66% compound rate overall, against 28.85% for bank-linked BNPL services and 33.97% for the healthcare segment. Tabby ran an effective financing yield of 19.5% on $1.6 billion of assets in Q1 2026, Tamara 31.7% on $1.8 billion.
There is no longer a single economic model for BNPL services. The 19.5% and 31.7% market segments operate as distinct businesses. Banks, compounding at 28.85%, benefit from lower funding costs and established customer relationships. As a result, standalone BNPL providers should prioritize their cost of capital over market share.
The money is moving closer
Assets under management in Saudi reached SR1.244 trillion at the end of 2025, from SR612 billion in 2020, with listed companies up 89% to 392, foreign ownership doubling to SR417 billion, and net foreign purchases on the Saudi Exchange running $1.6 billion in Q2 2026.
Doubling AUM and foreign ownership within five years indicates a market that has shifted in ownership, not just in value. Foreign owners often pose different questions to management than domestic owners.
PIF switches from growth to returns
The Public Investment Fund's 2026–2030 strategy shifts the mandate from expansion to value creation, after assets under management grew from about SR500 billion ($136 billion) in 2015 to over SR3.4 trillion in 2025, more than $199 billion of new domestic projects between 2021 and 2025, and total annual shareholder return above 7% since 2017.
A fund that has grown from SR500 billion to SR3.4 trillion can no longer rely on its size to impress. After five years of expansion, it must now demonstrate profitability.
Spending cooled by 1.7 billion
Point-of-sale transactions fell to SR14.6 billion in the week to 8 August from SR16.31 billion the week before, with transaction count down to 253.4 million from 267.1 million, Riyadh accounted for SR4.88 billion of it, or 33.4%. Food and beverages led at SR2.28 billion across 58.41 million transactions, ahead of restaurants and cafes at SR1.9 billion.
The data shows that average spending has gone down. In reality, it's still the same people going out just as often, but now they pick cheaper options when they get there.
Robotic surgery, performed remotely
Saudi Arabia's Seha Virtual Hospital completed 11 consecutive remote robotic surgeries, including the second remote lobectomy and fifth remote pneumonectomy performed anywhere in the world, with surgeons in Riyadh operating on patients in Hail and other regions.
A surgeon in Riyadh successfully performed surgery on a patient in Hail without either of them needing to travel. This occurred eleven times in a row, proving that distance is no longer an obstacle to effective medical care.
Saudi carries half of Gulf tourism
Saudi Arabia's travel and tourism sector contributed $178 billion to the economy in 2025, 46% of the entire Middle East's travel and tourism economy, growing 7.4%, nearly double the global rate of 4.1%, with international visitor spending up 8.2% against a 3.2% global rate.
Nearly half of the entire region's tourism economy now lies in Saudi Arabia, growing at twice the global rate, a shift large enough that the map of Middle Eastern travel needs to be redrawn before the guidebooks catch up.
Foreign direct investment tops SR1.1 trillion
Saudi Arabia's foreign direct investment stock reached SR1,122.8 billion at the end of Q1 2026, up 12% year on year and representing about 32% of total foreign investment in the Kingdom, against total foreign investment of SR3,530.8 billion, up 18% year on year.
FDI growing 12% while total foreign investment grew 18% means portfolio and other investment are growing faster than direct investment, hot money is currently outpacing the patient kind.
AI use in Saudi Arabia doubled
The share of Saudi internet users using AI tools reached 45.2% in 2025, more than double the year before, per the CSTC's Saudi Internet Report, highest among 20–29 year-olds at 55.7%, and higher among women (52.8%) than men (39.4%). Business adoption reached 33.1% (up 20% year on year), led by information and communications at 61.1% and financial services at 52.9%.
Individuals are 12 points ahead of their employers in AI adoption, and 61.1% of information and communications firms are already using it. Sell capabilities now, because the buying committee is already using these tools personally, even where procurement hasn't caught up.
The insurance market doubled
Saudi Arabia's insurance market reached SR84 billion in 2025, up from SR42 billion in 2021, effectively doubling in four years. Health and motor insurance accounted for 89% of premium growth, with health insurance alone contributing to 68% of that increase. Growth is decelerating sharply: 26.9% in 2022, 22.7% in 2023, 16.3% in 2024, 10.7% in 2025.
The market doubled in four years while its growth rate halved twice, from 26.9% to 10.7%, as the sector moves from expansion into maturity, where the next phase competes on retention rather than acquisition.
Saudi took 62% of MENA
MENA startups raised $172.6 million across 45 deals in July, up 16% month on month. Saudi Arabia took $106.6 million across 16 deals, 62% of the regional total. The UAE raised $46.6 million, also across 16 deals, followed by Syria at $10.6 million, Egypt $7.25 million and Morocco $2 million. Saudi Arabia and the UAE together accounted for roughly 89% of all capital raised. Notable rounds: RIME's $2 million seed led by Seedra Ventures, a strategic investment into MOZN from Humain, and an "A-" rating assigned to Tamara by Simah.
Saudi's 62% resulted from larger investments on the same number of deals in a regional pool of only $172.6 million, the move is to compete for strategic capital, not to chase a VC market this small.
SR425 billion in one quarter
Saudi consumer spending rose 6.8% year on year to SR425 billion in Q1 2026, covering point-of-sale transactions, cash withdrawals and e-commerce purchases. Total 2025 spending through official payment channels was SR1.57 trillion. For context in the same report: Q1 GDP grew 3%, non-oil activity 2.9%, inflation ran at 1.8%, and the IMF forecasts 1.7% growth for 2026 and 5.5% for 2027.
SR425 billion in a single quarter, growing nearly 5% faster than prices. The Saudi consumer is contributing more to this economy than the GDP indicates.
Fifty-seven studies, twelfth session
The Riyadh Economic Forum will hold its 12th session on 12–14 October 2026 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, with ministers, public and private sector specialists, academics and business owners participating. The forum has presented more than 57 economic studies over its history, many of which became government initiatives and decisions.
if you want policy input rather than policy news, October is the window. Submissions and positioning happen before the session, not during it, so start now.
PIF's $2.4 billion half
Lucid announced $1.4 billion in identified cost cut as H1 2026 losses widened 50% to $2.4 billion from $1.6 billion a year earlier. H1 production was 10,274 vehicles against a full-year target of 25,000–27,000. Shares fell 9% after the announcement.
The second half now needs to roughly double the first, and $1.4 billion in cuts does not close a $2.4 billion gap on its own, production is the real test here, not the balance sheet.
47,000 new customers in a quarter
Saudi Energy posted H1 2026 revenue up 11% to SR52 billion and net income up nearly 8% to SR6.7 billion, though Q2 net profit fell 7% on higher finance costs. Capital expenditure reached SR39 billion, up 6%. The customer base hit 11.6 million, with more than 47,000 added in Q2; the distribution network grew 5%, transmission 4% and fibre-optic lines 7%. The stock is up over 25% year to date.
47,000 new connections in three months is roughly 500 a day, paid for with capex running near six times profit, the grid is being built ahead of the country that will eventually fill it.
A stadium sponsorship's real price tag
Aramco's World Cup sponsorship is expected to add $26.1 billion to the company's corporate value, about 43% of the $61 billion in total corporate value generated across all tournament sponsors, with brand value up roughly $1.08 billion and 2.3% growth, fourth among official sponsors
A leading oil company has proven its ability to drive brand growth through a football tournament, outpacing gains from its traditional extraction activities. This decisive shift highlights the evolving conversation around value and product, demonstrating that companies must adapt to stay relevant.
Six months to fund $5 billion
DataVolt expects to close financing on its Saudi AI data centre pipeline — $5 billion total — within six months, with a 1.5GW facility at Neom whose first phase is due operational in 2028. Its Uzbekistan site TAS-1 is raising up to $150 million against a $250 million project cost, including $78 million from the EBRD on a 12-year non-recourse term; the first 6MW phase has under 10% of capacity left. Parent Vision Invest manages more than $95 billion of infrastructure assets.
The Uzbekistan deal is the tell. A 12-year non-recourse structure with a development bank anchoring it is the template they'll try to replicate at Neom and 1.5GW is roughly twenty times the scale, which is where the template gets tested.
Saudi VC halved, then halved again
Saudi venture capital funding fell 74% year on year to $219 million in H1 2026, from roughly $853 million in H1 2025, across 72 deals, down 41% from 122. Fintech took 67% of dollars ($147 million); the Kingdom held a 34% share of MENA deal count, with early-stage rounds at 83% of all deals.
Deal count fell 41% while dollar volume fell 74%, the average check shrank even faster than the number of deals. Investors aren't just doing less; they're doing smaller, which is the more telling half of this number.
The headline is oil. The story is 0.6%.
GASTAT's flash estimate puts Q2 real GDP down 4.8% year on year, oil activities −24.7%, non-oil +0.6%, government +0.9%. Seasonally adjusted, the economy shrank 4.9% on the quarter. For context, the Q1 2026 flash showed GDP +3.0% with non-oil +2.8%. so on a like-for-like flash basis, non-oil growth has fallen from 2.8% to 0.6% in one quarter.
A −4.8% print looks bad and mostly isn't; a +0.6% print looks fine and mostly isn't. That inversion is the whole difficulty of reading this economy right now, the alarming number is the reassuring one, and the reassuring number is the one to worry about.
SR 3.6bn, 2,505 apartments, one fund
Alramz Real Estate established a Shariah-compliant fund of more than SR3.6bn, managed by SNB Capital, with Alramz holding 100% of the units. The vehicle covers a 90,000+ sqm site in Al Raed district, Riyadh. 2,505 residential apartments plus commercial space, on a development contract worth roughly SR1.2bn, with 10% development fees and 2.5% marketing fees over an approximately five-year term.
2,505 units delivered into a market where new residential mortgage lending has roughly halved year on year. The build is a five-year bet that the financing side normalises well before handover, and that is the assumption to interrogate, not the design.
$167 billion, and whose calendar it sits on
Kamco Invest puts Saudi bond and sukuk maturities for 2026–2030 at $167.4bn, the largest in the GCC, 64.5% of it dollar-denominated, with 73.5% of the corporate share held by banks and financial institutions.
When we opened Issue 01 with record credit of SR3.2tn, that was the top of the curve. The banks have their own maturities to meet now; price anything you plan to borrow for off the next two years of lending, not the last two.
SR 180M to keep the machines running
Al-Moammar Information Systems (MIS) was awarded a SR179.8M contract by King Saud Medical City covering maintenance and repair of medical devices and equipment together with IT works and services.
This is recurring revenue in a quarter when project revenue is under pressure. If your business is capex-dependent, the strategic question this award poses is what part of your offering could be sold as an annual service instead.
29.3 million, and counting
29.3M international tourists in 2025, up 67% since 2019, highest growth of any OECD member; SR176.6bn foreign spend, SR127.1bn domestic; 5.2% of GDP.
Domestic spend is close behind foreign and growing faster (10%), the Saudi family is the customer you can actually reach this year.
Six quarters down
Tadawul Group Q2 profit −4% to SR92M, sixth straight annual decline, while data services grew 13.7%.
An exchange earning less in a market this active is a warning about volumes, the thin tape has landed in someone's earnings.
Mobily eyes selling its towers
Preliminary TAWAL talks, NDA only, no MoU, no financial impact yet.
An NDA is a disclosure obligation, not a deal. Note who ends up owning national infrastructure as these consolidate.
Surplus up, non-oil down
Trade surplus SR26.03bn (+328.8%) in May, but oil exports +19.5% to 75.6% of the total, while non-oil exports fell 26.1%.
The test isn't whether the surplus grows, it's whether it can grow when oil doesn't.
Ad money grows up
A Snap–Kearney study found an 8-point gap between Saudi digital ad-spend growth and e-commerce growth; 30%+ of Saudi consumers find advertising culturally off-key.
The takeaway: A third of Saudi consumers feel that the ads don't represent them; the biggest growth driver isn't budget, but rather cultural fluency.
One rulebook for the Gulf
The Cabinet approved unified GCC rules for jointly owned properties, standardizing common-area governance, owner rights, and asset management.
The takeaway: Disputes over shared ownership are the quiet friction in every tower, an unglamorous fix that unlocks investment.
Al Rajhi tops SR13.7bn
H1 bank profits: Al Rajhi SR13.76bn (+14.15%, highest of any lender), SNB SR13.02bn, Riyad SR5.26bn, Alinma SR3.27bn; total credit a record SR3.2tn, +16.2% YoY
The takeaway: Al Rajhi out-earned every bank and grew fastest; scale and speed together are rare, worth studying.
Kicking the maturities to 2041
NDMC redeemed SR17.1bn ($4.5bn) of 2026–2030 sukuk and issued SR17.2bn maturing to 2041, a liability-management exercise.
The takeaway: A state that manages its maturity curve shows confidence, indicating long-term projects your business might supply.
Medevac by the Dozen
PIF's Helicopter Co. ordered 8 more H145S under a 120-aircraft framework, expanding EMS alongside a 60+ fleet
The takeaway: air-medical response is scaling, and response-time assumptions just changed for healthcare logistics and insurers
Brussels clears the path for EA
PIF's consortium set to win EU approval for the $55bn EA take-private — history's largest LBO — merger clearance due 22 July, subsidy review closes 30 July.
The takeaway: $55bn for a games company is the clearest statement yet that entertainment is not a side bet, gaming is a Saudi strategic asset class.
License Number 77
SAMA approved Credit Line for micro consumer finance, taking licensed finance companies to 77 against a Vision 2030 target of 525, with fintech micro-lending capped at SR25,000 per borrower
The takeaway: As license numbers grow toward the 2030 target, the real advantage lies in owning distribution and the customer's daily habit, which are key to winning in the lending market.
Services Are The New Engine
PIF signed an MoU with ISquared Capital for up to $2bn, roughly $1bn each into digital infrastructureand district cooling, the unglamorous enablers behind real estate and datacenters
The takeaway: $1bn into digital infrastructure is a wager on compute demand; anyone in power, land, or connectivity near Riyadh should price a data-center boom into their plans.
Riyadh's Startup Bench
More than 2,500 startups, roughly US$2.6 billion of venture capital into Riyadh since 2018, and four unicorns.
The takeaway: your next competitor — or your next acquisition — is younger than your strategy document. Corporates need a scouting lane, not a memo.
AlUla opens the door
Phase two shifts to private-sector partnerships: triple hotel capacity to 3,000+ rooms, 1M visitors by 2030 from ~320,000
The takeaway: If PPP works here, it becomes the funding model for every destination that follows; the developers who learn the Royal Commission's playbook now will be first in line everywhere else
