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.
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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
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.
Money market funds stay home
The Capital Market Authority decided to require managers of public money market funds to ensure that investments and assets held outside Saudi Arabia do not exceed 5% of a fund's net asset value. All overseas investments must also be with counterparties holding an investment-grade credit rating issued by a licensed credit rating agency, according to a CMA circular to capital market institutions.
Limiting foreign exposure to 5% of net asset value means money market funds are mainly used for domestic funding. This change affects where riyal liquidity is held more than it changes what savers earn.
