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.
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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.
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.
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.
