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.
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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.
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%.
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.
