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.
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Furniture up, education down
Point-of-sale spending for the week ended 19 September broke down to show furniture and home supplies rising 11.4% to SAR 503.8 million and electronic devices up 5% to SAR 203.45 million, while education spending fell 42.8% to SAR 180.69 million and books and stationery fell 18.4% to SAR 113.31 million. Total spending was $3.44 billion, or SAR 12.92 billion, across 241.1 million transactions, with food and beverages down 9% to SAR 2.07 billion and restaurants and cafés down 6.7% to SAR 1.58 billion; economist Talat Hafiz linked the furniture rise to National Day promotional campaigns.
Education falling 42.8% while furniture rose 11.4% in the same week is a calendar effect in both directions, and it is why weekly retail data should be read by category rather than in total.
Provisions ate the margin
Saudi banks' Q3 2026 profit grew 4.8% to about SAR 24.75 billion, the slowest growth since Q4 2020, even though net financing and investment income rose 11.4% and net financing income rose 9.1% to SAR 29.3 billion. Provisions rose 50% to nearly SAR 3 billion, lifting the cost of risk from about 26 to 36 basis points. Al Rajhi, Riyad Bank and BSF together took about 95% of the increase in net profit.
Net financing income increased by 9.1%, but profit was up just 4.8%, marking the slowest growth since Q4 2020. Equity analysts covering Saudi banks should focus their Q4 forecasts more on provisions than on lending growth.
Fifty-five thousand homes
Talaat Moustafa Group's Saudi subsidiary signed a preliminary agreement with PIF-owned ROSHN Group to form a joint company exploring a mixed-use development in Riyadh expected to comprise more than 55,000 residential units, alongside retail, commercial, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare and education facilities. TMG Saudi will hold 51% of the joint company and ROSHN 49%, following a 7 June memorandum of understanding under PIF's urban development and livability ecosystem, part of its 2026-2030 strategy and the Kingdom's 70% homeownership target.
The minority stake shows that PIF is bringing in execution expertise. Developers who want to win Saudi residential projects should focus on improving their delivery track record instead of just acquiring more land.
