Good morning, friends. We are kicking off the week with major diplomatic developments. Saudi Arabia and France are bolstering their bilateral ties, European investors are expected to pledge more commitments at the upcoming Global Investment Summit, and trade relations are expanding with Lebanon.
Up next is the Capital Market Authority, which is reaching out to local and international investment banks to investigate allocation mechanisms and valuation practices for 2025 IPOs, after sharp post-listing declines in newly offered stocks.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Power Procurement Company signed four storage service agreements worth over SAR 4.35 bn for projects totaling 2 GW.
PLUS: We check in at Dallah Healthcare, where Muteab Altukeas has been tapped as acting CEO.
BinDawood plans new investments
Fresh investments: BinDawood Holding plans to invest up to SAR 1.5 bn in additional capital over the next two to three years, with the bulk earmarked for Saudi Arabia, after investing around SAR 1.8 bn in acquisitions since 2022, CEO Ahmed BinDawood told Al Arabiya Business.
REMEMBER- The retailer had a busy expansion period, completing its acquisition of a 51% stake in Vaza Food Company for SAR 217.9 mn. It also absorbed pharmacy chain Zahrat Al Rawdah, children’s toy distributor Toy Triangle, and marketing tech firm Mirror Mirror to diversify revenue away from pure-play grocery retail.
ALSO- The group currently operates three factories in Jeddah focused on meat, cheese, and fresh food, alongside its previous acquisition of UAE-based Wonder Bakery. Meanwhile, it recently agreed to acquire the assets of a dairy products plant in Estonia for around EUR 135.25 mn as a part of the group’s expansion into food manufacturing.
The plant holds around 15% of Estonia’s cheese market, and can process about 1.1 mn kg of milk per day, with production focused on cheese and whey powder, BinDawood said.
A new AI PC from Humain?
Humain is set to unveil a new computer adaptable to the next generation of AI agents, developed in partnership with Qualcomm over the past 12 months, CEO Tareq Amin said on X. The new model is set to be revealed during LEAP 2026, which will be held from 31 August to 3 September.
The tech giant is focusing on redesigning its main operating system, phasing out an app-centric model in favor of one built around user intent. The device will combine CPUs, GPUs, and neural processing units to run AI models locally.
REMEMBER- The company has been ramping up its investments in innovations and the firms sponsoring them. It invested in Saudi AI firm Mozn, has collaborated with Accenture, McKinsey, and Canada’s Cohere, and put USD 3 bn into xAI’s Series E in February.
A new Marakez destination
Our friends at Marakez are entering Egypt’s Red Sea coast for the first time, launching SHAMS SOMA with Somabay. The project will reportedly involve a 100-feddan integrated mixed-use tourism site in Somabay, targeting as much as EGP 40 bn in revenue, according to unnamed sources. Marakez, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Fawaz Alhokair Group, has entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with Somabay.
What to expect: Marakez reportedly aims to develop residential and hotel units and commercial buildings. Sales for the project are scheduled to open before the end of 2026.
Why this matters: The move unites two players already betting on Egypt’s next wave of tourist-destination real estate. For Marakez, the venture marks an expansion beyond Cairo and the North Coast and into the Red Sea’s growing mixed-use tourism market. Somabay has been expanding both its hotel footprint and its residential offerings, with CEO Ibrahim El Missiri previously telling EnterpriseAM that the Red Sea is poised to become the country’s next major property hotspot, supported by its infrastructure and connectivity.
Data point
SAR 34 bn — that was the total value of Saudi real estate transactions in July, with 20.3k transactions recorded, according to REGA’s data. Riyadh’s An Narjis was the most active district, while residential land was the most active property type. Jeddah’s Al Kawthar recorded the highest transaction value at SAR 2.8 bn.
Get Enterprise daily
The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.
***
You’re reading EnterpriseAM Saudi, your essential daily roundup of business, economics, and must-read news about Saudi, delivered straight to your inbox. We’re out Sunday through Thursday by 7am Riyadh time.
EnterpriseAM Saudi is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Tas’heel and Hassan Allam Properties.
Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on [email protected].
DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, the UAE, the MENA logistics industry, and the MENA India corridor?
Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Saudi delivered every weekday.
***
The big story abroad
Iran has condemned planned US sanctions as the regional war drags on with no clear path to peace. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has called the move by the US an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the UN.” Tehran plans to target the interests of nations aligned with the US’ policy of economic pressure, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei reportedly said.
What is Washington planning? US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to speak at a press conference tomorrow, after Washington threatened “the toughest sanctions in history” on the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, trade tensions between the US and Canada are rising. Washington hit Canadian goods with a 50% tariff over the weekend, after the two sides failed to secure a trade agreement. The levies target USD 20 bn worth of goods, accounting for roughly 5% of Canada’s total exports to the US. Ottawa fired back by announcing tariffs on US steel, electronics, and other products, penciled in for 8 September.
The cost of memory is up: Soaring memory chip costs are driving up the price of servers equipped with Nvidia AI processors by more than 15% for several major clients. The price increases will apply to systems shipping early next year, affecting configurations powered by flagship processors like Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell.
