Tadawul approves Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia as market maker for 8 listed securities

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has launched Al Waha Duty Free Operating Co. as part of its strategy to capture a larger share of the Kingdom’s travel retail market, contributing to the nation’s economic growth.

In a press statement, it was announced that Al Waha is the first Saudi-owned duty-free operator. The company plans to develop luxury retail outlets in select locations across the country, offering a range of products, including unique items from Saudi Arabia.

With assets under management totaling $925 billion, PIF is one of the world’s most influential sovereign wealth funds. It is also leading Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on oil revenues.

“By establishing Al Waha as a national travel retail champion, PIF intends to grow the Saudi travel retail industry and further support its ambitions for the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia,” said Majed Al-Assaf, head of Consumer Goods and Retail in Middle East and North Africa Investments at PIF. 

He added: “Al Waha will offer a distinctive traveler experience across Saudi travel retail touch points through diverse product offerings, a duty free operation and a superior digital customer journey.”

The company will also operate its airport outlets on a duty-free basis and explore additional travel retail opportunities at land border crossings and seaports, as well as through channels like inflight shopping.

The launch of Al Waha aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader ambition to become a leading global tourism destination by the end of this decade. The Kingdom is aiming to attract 150 million visitors by 2030.

Al-Assaf emphasized that Saudi Arabia has a significant opportunity to capture a larger share of travel retail spending in the future, as the Kingdom continues to establish itself on the global tourism map and prepares to host several major international events in the years ahead.

“There is considerable potential for Saudi Arabia to gain a larger share of travel retail spending in the future, and the continued increase in visitors coming to the Kingdom — as well as global events being hosted locally — offer new opportunities to generate sustainable travel retail revenues,” he added. 

Some of the major global events that Saudi Arabia will host in the coming years include the 2027 Asia Cup, the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Expo 2030, and the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

To further accelerate the Kingdom’s tourism sector, the PIF has launched several key initiatives, including Riyadh Air, the new national carrier aimed at transforming Riyadh into a major international air travel hub, and Cruise Saudi, based in Jeddah, which seeks to position Saudi Arabia’s coastline as a top global destination.

PIF’s retail investments also include Saudi Coffee Co., Al Madinah Heritage Co. (focused on high-quality date production), and Sawani, a producer of camel milk products.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell on Monday as concern about the impact of US import tariffs on global economic growth and fuel demand, as well as rising output from OPEC+ producers, cooled investor appetite for riskier assets.

Brent crude fell 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $70.05 a barrel by 7:45 a.m. Saudi time after settling up 90 cents on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.69 a barrel, down 35 cents, or 0.5 percent, after closing 68 cents higher in the previous trading session.

WTI declined for a seventh successive week, the longest losing streak since November 2023, while Brent was down for a third consecutive week after US President Donald Trump imposed then delayed tariffs on its key oil suppliers Canada and Mexico while raising taxes on Chinese goods. China retaliated against the US and Canada with tariffs on agricultural products.

“Tariff uncertainty is a key driver behind the weakness,” ING analysts said in a note, adding that oil price cuts from Saudi Arabia and deflationary signals from China also hurt sentiment.

IG analyst Tony Sycamore said other factors weighing on oil prices include concerns about US growth, the potential lifting of US sanctions on Russia, and OPEC+ opting to increase output.

“Nonetheless, with much of the bad news likely factored in, we expect weekly support around $65/$62 to hold firm before a recovery back to $72.00,” he said in a client note in reference to the WTI price.

Oil prices clawed back some loss on Friday after Trump said the US would increase sanctions on Russia if the latter fails to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine.

The US is also studying ways to ease sanctions on Russia’s energy sector if Russia agrees to end its war with Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, said it will proceed with oil output hikes from April.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Friday said OPEC+ could reverse the decision in the event of market imbalance.

Adding to supply concerns, Saudi Arabia cut prices for crude grades it sells to Asia for the first time in three months in April.

Last week, Trump said he wanted to negotiate a deal with OPEC member Iran to prevent the latter seeking nuclear weapons — though Iran has said it is not seeking such weapons.

Trump is pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran under which the US on Saturday rescinded a waiver that allowed Iraq to pay Iran for electricity, a State Department spokesperson said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said his country will not be bullied into negotiations.