DUBAI: Most major Gulf stock markets fell on Sunday because of weak oil prices, but hopes that Saudi Arabia will join MSCI’s group of emerging markets, which would trigger billions of dollars of fund inflows, buoyed that market.
MSCI will announce late on Tuesday whether it is adding Saudi Arabia to a list for a possible upgrade to emerging market status; the upgrade, if it happens, would probably not occur before mid-2019.
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) rose 0.9 percent in thin trade as some stocks expected to be targets of incoming foreign funds rose, with Savola jumping 5 percent to SR48.40 ($12.91), its highest finish since January 2016.
National Commercial Bank (NCB), the biggest lender, was up 2.1 percent while petrochemical blue chip Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) added 2.2 percent.
The Saudi Labor Ministry said it was working to transfer around 8,000 remaining workers at financially troubled construction company Saudi Oger to other firms. A spokesman for Oger could not be reached for comment, while a source close to the company said there was no decision to close it down.
Most Saudi banks are exposed to Oger debt but many have already taken partial provisions for it, while any wind-up process could be prolonged. Bank shares, in general, did not appear to be hurt by the Oger news.
In most other big Gulf markets, however, the mood was glum. Brent oil futures settled at $47.37 a barrel on Friday — not a disastrous level for the Gulf but one which means governments may have less to spend this year than investors hoped just a few weeks ago.
“Oil prices above $50 per barrel are conducive to helping reforms succeed while oil prices below $40a barrel are likely to endanger macro stability,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report last week.
Dubai’s stock index dropped 0.4 percent as Emaar Properties pulled back 0.9 percent.
But Union Properties, the most heavily traded stock, gained 1.8 percent after saying it had entered an agreement with Al-Ramz Capital to provide liquidity for its shares. Al-Ramz is permitted to own up to 5 percent of the company’s shares under the deal.
Qatar, which has been hurt by the sanctions against Doha by other Arab states, dropped 0.8 percent as the biggest bank, Qatar National Bank, lost 2.5 percent.
Cheaper oil depresses most of Gulf but MSCI hopes buoy Saudi stocks
Cheaper oil depresses most of Gulf but MSCI hopes buoy Saudi stocks
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
