RIYADH: TIME Entertainment Co., a Saudi-based full-service live events and experiences management company, has officially begun trading on the Nomu parallel market, marking a significant step in its growth trajectory.

Chairwoman Ameera Al-Taweel described the listing as a strategic milestone that underscores the company’s maturity and readiness for future expansion.

TIME’s listing comes as part of broader efforts by Saudi Arabia to expand investor participation in the Nomu market. In 2024 alone, Nomu has seen 28 IPOs and three direct listings, raising about SR1.1 billion ($293 million).

“We have built a Saudi business model within the live events sector that meets global standards. The events sector is vast and diverse. Our experience represents a successful model that has been built based on a global vision, capped with a Saudi identity, and is distinguished by specializing in producing and organizing major live events managed by a multi-skilled team of some of the best events professionals globally.” Al-Taweel said in a statement. 

Al-Taweel also highlighted the company’s role as a trusted partner to government, semi-government, and private sector clients. “We believe that we represent a national choice that executes major global events and constantly works,” she added.

CEO Obada Awad said the company is guided by a strategy rooted in sustainable growth and market responsiveness.

“We also place significant emphasis on sustainable operational improvement and diligent work to develop and launch premium and quality services that add real value to the market,” he said.

TIME Entertainment specializes in producing large-scale live events across sectors such as sports, entertainment, culture, tourism, and conferences. It offers end-to-end production and management services, in addition to creative and consultancy expertise.

The company is also focused on crafting distinctive narratives grounded in Saudi culture and heritage, with the aim of sharing them with global audiences. Its goal is to deliver innovative, artistically rich, and high-quality experiences.

Saudi Arabia’s entertainment sector is rapidly emerging as a key pillar of the Kingdom’s economic diversification agenda. As the country moves away from its traditional reliance on oil, strengthening the entertainment industry is seen as critical to driving growth across multiple sectors.

A recent report by consultancy AlixPartners found that 33 percent of Saudi consumers plan to increase spending on out-of-home entertainment — well above the global average of 19 percent — highlighting strong local demand.

RIYADH: S&P Global has assigned the UAE “AA/A-1+” foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings with a stable outlook as it expects strong fiscal and external positions to be maintained over the next two years.

In its latest report, the global credit rating agency said that the grades reflect the Emirates’ net asset position, which could provide a buffer to counteract the effects of oil price swings and geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region. 

According to the agency, “AA” indicates a country’s strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. 

The strong rating of the UAE aligns with the broader trend observed in the Middle East region, and in March, S&P Global raised Saudi Arabia’s rating to “A+” from “A” with a stable outlook underpinned by the Kingdom’s ongoing social and economic transformation. 

In its latest report, the US-based agency said: “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the UAE’s consolidated fiscal and external positions will remain strong over the next two years, amid continued prudent policymaking and resilient economic growth.”

This is the first time S&P has issued a consolidated sovereign credit rating for the entire UAE, as opposed to the individual emirates.

Non-oil sector to drive growth

S&P Global added that the UAE’s economic growth is expected to remain resilient at 4 percent over 2025-2028, driven by strong non-oil sector performance and a rise in activities. 

“Despite lower oil prices and headwinds from a global economic slowdown, we expect that continued fiscal surpluses at the consolidated federal government and individual emirates level, along with investment income on liquid assets, will support an increase in the net asset position to an estimated 177 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) through 2028,” the report said. 

S&P Global further said that the UAE government’s fiscal surpluses are expected to average around 3.2 percent of GDP through 2028, based on assumptions that Brent oil prices will stay around $60 per barrel in 2025 and $65 per barrel through 2028. 

Government debt will remain stable at about 28 percent of GDP over the next four years as the federal government and emirates, including Abu Dhabi, plan to issue local currency debt to develop domestic capital markets. 

According to the report, the country will have limited monetary flexibility given that the dirham is pegged to the US dollar. 

“This means the UAE’s monetary policy is closely aligned with that of the US Federal Reserve, regardless of domestic economic conditions. We also consider that the domestic local currency bond market remains underdeveloped compared with similarly rated peers,” added S&P Global. 

The report comes just days after an economic update prepared by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, in association with Oxford Economics, said that the economy of the UAE is projected to expand by 5.1 percent in 2025, driven by a recovery in oil output and a 4.7 percent rise in non-oil GDP, with tourism expected to emerge as a key element propelling this growth. 

Earlier this month, the Central Bank of the UAE revealed that the Emirates’ GDP reached 1.77 trillion dirhams ($481.4 billion) in 2024, recording 4 percent growth, with non-oil sectors contributing 75.5 percent of the total. 

CBUAE added that the Emirates is expected to witness economic growth of 4.5 percent in 2025 before accelerating further to 5.5 percent in 2026.

The latest S&P Global analysis further said that the UAE’s oil production is projected to rise to about 3.5 million barrels per day by 2028, up from slightly less than 3 million in 2024, while the Ghasha gas and Ruwais liquefied natural gas are expected to significantly enhance Abu Dhabi’s production capacity.

The non-oil growth in the Emirates will be underpinned by public investment and government efforts to diversify the economy, combined with increasing trade and foreign investment. 

“Projects such as the Saadiyat cultural district and Disney Park in Abu Dhabi, and the Wynn integrated resort in Ras Al Khaimah seek to boost tourism revenue,” added the analysis. 

Affirming the growth of tourism in the country, a report released in April showed that Dubai recorded a 3 percent annual increase in international visitor numbers to 5.31 million in the first quarter of this year. 

According to the data released by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, the city also attracted 18.7 million international tourists in 2024, representing a 9 percent rise compared to the previous year. 

S&P Global added that the UAE would be modestly affected by the proposed 50 percent US tariff on steel and aluminum if no agreement is reached, as these metals accounted for 4.3 percent of the Emirates’ non-oil outbound shipments in 2023. 

In 2023, the UAE exported approximately $1.4 billion worth of steel and aluminum products to the US, representing about 0.3 percent of its GDP.

The study further noted that the UAE has also introduced structural measures to enhance the business environment, which include a foreign direct investment law that permits foreign investors to fully own businesses in various sectors, as well as rules to liberalize personal and family law.

Another initiative is the Golden Visa Program, aimed at supporting talent retention by granting long-term residency to investors, entrepreneurs, and skilled professionals.

“We anticipate that these measures will increase labor market flexibility, investment, and foreign worker inflows. This will be balanced by the nationalization of the workforce, or ‘Emiratization’ policies,” added S&P Global.

Future outlook

The analysis further stated that the UAE’s credit rating could be upgraded in the future if Emirates implements significant measures to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy, such as establishing a deep domestic capital market. 

However, the rating could be downgraded if the UAE’s per capita wealth, currently at $47,000, starts declining due to lower economic growth or higher population inflows. 

“Downside pressure could also arise if the consolidated government interest burden were to increase materially because of higher borrowing, alongside elevated external financing needs,” added the report.