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Jefferies Joins Wall Street Heavyweights in Saudi Private Credit Push

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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Jefferies Joins Wall Street Heavyweights in Saudi Private Credit Push

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Jefferies Financial Group has entered Saudi Arabia’s private credit market for the first time, leading a USD125 million financing facility for Riyadh-based SME lender erad.

The deal, arranged in partnership with co-investor Channel Capital, provides an asset-backed and expandable structure designed to help erad scale its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises across the Kingdom.

The agreement reflects rising interest among major global financial institutions seeking to tap into Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing private credit opportunities. By backing erad’s expansion, Jefferies joins the ranks of Wall Street firms moving into the region’s alternative-finance landscape.

Erad has reported rapid growth, achieving more than six-fold year-on-year expansion and receiving over USD700 million in financing requests. Funds dedicated to Saudi SMEs will be deployed through direct-financing vehicles licensed by the Capital Market Authority and managed by Erad Partners Capital.

Erad co-founder Salem Abu-Hammour described the partnership as a milestone for SME finance in the region, saying: “Our partnership with Jefferies represents a transformative moment for SME financing in the region. By embedding financing directly into existing supplier and platform relationships, we’re making working capital as accessible as a payment transaction.”

He added that support from regulators, Jefferies, and Channel Capital underscores the strategic importance of alternative financing in advancing Saudi Arabia’s SME-growth objectives.

SMEs form a cornerstone of economic-diversification efforts across the Gulf, contributing roughly half of regional GDP and employing nearly two-thirds of the workforce. Despite this central role, the sector faces an estimated USD250 billion financing gap, which continues to restrict its growth potential.

“We are proud to work with erad and the Channel team on one of our first asset-backed financing solutions in the GCC,” said Mark Collier, managing director at Jefferies. “Our partnership with erad represents a significant step forward in improving access to capital for GCC SMEs.”

Channel Capital’s chief investment officer Johan Nisser highlighted that the deal builds on seven years of Sharia-compliant, asset-backed financing activity in the region and expressed enthusiasm for supporting erad’s next phase of growth.

Erad plans to expand into multiple sectors and products, including embedded-finance tools that allow suppliers and digital platforms to offer financing at the point of sale. This model is already in use with strategic partners, including suppliers in healthcare, food, and beverage markets in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The transaction marks a significant step in the rapid development of the Kingdom’s private credit market, as both local and international institutions move to meet growing demand for flexible, alternative financing across the Gulf’s SME ecosystem.

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Business

Canada’s Counter-Tariffs Take Effect on Various US Goods

View of the International border on the Gordie Howe International bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
View of the International border on the Gordie Howe International bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Canada’s Counter-Tariffs Take Effect on Various US Goods

View of the International border on the Gordie Howe International bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan on September 6, 2026. (AFP)
View of the International border on the Gordie Howe International bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan on September 6, 2026. (AFP)

Canada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in US products took effect Tuesday, as a trade war between the North American neighbors heats up.

The announced duties of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent apply to $27.6 billion (US$20 billion) in imports from the United States, covering steel and aluminum products as well as dairy goods like cheese. But Canada removed some seafood products from the initial list.

Ottawa's pushback comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed 50-percent tariffs on a similar value of Canadian products, over what Washington deemed as "discriminatory treatment" against US alcohol, automobile and dairy industries.

The US tariffs hit items like hockey sticks and cement, impacting about 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the United States.

On Monday, Trump threatened to block sales of Canada's Bombardier Aviation in the United States, unless the Quebec-based plane maker moves manufacturing to the US.

"No more selling Bombardier in the United States!" Trump posted in all caps on his Truth Social platform, though he did not specify how he would achieve a sales halt.

Thousands of Bombardier aircraft currently operate in US airlines' domestic fleets.

In a statement Monday, the aerospace company touted its creation of "tens of thousands of jobs across the United States," with "direct employment" in more than 20 states, including Kansas, Texas, Arizona and California.

The company also noted that it spends over $2.5 billion annually with suppliers, and said its supply chain is "made up of approximately 2,800 American companies across 47 states."

"Bombardier values its great partnership with American companies and its US employees," the company's statement said.

US tariffs pose a modestly negative risk to Canada's overall economy, but analysts note that they have a sharper impact on Central Canada's manufacturing sector.

Negotiations between both sides broke down August 21 after days of meetings in Washington, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney saying he decided to suspend the trade talks.

At the time, Carney said the Trump administration's terms were ultimately unacceptable, adding that US negotiators had introduced restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries at the eleventh hour.

US officials also made unacceptable "threats" to the French language and "Quebec culture," he added, referencing the French-speaking province in eastern Canada.

But Trump's top trade official Jamieson Greer later noted that the US government is aware that French language protections are sensitive and important.

"This is not something where we push hard, or condition, or red-line," he told Canadian public broadcaster CBC last month.

- War of words -

Ottawa and Washington have not resumed negotiations since, and have continued trading barbs.

Asked if both sides were in a trade war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC last week (Aug 31) that he did not think one could be in a tit-for-tat fight with a country that is 13 times larger.

"We're not at war with Canada," Bessent said on the sidelines of a G20 finance leaders' meeting. "How are we going to be at war with Canada? They're going to take their two set submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us?"

He was referring to a former attraction at a shopping center in the Alberta province.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth separately appeared to mock the physical appearance of a Canadian soldier on social media.

Carney said a day later that the remarks were "beneath their office," adding that this was "not constructive."

He said both sides can have discussions "when the Americans stop doing memes" and start being serious.

Trump also signed an order in August to rename Lake Ontario, on the border with Canada, as "Lake America."

This has sparked anger in Canada, amid a broader wave of patriotism triggered by Trump's hostility.

At the start of his second presidency, Trump also ordered the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America. He has made claims that Canada should become the 51st US state as well.

Although Carney is backed by Canadian public opinion, his country remains reliant on its neighbor. Nearly 60 percent of Canada's imports come from the United States and about 70 percent of its exports go to the US market.

To help businesses and workers, Canada's government has unveiled an aid package of $7.5 billion (US$5.4 billion).

Business

China’s Exports Pick Up in August, Jumping 25% as Its Trade Surplus Widens

People shop in a bakery in a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 08 September 2026. (EPA)
People shop in a bakery in a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 08 September 2026. (EPA)
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China’s Exports Pick Up in August, Jumping 25% as Its Trade Surplus Widens

People shop in a bakery in a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 08 September 2026. (EPA)
People shop in a bakery in a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 08 September 2026. (EPA)

China’s exports jumped 25% in August from a year earlier on strong demand for autos and high-tech goods as its record trade surplus widened further, its customs agency said Tuesday.

The data was broadly in line with what economists had expected and comes just ahead of a planned meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. That's set for late September, though Beijing has not yet confirmed the exact date for the visit.

Trade is expected to be among the key topics of discussion between Trump and Xi when the two leaders meet.

China’s global imports climbed 28.2% in August from a year earlier, up from July’s 27.5% rise. Exports grew 23.9% year-on-year in July. The trade surplus expanded in August to $119.1 billion from $112.5 billion in July.

Policymakers in the US and elsewhere have raised concerns over China’s ballooning trade surplus, which surged to a record $1.2 trillion for the whole of last year. Beijing has said that it is not seeking to maximize its trade surplus.

In August, China's exports to the US totaled $42.5 billion, up 34.4% year-on-year, in part due to a base effect after higher US tariffs caused exports to fall last year. US exports to China last month were $13.3 billion, leaving a trade surplus in China's favor of about $29.2 billion, according to Chinese data.

Exports to the EU rose 6.6%, while those to Southeast Asia and Latin America rose 30.2% and 17.5%, respectively.

Exports have consistently outpaced imports and are “set to lead to a new record-high trade surplus this year,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at the Dutch bank ING.

China has weathered disruptions from the Iran war better than many other countries. It also has been exporting more to Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa, shielding it from the impact of higher US tariffs.

Exports of autos in August grew 43% year-on-year while semiconductor exports surged 129.8%, the customs data show.

“China is very competitive in its tech goods exports,” said Chi Lo, a senior market strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management. In recent months, rising exports of electric vehicles, industrial machinery and semiconductors have helped fuel China’s robust shipments globally.

“China has moved aggressively up the value chain and has become a major player in AI infrastructure and industrial automation,” he said.

At home, China is still struggling to boost its economy as consumption and investment remained sluggish following a yearslong real estate sector downturn. On Sunday, China said it was injecting around $54 billion into state banks and insurers to help lift its economy.

China's continued reliance on exports to fuel growth prompted 19 members of the Group of 20 large economies to agree to address such economic imbalances at a recent meeting of top financial officials in Asheville, North Carolina. China was the lone dissenting G20 member after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described China’s trade surplus as a barrier to global economic growth.

The strategic stalemate between China and the US will likely remain, said Lo of BNP Paribas. “Both sides hold each other hostage in some strategic products, with the US withholding high-end tech goods from being sold to China and China withholding rare-earth exports to the US,” he said.

China and the EU are also set to meet for ministerial level trade talks in the fall, as the EU struggles to reduce its roughly 1 billion euros-a-day trade deficit with China.

The EU implemented measures in July to protect its steel industry and has limited tax-exempt imports of Chinese e-commerce small parcels.

Business

Gold Ticks Up with US Inflation Data on Radar

Gold bracelets and necklaces are displayed for sale at a gold shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (AFP)
Gold bracelets and necklaces are displayed for sale at a gold shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (AFP)
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Gold Ticks Up with US Inflation Data on Radar

Gold bracelets and necklaces are displayed for sale at a gold shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (AFP)
Gold bracelets and necklaces are displayed for sale at a gold shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (AFP)

Gold nudged higher on Tuesday as the US dollar slipped, with investors focused on upcoming inflation data that could shape expectations for the Federal Reserve's next policy move.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $4,407.27 per ounce, as of 0645 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.6% at $4,452.10, Reuters reported.

The US dollar index ticked 0.3% lower, making greenback-priced metals more affordable for other currency holders.

"Gold remains locked in a battle ⁠between buyers and ⁠sellers, with neither party showing enough conviction to drive a sustained and persistent directional move," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group.

The US producer price index data is due on Thursday and the consumer price index report is scheduled for Friday.

Spot gold fell in the previous two sessions after data showed ⁠US job growth accelerated sharply in August, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, suggesting an improvement in the labor market.

Traders see a 58.4% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's policy meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Elevated rates tend to reduce the appeal of non-yielding gold.

"We don’t see gold falling back too much if and when the central bank does raise rates. More important than the rate move is the notion that markets are somewhat uneasy about ⁠what the Fed ⁠and the Treasury are signaling," Marex analyst Edward Meir said in a monthly note.

On the geopolitical front, Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" and said it had fired an advanced missile at US warships, underscoring the risks of further escalation only days after both sides traded blows again.

Among other metals, spot silver gained 0.1% to $66.21 per ounce, platinum fell 0.1% to $1,824.58 and palladium lost 0.2% to $1,385.50.

Analysts at BMI cut their 2026 platinum price forecast to $1,900 per ounce from $2,000, and lowered their palladium forecast to $1,400 per ounce from $1,500, citing weaker automotive demand and a recovery in supply.