EV Metals (Private) are also planning a LiOH plant in KSA:...

EV Metals (Private) are also planning a LiOH plant in KSA: https://www.evmetalsgroup.com/newsroom/ev-metals-group-achieves-strategic-milestones-for-construction-of-its-battery-chemicals-complex-in-saudi-arabia-in-2023/

Worth remembering that KSA is like the US (or even China), there is "federal" control (MBS) but also states/cities have their own agenda. Yes, PIF (or related entities) is the big dog (like e.g. US federal IRA finding via e.g. DoE), but there is money sloshing about elsewhere (public and private). All (country and local) have the common goal to diversify KSA industry/economy, and decarbonise (!?), so again like the US/China you can benefit in various places through different avenues. KSA could have 1/2/3/+ lithium refineries. What attracts all of them is not just access to funding, it's KSA's competitiveness (especially on short and long- term energy supply and price, also e.g. equipment and experience for chemical processing) vs. other locations. UAE is in a similar position.

The downside is that in a de-globalising world, how "friendly" is UAE and KSA to the downstream, this is where politics and business increasingly clash in the battery value chain today. LPD have a good business case, but you have to juggle two/three systems (Namibia [+ US DFC] and UAE), and given the interdependency that will take time for each to get comfortable on. However, this is far from unusual (a lot of other upstream projects already have, or plan dual locations, mine in X, refine in Y, but sell to Z), and LDP is not much different than similar projects if you move away from comparing it to just a spodumene mine in X or just a refinery in Y.