8 things you need to know on Tadawul today

Here are a few things you need to know as Saudi stocks start trading on Wednesday.

1) Alinma Bank has inked a 25-year, affordable mortgage program with the Saudi Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) to provide finance for homebuyers, the bank said in a statement.

2) MetLife AIG ANB Cooperative Insurance Co. said it has renewed a marine cargo insurance policy with Arab National Bank for one year starting March 8, 2017.

3) Saudi Airlines Catering Company and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) have signed an agreement to allow Saudia passengers into the Welcome Lounge of Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport. The one-year contract has an estimated value of SAR 3.7 million.

4) Najran Cement’s chairman Mohammed ben Manee Aba Alaa cut his stake in the company by 99 percent after selling more than 8 million shares in 2016, the company’s annual board report showed.

5) Home loans extended to individuals and corporations by commercial banks in Saudi Arabia rose 2 percent quarter-on-quarter to SAR 206.9 billion in Q4 2016, data issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the kingdom’s central bank, showed.

6) Saudi petrochemical firms are likely to see lower margins in the first quarter of 2017, even as spreads improved in February on higher product prices, Al Rajhi Capital said in a report.

7) Saudi Aramco will be listed in the kingdom and abroad in the second half of 2018, Amin Nasser, chief executive officer of Aramco, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Separately, the oil giant said it has finalized an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to end their US-based Motiva Enterprises refining joint venture and divide assets by Q2 2017.

8) Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday on concerns over rising US supply. Brent crude was last down 0.5 percent at $55.63/bbl and WTI crude fell 0.6 percent to $52.8/bbl.