10 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is in talks with local and international banks to raise about $5 billion this year, Bloomberg reported.

2) Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has awarded investment licenses to three Japanese firms at the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030 business forum held in Riyadh.

3) Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) is said to have signed a deal with Japanese Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Nissan Motor Co. and Takaoka Toko for the first electric vehicle pilot project in the Kingdom.

4) Advanced Petrochemical Co. has attributed a sharp decline in net income for Q4 2017 to unforeseeable higher feedstock cost, due to improved crude oil prices, chairman Khalifa Al Mulhem told Argaam.

5) Savola Foods Co., a subsidiary of Savola Group, is planning expansion in Egypt, driven by higher demand for its products, CEO Bader Al Aujan told Egypt’s Shorouk daily.

6) Bank Albilad’s board of directors has recommended a 4 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2017, to be issued at SAR 0.4 per share, amounting to SAR 240 million.

7) Saudi Fransi Capital will pay a cash dividend of 1.6 percent, or SAR 0.16 per unit, totaling SAR 4.56 million to Taleem REIT Fund unit holders for Q4 2017.

8) Derayah REIT’s initial public offering (IPO) was 125 percent oversubscribed, fund manager Derayah Financial Corporation said in a statement.

9) Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund offers the highest return among peers in the local market at 7.30 percent, Tariq Al-Sudairy, managing director and chief executive of Jadwa Investment, told Argaam.

10) Crude oil futures edged higher on Monday, with Brent crude holding just below the $70-level. The benchmark grade was last up 0.1 percent at $69.94/bbl, while WTI crude rose 0.3 percent to $64.51/bbl.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com