7 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) Saudi Arabia has published a draft law covering partnerships between the government and private sector, a step towards launching billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects and attracting foreign investment.

2) Bank loans issued to Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors reached SAR 1.474 trillion by the end of May, compared to SAR 1.472 trillion in year-earlier period, new data from the central bank showed.

3) The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA) has returned 17 percent year-to-date, more than any other of the 229 ETFs focused on emerging-market equities tracked by Bloomberg, the news agency said.

4) Saudi Arabia resumed construction works on the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, planning to complete the project by October 2020 before the G20 summit, MEED reported.

5) United Electronics Co. (eXtra) second-quarter net profit of SAR 45.6 million was below Al Rajhi Capital and consensus estimates by 4.1 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

6) Capital Market Authority (CMA) has granted Manafa Capital Co. and Crowdfunding Limited Co. (Scopeer) Financial Technology Experimental Permits (ExPermit) to create equity crowdfunding platforms, the market regulator said in separate statements.

7) OPEC is doing its part to rebalance the oil industry, Reuters reported, citing OPEC president Suhail Al Mazrouei, who was defending the group against US President Donald Trump’s recent demands for higher oil output.

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