8 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 Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and ExxonMobil said on Tuesday that they have created a new joint venture to advance development of the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a 1.8 million tonne ethane cracker currently planned for construction in San Patricio County, Texas. The facility will also include a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units.

2) Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment posted a net profit of SAR 30.88 million for the first quarter of 2018, a 10.4 percent increase year-on-year (YoY) due to higher revenues as a result of an increase in the number of outpatients and inpatients, as well as operations of Nuzha Hospital branch.

3) Riyad Capital said that it has successfully closed the secondary public offering to increase the capital of Riyad REIT Fund from SAR 500 million to SAR 1.63 billion, with a total of 18,000 subscribers.

4) Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co. reported a net profit of SAR 331.12 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to a net profit of SAR 12.23 million a year earlier, due to higher property sales.

5) Saudi Indian Company for Cooperative Insurance (Wafa Insurance) has received a final warning from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Kingdom’s central bank and insurance market regulator, regarding compliance with the required solvency margin by the Sep. 30, 2018 deadline.

6) Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment has issued Najran Cement Co. a clinker export license, valid for one year, the cement producer said in a statement to Tadawul.

7) Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) considered that the Saudi government is focusing on growth as fiscal adjustment looks sufficient to safeguard stability, following the robust recovery in oil prices.

8) Crude oil prices were mainly positive on Wednesday, with Brent crude last up 0.1 percent at $73.22/bbl while WTI crude rose 0.4 percent to $67.54/bbl.