JEDDAH,18 August 2005 — The Saudi stock market recovered yesterday after two days of losses as the newly-floated dairy firm Almarai’s share jumped 52.73 percent on its debut to close at SR782 after opening at SR870 and reaching as high as SR912 in the morning session.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) surged 59.77 points yesterday to close at 14,228.98 points.

Almarai, one of the largest dairy firms in the Gulf region, started trading its shares yesterday, becoming the 77th company to be listed on the Saudi bourse, with 28 of them being industrial firms.

A high-level source at the Capital Market Authority (CMA) confirmed that Almarai shares have been traded on the market among industrial stocks.

“Almarai was listed among industrial companies on its request as most of its activities will be industrial after raising its capital,” an informed source said. The source said earlier the rate of fluctuation of Almarai shares would be kept open on the first day of trading and it would be considered for the TASI only after stabilization of prices.

Saudi financial analysts expected that prices of Almarai shares would settle between SR750 and SR800, especially when the company expects a profit of more than SR380 million this year. They did not rule out the possibility of increasing share prices of some other companies having the same activities of Almarai such as National Agriculture Development Co. (NADEC) and Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co. (SADAFCO) as well as Savola, which has a 42 percent stake in Almarai.

The CMA agreed to enlist the company after Almarai completed all the technical and practical requirements as per market regulations.

Almarai started its activities in 1977 when Prince Sultan ibn Muhammad ibn Saud Al-Kabir intended to develop the traditional dairy farm system in the Kingdom and transform it into a modern industry in tune with international specifications.

The authority earlier agreed to float 30 percent of the company’s 4.5 million shares at the rate of SR512 per share.

The Industrial sector index closed 231.90 points higher at 36,940.47 yesterday. The Banking index also surged 118.22 points to close yesterday at 32,275.54 points. The Cement index also gained 24.14 points at 9,047.83.

However, the Agriculture index suffered badly as it lost 97.05 points or 1.99 percent to close at 4,782.23. The Telecom index dropped slightly at 5,404.37, down 7.32 points.

Out of 77 shares traded yesterday, 60 shares were trading higher while 17 were lower.