RIYADH, 20 December 2005 — Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) board of directors decided in its meeting yesterday under the chairmanship of Prince Saud ibn Abdullah Al-Thunayyan to recommend to the general assembly being held in April 2006 to distribute SR6 billion in dividends to the shareholders for the second half of the year at SR15 per share. This makes the total dividends recommended for distribution to the shareholders for the year SR9.2 billion, valued at SR23 per share. Prince Al-Thunayyan said that the board reviewed the company’s performance for 2005 and its growth.
NIC Capital to Be Increased to SR2bn
RIYADH, 20 December 2005 — Saudi Advanced Industries Company (SAIC) received a letter from National Industrialization Company (NIC) that its board of directors recommended increasing the capital of NIC to SR2 billion by issuing additional stocks to the each of the current partners according to their share. A consultation office is taking care of completing procedures with official agencies to get the approval. If approved, SAIC shares would number 990,000 at a value of SR50 each. The original partnership of SAIC is 360,000 shares for SR18 million paid in full, and with the added shares it would be 1.35 million shares for SR67.5 million.
ANB Suggests SR5 Dividend
RIYADH, 20 December 2005 — The board of directors for Arab National Bank (ANB) recommended that the general assembly distribute dividends for the second half of the year of SR5 per share to the shareholders in addition to three extra free shares for each ten shares. The board also recommended transferring SR500 million to the system reserve and SR730 million to the general reserve.
Jarir to Raise Capital to SR300m
RIYADH, 20 December 2005 — The shareholders assembly of Jarir Marketing Company agreed to increase the company’s capital from SR240 million to SR300 million by offering a free share for every four shares. This will increase the company’s shares from 4.8 million to 6 million. The free share will be deposited in banks portfolios starting Dec. 19, 2005 through the deposit center at the Saudi company for registering shares.
HADCO Plans to Merge With Al-Othman
HAIL, 20 December 2005 — The board of directors for Hail Agriculture Development Company (HADCO) met on Sunday to discuss merging with Al-Othman Company for agricultural production and industrialization. The board gave an initial agreement to study the feasibility of the merger and will inform the shareholders of the developments.
DIFX Appoints Azzam as Chairman
DUBAI, 20 December 2005 — The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) said yesterday it had appointed board member Henry Azzam as its new chairman to take over from Lynton Jones, who will step down at the end of his term on Jan. 1. Azzam has been on its board of directors since March 2004. He also holds other posts, including the CEO of Jordan-based investment bank Amwal Invest and chairman of MobileCom, a subsidiary of Jordan Telecom, DIFX said in a statement. Jones, DIFX’s first chairman, oversaw the launch of the exchange in September, the statement added. (Reuters)