RIYADH, 21 February 2007 — Saudi Aramco has uncovered a new oil well in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, SPA state news agency reported yesterday. The well will be able to produce daily almost 4,000 barrels of oil and 11.9 million cubic feet (336,970 cubic meters) of gas, it quoted Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi as saying. Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading oil producer and has reserves totaling 261.2 billion barrels, or more than a quarter of the global total.
SABIC Awaits Chinese Approval
Reuters
RIYADH — Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) may find another location for a $5.2 billion petrochemical plant planned for China if Beijing keeps delaying approval for the project, SABIC’s chairman was quoted as saying. The world’s largest chemical company by market value has been waiting 18 months for approval for the plant in northeastern Dalian, said Prince Saud ibn Abdullah Thunayan in remarks published yesterday.
Taiba Increases Capital to SR1.5bn
Arab News
RIYADH — The Taiba Real Estate Investment and Development Co. decided to increase the company capital by 21.92 percent from SR1.23 billion to SR1.5 billion in a meeting of the board of directors yesterday. The number of shares will increase from 123 million to 150 million shares . A bonus share will be issued to each 4.56 shares. A total of SR147.64 million in dividends will be distributed to the shareholders at the rate of SR1.20 per share for the year ending Dec.31 2006, according to company statement posted on the Tadawul website yesterday.
MedGulf’s IPO Highly in Demand
Arab News
RIYADH — Medgulf’s initial public offering (IPO) received big response from Saudi investors as more than 400,000 subscribers covered 118 percent of the offered shares worth SR237 million, according to the National Commercial Bank, which manages the IPO. The insurance company has offered 20 million shares worth SR200 million at the rate of SR10 per share. The bank said it had received more than 103,000 application forms within three days of the IPO.
Tabuk Agrees to Pay Dividends
Arab News
RIYADH — A meeting of the board of directors of the Tabuk Agricultural Development Co decided on Monday to pay dividends at the rate of SR1 per share for the year 2006. The company achieved profits of SR25.40 million in the year 2006 which is 41 percent less compared with the previous year’s net profits of SR42.8 million, according to a company statement posted on the Tadawul website yesterday.
IIB Acquires $105m Property Portfolio
Arab News
MANAMA — International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally-focused investment bank based in Bahrain, yesterday announced its acquisition of a high-quality portfolio of commercial real estate properties in France, valued at $105 million. IIB is taking a 90 percent stake in the portfolio, which is comprised of six commercial properties.
TNI Manages Enmaa’ Fund
Arab News
ABU DHABI — The National Investor (TNI), one of the leading investment firms in the Gulf region, has been appointed portfolio manager for the Enmaa’ Fund by 3i Capital Group Corp, the fund’s promoter. The primary objective of the fund will be to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing in tradable securities primarily in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The fund may also invest in non-GCC tradable and non-tradable securities. The fund may also decide to create dedicated indexes or “baskets of stocks” for specific countries or industries to better manage its objectives and mitigate risks. As portfolio manager for the fund, the TNI Asset Management Division will also be responsible for Shariah filtering, monitoring and cleansing of the fund’s portfolio.