JEDDAH, 15 March 2008 — The Saudi stock market fell slightly last week with investors playing a wait-and-see game ahead of the first quarter 2008 corporate results. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) declined 92.78 points to 9,891.80 last week. So far this year TASI is down 11.5 percent.

The stock market turnover also dropped sharply to SR33 billion last week compared to SR43 billion the previous week.

Al-Baha Investment & Development Co. was the top gainer as its shares jumped 12 percent to SR28, while shares in Anaam International Holding Group Co. plunged 18.79 percent to SR87.50 last week.

Shares in Kingdom Holding Co. increased by 8.89 percent to SR12.25, Saudi Industrial Export Co. by 7.39 percent to SR47.25, Alujain Corp. by 6.49 percent to SR41 and Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. by 4.46 percent to SR52.75.

In the insurance sector, shares in Saudi IAIC Cooperative Insurance Co. dropped by 14.57 percent to SR148, Saudi Arabian Cooperative Insurance Co. by 12.01 percent to SR84.25 and Malath Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Co. by 11.39 percent to SR97.25 last week.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved Mohammad Al-Mojil Group’s (MMG) application to hold an initial public offering (IPO). MMG is Saudi Arabia’s premier industrial construction and construction services company. The offering consists of 30 million shares, representing 30 percent of the company’s share capital. The IPO will open for subscription on May 3, and close on May 12.

HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited has been appointed the financial adviser and lead manager for the IPO.

According to the CMA announcement, the offering prospectus will be made available to the public within a sufficient period prior to the start of the IPO.

The CMA has approved the IPO of Basic Chemical Industries (BCI). During the IPO, which will be held from May 24 to June 2, the company will sell 30 percent of its shares to individuals and investment funds. The CMA urged the company to publish information about its financial status and activities in order for investors to gain an understanding of the company’s performance before purchasing its shares.

BCI, which is based in Dammam, has over the last three decades emerged as the Kingdom’s largest privately-owned chemical company with a series of expansions and joint venture projects covering a diversified range of chemical products.

The CMA, meanwhile, announced the changes in regulations governing flotation of stocks. The revised law has been published on the authority’s website in order to receive feedback from experts working in the field before making final endorsement of the law.

The GulfBase GCC Index also fell slightly to 6,874.47 points last week.

The value of GCC traded shares declined 12.99 points to $16.22 billion and volume dropped 5 percent to 4.79 billion of shares.

BMG Saudi Index Continues the Downtrend

The BMG Saudi Index continued its downtrend for the second week in March. The index lost 2.8 points to 543.5. The total turnover dropped sharply by 23.1 percent to SR16.3 billion ($4.3 billion) versus SR21.1 billion ($5.6 billion) traded in the previous week. The average P/E ratio for 2006 earnings was 24.1 times, while the price-to-book ratio was 4.7 times.

All of the index sectors underperformed last week, with the exception of the industrial sector, which edged higher by 1.4 percent. The insurance sector was the biggest loser, with a 9.3 percent fall in its number of points. The electricity sector came in second, with a 3.5 percent decrease and was followed by the banking sector, which declined by 2.7 percent. The services sector depreciated by 2.1 percent, leaving the last two positions for the agricultural and the telecommunications sectors, ending the weak with 1.6 percent and 1.4 percent declines respectively.

The beta coefficient for the sectors was as follows: 1.05 for banking, 1.02 for industrial, 1.01 for services, 0.95 for agricultural, 0.77 for electricity, 0.63 for telecommunications, and 0.28 for insurance.

Five shares saw their closing prices appreciate, week-on-week, whereas one stood still. The two leading shares, Al-Rajhi Bank and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), went in different directions last week. Al-Rajhi Bank shares fell by 2.8 percent to SR96.25 per share, while SABIC shares increased by 1.8 percent to SR181.