TASI lower with major market players falling: Opening bell

TASI lower with major market players falling: Opening bell
The main index, TASI, declined 1.90 percent to reach 11,600. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 19 June 2022

TASI lower with major market players falling: Opening bell

TASI lower with major market players falling: Opening bell

RIYADH: Saudi stocks opened lower in the first trading session of the week as major market players fell.

The main index, TASI, declined 1.90 percent to reach 11,600, while the parallel market, Nomu, shed 0.23 percent to 21,454, as of 10:09 a.m. Saudi time.

Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co. gained 0.73 percent, leading the market gainers; Saudi Industrial Development Co. fell 9.93 percent, leading the laggards.

Arabian Contracting Services Co. edged up 0.10 percent, following the signing of an agreement to establish a joint venture between the company and National Housing Co.

Leejam Sports Co. dropped 0.65 percent, following its board's approval to establish an investment unit in Riyadh to establish joint ventures and acquire stakes in existing companies.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. edged down 2.33 percent, after it announced its board’s decision to pay SR6.75 billion ($1.80 billion) dividends to 3 billion eligible shares for the first half of 2022.

In the financial sector, the Kingdom’s largest valued bank Al Rajhi declined 3.13 percent, while Alinma Bank lost 4.05 percent.

Telecom giants stc and Zain KSA were both down by 1.38 percent and 1.82 percent respectively.

Saudi Aramco, the largest player on the Saudi oil market, opened today’s trading down 1.56 percent.

As of Friday, the energy market saw Brent crude settle at $113.12 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude reached $109.56 a barrel.


RSG signs global hotel brand Rosewood to manage 110-key property in AMAALA 

RSG signs global hotel brand Rosewood to manage 110-key property in AMAALA 
Updated 11 sec ago

RSG signs global hotel brand Rosewood to manage 110-key property in AMAALA 

RSG signs global hotel brand Rosewood to manage 110-key property in AMAALA 

RIYADH: Saudi construction firm Red Sea Global has signed on the international hospitality brand Rosewood Hotel & Resorts to manage a 110-key hotel at its upcoming integrated wellness destination AMAALA.

Rosewood AMAALA which also features 25 residences will explore “what it truly means to be regenerative,” the company said in a press release, adding that it will offer “unique experiences that weave together wellness and sustainability.” 

“Rosewood’s values of prioritizing both people and planet through impactful offerings connect seamlessly with the development’s larger vision, and we look forward to embracing our role of providing a wellness oasis nestled within this ambitious project,” said Sonia Cheng, CEO at Rosewood Hotel Group. 

The property will be surrounded by the world's fourth-largest reef and the scenic Hijazi mountains as RSG aims to protect the environment and enhance the natural ecosystems. 

“Rosewood AMAALA has been meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate indoor and outdoor living while offering guests a level of privacy and exclusivity often found in an all-villa resort,” said John Pagano, group CEO of RSG. 

The property's overall design will be based on sustainability, and the larger AMAALA development has set meaningful targets for zero impact. The entire destination will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy and will strive for a zero-carbon footprint and zero waste to landfill. 

The giga project, the first phase of which is currently underway, is set to welcome the first guests in 2024. It will consist of eight resorts offering upwards of 1,200 hotel keys. Once complete, 

AMAALA will be home to more than 3,000 rooms across 25 hotels, and around 900 luxury residential villas, apartments, and estate homes. 

In January, RSG awarded a nearly SR1 billion ($270 million) contract to Saudi-based Al-Ayuni Investment and Contracting Co. to develop utilities infrastructure systems at one of its resorts. 

The firm will carry out the work in the first phase of development at AMAALA, while also working on minimizing Triple Bay’s carbon footprint. 

The Public Investment Fund-owned developer earlier this month partnered with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to create a facility on Shura Island as part of the tourist attraction’s development.  

The resort will have 149 rooms and suites, six restaurant and lounge outlets, events spaces, and a marine discovery center. 


ADNOC begins work on project that converts CO2 into rocks 

ADNOC begins work on project that converts CO2 into rocks 
Updated 32 min 59 sec ago

ADNOC begins work on project that converts CO2 into rocks 

ADNOC begins work on project that converts CO2 into rocks 

RIYADH: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has begun working on a pilot project in Fujairah to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into rock formations.

ADNOC will install a direct air capture unit to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well as install solar panels to power the operation, according to MEED.

“It will be the first carbon negative project of its kind in the region,” ADNOC said on its social media platform. 

The oil company is collaborating with Fujairah Natural Resources Corp. and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., or Masdar, to carry out the project. 

Powered by solar energy supplied by Masdar, the project will use British-Omani geoscience company 44.01’s carbon capture and mineralization technology to extract the compound from the atmosphere.  

ADNOC CEO Sophie Hildebrand said: “As the first energy company in the region to run a carbon-negative project of this kind, this pilot marks the latest step in our $15 billion investment into projects that will reduce our carbon footprint and help us achieve our net zero by 2050 ambition.”  

After taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the project will mix it with seawater, and inject it into peridotite rock formations underground in order to safely and permanently mineralize it. 

“Following a successful pilot, this technology will contribute toward our plans to increase our carbon capture and storage capacity to 5 million tons per year by 2030,” added ADNOC. 

The UAE company also revealed that Fujairah has been specifically chosen for its abundance of peridotite, a type of rock that naturally reacts with carbon dioxide to mineralize it.  

In January of this year, the state energy company announced its $15 billion investment on decarbonization projects by 2030.  


Saudi banks’ net profits surge 7.5% to $1.4bn: SAMA 

Saudi banks’ net profits surge 7.5% to $1.4bn: SAMA 
Updated 40 min 40 sec ago

Saudi banks’ net profits surge 7.5% to $1.4bn: SAMA 

Saudi banks’ net profits surge 7.5% to $1.4bn: SAMA 

RIYADH: In the backdrop of a looming global banking crisis, Saudi lenders continue to maintain strong credit growth driven by corporate loans.  

This has helped banks operating in the Kingdom record an aggregate year-on-year net profit of 7.5 percent to SR5.18 billion ($1.38 billion) in February 2023, the latest official data showed.   

In February 2022, the aggregate profit of Saudi banks was SR4.82 billion, noted the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, in its monthly report issued on Tuesday. 

On a month-on-month basis, however, the aggregate profit of banks, was down 19 percent in February, against January’s SR6.41 billion. 

A research report prepared by Al Rajhi Capital, which has analyzed the SAMA monthly data, attributed this modest growth in profits to the ongoing pressure on the cost of funding. 

“Mortgage origination came in at SR7.1 billion, lower than January, but slightly better than our expectations,” stated Al Rajhi Capital, a company that is authorized to engage in securities activities in Saudi Arabia. 

Al Rajhi said its updated estimate for monthly mortgage origination for 2023 is SR6.8 billion, which is a bit lower than the previous estimate of SR7.0 billion.  

The SAMA report noted that loans given to the private sector in February rose over 11 percent year-on-year to SR2.32 trillion. 

Based on these figures, Al Rajhi analysts expect Saudi banks’ loan growth to be around 10 percent in 2023, which they said, is on the conservative side as “we see upside risks to it.”   

This comes as the combined deposits of Saudi banks rose by 8 percent year-on-year to SR2.30 trillion in February. 

Al Rajhi analysis noted that total deposits in the month of February grew 1.2 percent month-on-month, higher than credit growth of 0.9 percent, which the analysts said: “should ease some pressure on the funding side going forward.” 

The apex bank data showed that the aggregate assets of banks in the Kingdom rose by more than 11 percent year-on-year to SR3.66 trillion in February. 

Whereas, the total assets held by SAMA increased by SR830 million month-on-month to SR1.92 trillion in February 2023. 

This is when compared with February 2022 grew by SR130.4 billion. 

SAMA’s investments in foreign securities, which account for 55 percent of its total assets, declined by around 7 percent to SR1.04 trillion in February. 

The SAMA report further revealed that the foreign direct investment inflow in Saudi Arabia was SR29.6 billion in 2022, thus bringing the cumulative FDI balance in the Kingdom to SR1.8 trillion. 

The rise of FDI in Saudi Arabia clearly indicates the Kingdom’s growing popularity as a global investment hub, a goal outlined in Vision 2030. 

The report, however, added that the Kingdom’s FDI in 2022 witnessed a 60 percent fall compared to 2021. This massive figure of net FDI in 2021 was primarily attributed to a $12.4 billion infrastructure deal between Aramco and a global investor consortium, in which the consortium acquired a 49 percent stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. 

Excluding this mammoth transaction, FDI inflows in 2022 increased by 14.5 percent compared to the year earlier, the SAMA report noted. 


Saudi Ports Authority unveils plans to cut emissions by 1,046 tons 

Saudi Ports Authority unveils plans to cut emissions by 1,046 tons 
Updated 47 min 11 sec ago

Saudi Ports Authority unveils plans to cut emissions by 1,046 tons 

Saudi Ports Authority unveils plans to cut emissions by 1,046 tons 

RIYADH: Crane movements in Saudi ports will be reduced in order to cut carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1,046 tons by the end of the year, the organization responsible for the transit hubs has announced. 

The Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani, is working on reducing the average movement of yard cranes per incoming container required for manual inspection by 33 percent. In addition, it is also working on reducing the turnover rate of trucks within the Jeddah Islamic Port by 17 percent. 

These initiatives will help improve the port’s operational performance, reduce carbon emissions, and lower the logistical cost for port and maritime transport sector customers.  

They will also assist the authority to keep pace with the Kingdom’s initiatives to preserve the environment and establish a prosperous and sustainable marine sector. 

These initiatives fall within the framework of the Green Ports Initiative which aims to diminish energy consumption by 15 percent by reducing dependence on diesel in order to lower carbon footprint. 

Mawani is known to present pioneering initiatives that are directly linked in one way or another to the Saudi Green Initiative which focuses on reducing emissions, supervising work to combat climate change, and facilitating community cooperation. 

The authority also works to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors to expand the scope of work in this field. 

The authority is seeking to boost the level of customer and beneficiary satisfaction, decrease logistical costs, and enhance the commercial attractiveness of the port on a global level. 

In 2022, Mawani, represented by the Jeddah Islamic Port, won the “Best Port in 2022” award, and the “Digital Transformation” award at the International Green Shipping Summit Awards. 


Al Rajhi Bank to issue first US dollar-denominated sukuk

Al Rajhi Bank to issue first US dollar-denominated sukuk
Updated 29 March 2023

Al Rajhi Bank to issue first US dollar-denominated sukuk

Al Rajhi Bank to issue first US dollar-denominated sukuk

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul-listed Al Rajhi Bank has announced the commencement of its US dollar-denominated sukuk program with a minimum subscription of $200,000.

Sukuk, also called an Islamic bond, is a debt product issued in line with the principles of Islamic laws.

The offering, open to eligible local and international investors, is expected to be facilitated through a special-purpose vehicle.

The bank has mandated Al Rajhi Capital Co., Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC Bank, J.P. Morgan Securities, KFH Capital Investment Co., and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers and book-runners.

Last week, Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center announced the closure of its riyal-denominated sukuk program issuance for March with a total bid amount worth SR8.34 billion ($2.2 billion).    

The total amount allocated was SR3.37 billion with the sukuk issuance divided into tranches — the first has a size of SR2.77 billion maturing in 2031 and the second at SR600 million maturing in 2037.