JEDDAH, 29 December 2005 — The rise in heavyweight Banking and Industrial Indices sent Saudi stocks higher yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed 51.16 points higher to close at 16,737.30.
Investors say it seems that the TASI is unlikely to cross the 17,000 mark this year after coming close to an all-time high of 16,988.08 in mid-December.
Bank stocks surged yesterday. In this sector only shares of Banque Saudi Fransi fell 2.10 percent to SR1,400. The Banking Index closed at 40,777.51, up 74.39 points.
In the Industrial sector, shares of Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co. jumped 8.45 percent to SR629, followed by Savola Group by 6.22 percent to SR1,455 and Al-Ahsa Development Co. by 3.67 percent to SR388.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. shares closed slightly higher at SR1,596 yesterday.
The Industrial Index gained 205.47 points at 41,355.98. In the Cement sector shares of all companies increased yesterday.
In the Services sector shares of major companies such as Aseer Trading, Tourism & Manufacturing Co. and Saudi Industrial Export Co. soared by 9.99 percent to SR1,511.25 and 8.83 percent to SR838, respectively.
The Telecom Index was down as shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat fell yesterday.
The Agriculture sector was also in the black. Only shares of Bishah Agriculture fell by 2.54 percent to SR1,035.
The value of stocks traded reached SR24.26 billion yesterday.
Meanwhile, Jassim M. Al-Bahar, chairman and managing director of International Financial Advisors (IFA), announced the closure of the Kuwait-based IFA Hotels & Resorts’ offering of 117 million shares, which represent 45 percent of the company’s 260 million overall shares, generating 152 million Kuwaiti dinars. IFA achieved a profit of 100 million dinars from the offering and will enter this profit in the balance sheet for 2005. IFA Hotels & Resorts will be traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange on Jan. 3, 2006 and will apply for listing on the Dubai Financial Market in the near future. IFA has recently acquired Moribo Leisure Ltd. of South Africa, a listed company in JSE, and will change its name to IFA Hotels & Resorts Ltd. in the first quarter of 2006.
Al-Bahar said, “The listing of IFA Hotels & Resorts was a result of IFA’s success and achievements in the hospitality sector and based on IFA’s strategy to have separate operations and to launch specialized companies. Therefore, the time is right for IFA Hotels & Resorts to become a separate company with an independent and specialized management that will help in achieving the company’s goals in a record time and contribute to higher returns that will reflect positively on IFA.”
IFA Hotels & Resorts is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading international companies engaged in the development of premier integrated and mixed-use hotel and tourism resort projects throughout Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean region and Africa, with market capitalization of $1 billion. IFA Hotels & Resorts’ projects are either operating or under construction in Dubai, Lebanon, South Africa, Zanzibar, Kenya and Portugal.
