JEDDAH, 12 March 2006 — After falling over 3 percent last week, Saudi stocks continued their downward march yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) plunged 663.1 points or 3.7 percent to 17,261.6 on profit-taking.
The major Industrial and Banking indexes fell 1,919.47 points to 39,638.89 and 1,161.85 points to 44,799.71, respectively.
Out of 78 shares traded yesterday, only four were up while 74 were down. The total value of traded shares reached SR13.89 billion.
The four stocks were in the black yesterday were SABB, which gained 1.55 percent to SR1,570, Yamamah Cement by 3.58 percent to SR3,099, Taibah Investment & Real Estate Co. by 3.25 percent to SR698 and Jarir Marketing Co. by 0.22 percent to SR905.
In the banking sector, shares of Bank AlJazira dropped 4.95 percent to SR1,689 followed by The Saudi Investment Bank by 4.86 percent to SR646.
The industrial sector was in the red. Shares of the petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) declined 4.95 percent to SR1,535, Savola Group by 1.69 percent to SR1,690, Almarai by 4.95 percent to SR884, SADAFCO by 4.87 percent to SR449, Amiantit by 5 percent to SR323 and the newly-listed Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. by 4.91 percent to SR484.
Cement and agriculture stocks also fell heavily yesterday.
The telecom shares were affected yesterday due to an announcement by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the telecom watchdog, that Saudi Arabia will grant new mobile and fixed phone licenses by the end of this year.
The Telecom Index dropped 240.74 points or 3.95 percent to 5,855.78 as shares of Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Etihad Etisalat edged lower by 4.21 percent to SR978 and 2.77 percent to SR666, respectively.
Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) shares declined 5 percent to SR171 yesterday.
The National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI) shares edged lower by 4.94 percent to SR751.
Meanwhile, the Kuwait-based Global Investment House (Global) has obtained the license from the Ministry of Commerce to market the “Energy, Petrochemical and Downstream Industries Fund (EPADI)” that aims to capture lucrative investment opportunities in energy, petrochemical and downstream industries in the region.
Sameer Al-Gharaballi, executive vice president at Global, said, “The company is pleased to introduce this unique investment opportunity to the market to satisfy the high demand for promising and innovative investment funds.”
He added that “Global has always been a pioneer in introducing creative and rewarding investment ideas and tools. The EPADI Fund adds to the array of more than 25 funds the company manages, some of which have won international recognition.”
The fund aims to capitalize on the attractive economic factors currently present in the oil, gas, and energy sector.
The privatization wave of government owned firms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries greatly supports this vital sector, and permits private businesses to enter this previously closed sector, he explained. “It is a booming sector. There are over 480 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the region, and GCC holds about 66 percent of all Middle Eastern proven reserves, which constitutes around 38 percent of the world total,” Al-Gharaballi said.
