JEDDAH: The Saudi stock market, after falling over 56 percent in 2008, rose slightly in January this year. At the end of January, the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed at 4,808.90 points, up 5.91 points or 0.12 percent over the close of December 2008.
The highest close level for the index during the month was 5,322.22 as on Jan. 7.
The index, however, is down 1.51 percent so far this year. Yesterday, the index closed 35.42 points down at 4,730.51.
According to Tadawul’s monthly report, released on Sunday, total equity market capitalization at the end of January 2009 reached SR921.87 billion, decreasing by 0.29 percent over December. The total value of shares traded increased by 50.64 percent to SR115.12 billion in January.
The percentage share of Saudi nationals from the market trades was 91.8 percent (SR105.65 billion) for selling and 91.3 percent (SR 105.11 billion) for buying.
The percentage share of Saudi companies from the market trades was 2.6 percent (SR3.02 billion) for selling and 4.1 percent (SR4,71 billion) for buying. The percentage share of investment funds from the market trades was 1.9 percent (SR2.16 billion) for selling and 1.4 percent (SR1.65 billion) for buying. The percentage share of GCC nationals from the market trades was 1.8 percent (SR2.02 billion) for selling and 1.2 percent (SR1.35 billion) for buying. The percentage share of Arab residents in Saudi Arabia from the market trades was 1.8 percent (SR2.08 billion) for selling and 1.8 percent (SR2.11 billion) for buying. The percentage share of foreign residents in Saudi Arabia from the market trades was .2 percent (SR199.82 million) for selling and .2 percent (SR185.47 million) for buying.
The total number of shares traded surged 44.92 percent to 6.30 billion compared to 4.35 billion in December 2008. The total number of transactions executed during January reached 3.49 million compared to 2.43 million trades for December, increasing by 43.82 percent.
The number of trading days in January 2009 was 21, against 18 in December.
There was only one initial public offering (IPO) last month — Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Co., one of three firms licensed to operate new fixed-line networks in Saudi Arabia. It offered to Saudi investors 30 million shares, representing 30 percent of its capital, at SR10 each. Subscription opened on Jan. 24 and ended yesterday.
According to Saudi Hollandi Capital, the lead manager, Etihad Atheeb’s offering was 100 percent oversubscribed by Sunday.
The IPO had raised SR601.3 million by 1025 GMT on Sunday, Saudi Hollandi Capital said in a statement.
The IPO is Saudi Arabia’s first since August after bourse regulators froze fresh listings amid jitters that hit local and global markets.
The global financial crisis has a relatively moderate impact on Saudi banks. The National Commercial Bank (NCB) said in its weekly Market Review and Outlook report that net profits of Saudi banks had declined by 12.86 percent to SR26.3 billion in 2008 from SR30.2 billion in 2007. The value of total assets, however, increased by 21.79 percent to SR1.26 trillion in 2008 from SR1.04 trillion in 2007.
The loans and advances portfolio of Saudi banks jumped 33.25 percent to around SR787.5 billion and the net special commission income increased by a healthy 13 percent from SR25.8 billion in 2007 to SR29.2 billion in 2008, reflecting the importance of core banking activities in cushioning the headwinds from higher provisions on global investment portfolios.
