JEDDAH: Shares in Etihad Atheeb Telecommunications Co. soared by 55 percent on their debut on Tadawul yesterday. The stock, which is traded in the Telecommunication & Information Technology sector, peaked at SR15.90 before retreating to a low of SR13.90 during trading. The SR10 share closed at SR15.50 yesterday.
Atheeb sold 30 million shares — equivalent to 30 percent of its share capital — at SR10 each in an initial public offering (IPO) that was almost 2.5 times oversubscribed.
Etihad Atheeb is one of three firms licensed to operate new fixed-line networks. The two other firms are Optical Communications Co., led by US Verizon Communications Inc., and Al-Mutakamilah Company, led by Hong Kong’s PCCW.
Atheeb acquired its license from the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) nearly two years ago to provide advanced fixed line services in the Kingdom which includes International Gateway and broadband services.
The Saudi stock market also reacted positively yesterday. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI), which jumped 6.54 percent last week, edged higher by 70.50 points or 1.6 percent to close at 4,470.70 points. However, TASI is still down 6.92 percent so far this year.
All the indices were in positive territory except Hotel & Tourism which was down at 4,469.65 points.
In the Banks & Financial Services, shares in Saudi Hollandi Bank and SABB (Saudi British Bank) were in the red, while all other companies showed positive performance. Bank Albilad shares skyrocketed 9.95 percent to close at SR22.65, while Al-Rajhi Bank shares increased by 3.95 percent to SR49.90.
Shares in Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia also increased yesterday.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares surged 4.73 percent to SR39.80.
The stock market turnover was SR3.83 billion yesterday.
Abdul Aziz Al-Shaheri, a financial and technical analyst, said the Saudi stock market has been affected by developments in world markets. “Until now we have not seen the Saudi index moving independently without being influenced by world markets, especially after the global financial crisis,” he said.
“So during this week the main indicator of our market is the performance of world markets. If we follow up world market developments we’ll get a clear picture of our market direction,” he pointed out.
BMG turnover falls
The BMG Saudi Index, which comprises the top 30 active companies in Saudi Arabia based on their market capitalization after removing government ownership, ended the week’s first trading session on a positive note, gaining 2.9 percent to 212.78 points. The total turnover, however, fell by 34 percent to SR1.5 billion ($397.9 million) compared to SR2.3 billion ($603.3 million) registered in the previous session.
The total number of shares traded also went down by 34 percent to 83.8 million versus 127 million shares in the previous session. Twenty-seven shares went up, whilst three declined.
