Closing Bell: Saudi stock market falls flat as traded value touches … – Arab News

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Stock Index ran out of steam on Monday as it lost 5.88 points — or 0.06 percent — to close at 10,228.64 as the seasonal slowdown in the last trading week of the year cast its shadow on the bourse.    
The total trading turnover stood flat at SR1.92 billion ($510 million) compared to Sunday’s close and declined against Thursday’s SR2.67 billion. The advance-decline ratio tilted south as 60 stocks of the listed 221 gained while 148 lost. 
“Value traded on the exchange today was the lowest in three years while volume traded was the fifth lowest in three years, reflecting a seasonal slowdown in trades globally,” Junaid Ansari, head of investment strategy and research at Kamco Invest, told Arab News.  
“Saudi market continued to move sideways with minimal change due to lack of catalysts,” he added.   
Moreover, 12 of the 21 sector indices were in the red, partially offset by a gain in the Utilities Index, which rose 44.6 points to close at 7,119.15, led by ACWA Power Co., which ended 0.94 percent higher at SR150.60.   
“A marginal increase in the Banking Index also helped after healthy gains in Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank and Arab National Bank were almost fully offset by the decline in five listed banks,” said Ansari.  
The parallel market Nomu, on the other hand, rose 68 points to end at 18,887.75.
Stock markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region remained muted as Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat gained 0.31 percent, 0.67 percent and 0.01 percent, respectively. However, exchanges in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain fell 0.52 percent, 1.23 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.  
“The performance of regional markets remained mixed, failing to provide any meaningful direction to the Saudi market,” said Ansari.  
On the announcement front, Saudi Top Trading Co. on Monday informed Tadawul that its board of directors has recommended distributing cash dividends of 120 percent or SR12 per share to its shareholders, excluding its chairman Abdullah Muhammad Al-Ajmi, who waived his profits for 2022.  
The number of eligible shares is 1.2 million, and the company will distribute SR14 million in cash dividends. The company’s share price increased 5.16 percent to close at SR114.2.  
Keir International Co. on Dec. 26 also announced that it signed a contract worth SR16.6 million, including the value-added tax, with the Saudi Ports Authority, also known as Mawani, to connect the authority’s ports to the fiber-optic network. The company’s share price gained 1.6 percent to wind up at SR127. 
RIYADH: In a bid to take advantage of the booming economic growth in the Gulf region, Saudi private equity firm Jadwa Investment Co. is seeking to up the ante by investing SR2 billion ($532 million) in new private equity deals and listing stakes in three of its portfolio companies by 2025. 
The Riyadh-based Saudi closed joint stock company offers wide-ranging investment services with all its investments and financial services adhering to the high standards of Sharia compliance. 
The private equity firm is in advanced talks to complete two private equity deals in the next 12 months and is focusing on consumer and healthcare industries, Bloomberg reported citing the company’s managing director and CEO Tariq Al-Sudairy.  
The decision comes close on the heels of the investment bank fully divesting its 30 percent stake in Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s refining unit Saudi Aramco Base Oil, known as Luberef, following an initial public offering in Riyadh that raised SR4.95 billion. 
The divestment marked Jadwa’s eighth private equity exit, bringing its total private equity distributions to customers to SR11 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a press release. 
Luberef is the latest billion-dollar-plus IPO in the oil-rich Gulf region, bucking a global slowdown in share sales. The deal comes late in the year when many investors typically shy away from taking on risk. High oil prices have benefited Gulf economies, markets and companies’ balance sheets, helping drive a flurry of listings. 
The IPO would take the proceeds of Gulf listings this year to over $20 billion, an amount that would be an annual record if it were not for 2019, when Aramco went public, raising almost $30 billion. 
The region now accounts for about half of all IPO proceeds in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, data compiled by Bloomberg show. 
Luberef presently operates two production facilities on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, producing various base oils and byproducts, including asphalt, marine heavy fuel oil and naphtha. 
The company’s base oil production capacity of 1.3 million metric tons per annum positions it as the second largest producer by capacity in the Middle East in 2021, leveraging its long-term agreements with Saudi Aramco for the provision of its high-quality Arab-light feedstock. 
Its production assets have a competitive scale globally, with the Yanbu facility ranking among the largest 10 refining facilities in terms of capacity when including the planned Yanbu Growth II expansion project.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s recruitment market is set to surge with 57 percent of firms planning to expand their workforces during 2023, according to a new report.
Research by Dubai-based recruitment specialist Cooper Fitch shows that over the next twelve months, a third of the companies surveyed intend to increase their workforce by up to 9 percent, while almost a quarter said they are looking at increasing employee numbers by over 10 percent.  
The firm reported that 43 percent are planning salary adjustments in 2023, with wages increasing by just over 3 percent.
However, 22 percent of the businesses reported plans to reduce salaries over the coming 12 months.  
“This figure is based not only on the data we have gathered through our survey but also on broader recruitment trends witnessed in the market during the past year,” said Trefor Murphy, Cooper Fitch’s founder and CEO.  
To achieve its Vision 2030 employment goals, authorities and ministries throughout the Kingdom are implementing Saudization initiatives.  
Saudi Arabia is not only encouraging the recruitment of nationals to private sector jobs but is also encouraging adequate investment in their future to ensure their retention by employers as well as their contribution to a vibrant and diverse economy.  
Speaking of the localization of sectors and professions in October, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi said that these decisions have contributed to raising the number of Saudi workers in the private sector to over 2.12 million.  
Additionally, the decisions contributed to reducing the unemployment rate of Saudi citizens to 9.7 percent, as well as increasing the women’s economic participation rate to 35.6 percent.  
Al-Rajhi added that private sector establishments’ compliance rate with the labor system and its regulations has reached 98 percent during this year.  
The Kingdom’s efforts to create more jobs in line with Vision 2030 are showing fruition with the country coming first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012 – 2021, according to a recent report launched by the National Labor Observatory.  
According to Saudi Arabia’s Central Department of Statistics and Information, the unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased to 5.80 percent in the second quarter of 2022, from 6 percent in the first quarter of 2022.    
RIYADH: Bahrain recorded a fall of 14 percent in the value of its exports of national origin to 350 million Bahraini dinars ($928 million) during November 2022, compared to 406 million dinars for the same month of the previous year, the latest government data showed. 
This comes after Bahrain’s third-quarter gross domestic product increased to 4.2 percent year-on-year, according to the finance ministry. 
Its non-oil sector has grown by 4.9 percent, the ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia ranked first among foreign destinations, recording 75 million dinars worth of Bahraini exports, according to data released by the Information & eGovernment Authority. 
The US was second with 47 million dinars while the UAE came third with 31 million dinars worth of Bahrani exports in November. 
The top exported product was unwrought aluminum alloys, valued at 92 million dinars. 
This was followed by agglomerated iron ores and concentrates alloyed with a value of 54 million dinars. Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution, came third with 28 million dinars. 
The total value of re-exports, however, increased by 30 percent to reach 64 million dinars during November over 49 million dinars recorded during the same month last year. 
The top 10 countries accounted for 90 percent of the re-exported value, while the remaining countries accounted for 10 percent. The UAE ranked first with 14.1 million dinars, Saudi Arabia came second with 14 million dinars, and Singapore was in the third position with 7 million dinars. 
In the re-exports category, parts for airplanes were the top product from Bahrain – valued at 10 million dinars, while wristwatch non-precious metal came in second place with 4 million dinars. Other mountings, fittings and the like for vehicles came third with 3 million dinars. 
In regards to the value of imports, it decreased by 3 percent, reaching 440 million dinars during November in comparison to 453 million dinars for the same month last year. The top 10 countries accounted for 70 percent of the value of imports, while the remaining countries accounted for 30 percent. 
China ranked first when it came to imports with a total value of 57 million dinars. It was followed by the UAE and Brazil with 45 million dinars and 44 million dinars worth of exports, putting them in the second and third positions, respectively. 
Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top product imported into Bahrain with a total value of 50 million dinars, while aluminum oxide was second with 34 million dinars. Gold ingots came third with 18 million dinars worth of imports. 
As for the trade balance, which is considered as the difference between exports and imports, Bahrain recorded a deficit of 26 million dinars in November of 2022, compared to a surplus of 2 million dinars, iGA data showed.
RIYADH: With the aim of developing the coffee sector through training, research and development services, the Saudi Coffee Co. has signed an agreement with the Arabian Coffee Institute. 
National cadres will be trained in all aspects of the coffee value chain to produce highly qualified future leaders in the sector. This joint collaboration will also work on supporting and developing the coffee sector across the Kingdom. 
The agreement was signed by SCC Director of Human Resources Ghassan Nasser and the co-founder and CEO of the Arabian Coffee Institute, Almohanad Almarwai. 
Fahad Alnuhait, chairman of the board of directors of the SCC, expressed his delight at signing the agreement to support the coffee sector in the Kingdom, as it emerges as a new and promising sector.
SCC plays a major role in the development and advancement of the coffee industry along with the pursuit and celebration of its authentic traditions.
Alnuhait pointed out that the agreement is in line with the framework of the company’s strategies, emanating from the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, aimed at qualifying and developing national cadres.
He added that SCC always encourages new forms of collaboration with various entities under government, tourism and community to enhance the industry and involve a diverse segment of society.
Almarwai added that the signing of this agreement comes within the framework of the prominent efforts made by the Arabian Coffee Institute to sign meaningful and fruitful partnership agreements with many government agencies, educational institutions, and local and international companies to develop the field of coffee in the Kingdom. 
Nasser explained that the agreement is a collaboration between the two parties to provide consulting services and scientific research. In addition to providing practical and theoretical professional programs in order to train national cadres, these programs will pave the road for future leaders.
Almarwai concluded that, as part of this agreement, the first phase of this collaboration will involve training 1,000 citizens in courses that will cover all aspects of the coffee value chain, varying between regular and intensive training.
These courses will include practical and theoretical training, where an accredited certificate will be presented to students at the end of the training. 
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on Oct. 25, SCC’s CEO Raja AlHarbi told Arab News that SCC, solely owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, currently produces 300 tons of coffee a year, but is aiming to hit 2,500 tons.    
AlHarbi said the company also has plans to open 25 coffee shops globally as he revealed details of a strategic plan comprising five pillars to elevate the coffee production industry in Saudi Arabia.    
“PIF is targeting to help in the diversification of the Saudi economy. Agriculture and coffee play a major role in this diversification. Coffee is the second biggest product globally after oil. So, imagine one day Saudi Arabia is the major oil producer, and one of the major coffee producers,” he added.   
He also noted that the development of the coffee industry in the Kingdom will help create jobs, and open businesses; both small and medium.   
RIYADH: Saudi Export-Import Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui & Co. Middle East to increase the exports of non-oil Saudi goods and services, as the Kingdom steadily diversifies its economy which has been reliant on oil for several decades.
According to a Saudi Press Agency report, the MoU will help establish a framework for joint cooperation, along with providing credit solutions that support export activities.
The MoU was signed between Saudi EXIM CEO Abdulaziz Al-Khalb and Mitsui & Co. Middle East General Manager Katsuhiro Nakagawa during the Saudi-Japanese Investment Forum.
Nakagawa praised the new cooperation with EXIM Bank and added that it will allow the exchange of information and opportunities that have a positive impact on Saudi non-oil exports.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and senior staff from both sides were also present during the signing ceremony.
During the Saudi-Japan Investment Forum, which concluded on Dec. 26, both countries signed 15 strategic investment agreements spread across various sectors including metals, marine, petrochemicals, and automotive.
Speaking during the Forum, Al-Falih said that both Japan and China have bolstered their relationship as the Kingdom targets $3.3 trillion worth of investments with Japan by 2030.
On Dec. 25, Saudi Arabia and Japan also signed an MoU in the fields of the circular carbon economy, carbon recycling, clean hydrogen and fuel ammonia.
Earlier in October, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative, Al-Khalb noted that EXIM Bank has provided as much as SR20 billion ($5.3 billion) to support the Kingdom’s exports since its establishment in 2020.
He also added that the bank is playing a crucial role in aiding the flow of trade and cross-border transactions.
Al-Khalb also made it clear that the main mandate of EXIM is to support the economy and flow of goods, trades, infrastructure and long-term projects.
He also assured that EXIM Bank’s assistance will always ensure that no Saudi cross-border export fails due to a lack of insurance or financing.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Al-Khalb revealed that Saudi EXIM Bank is planning to open two offices in Africa in 2023, as it plans exports worth $1.5 billion through these centers.
“We have the plan to open our first two international offices in Africa. One in South Africa, and another in Egypt. We are targeting to attract or utilize SR1.3 billion or SR1.5 billion exports through these offices in a three-year period,” said Al-Khalb.

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