10 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

Here are a few things you need to know as Saudi stocks start trading on Thursday.

1) Saudi Industrial Investment Group’s (SIIG) Q4 2017 earnings were backed by strong performance of its units, including its 50-percent percent subsidiary National Petrochemical Co. (Petrochem), which alone generated a net profit of SAR 196 million.

2) Shareholders of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) will discuss on April 17 the board's recommendation on paying a cash dividend at 22 percent of par value, or SAR 2.20 per share for H2 2017, the company said in a statement to Tadawul.

3) Saudi Electricity Co.’s (SEC) board of directors has recommended a 7 percent cash dividend for fiscal year 2017, at SAR 0.7 per share, amounting to SAR 547 million.

4) Eastern Province Cement Co.’s board of directors has recommended a 10 percent cash dividend for the fiscal year 2017, at SAR 1 per share, amounting to SAR 86 million.

5) Electrical Industries Co. (EIC) reported a net profit of SAR 24.3 million for Q4 2017, up 24 percent year-on-year.

Separately, the firm said its board of directors has recommended a 10 percent cash dividend for fiscal year 2017, at SAR 1 per share, amounting to a total of SAR 45 million.

6) Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved Saudi Fransi Capital’s request to offer, register and list units of Bonyan REIT on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

7) United Cooperative Assurance (UCA) has been advised by an actuarial expert to increase its technical reserves by SAR 3.9 million to meet potential claims.

8) Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) completed the private placement of SAR 1 billion worth of subordinated Tier I sukuk in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the lender said in a statement.

9) Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. (GO) said that a Saudi court rejected its request to retrieve a SAR 50 million bank guarantee, extended to the telecom regulator for spectrum purchase.

10) Crude oil prices were mixed on Thursday. Brent crude was last down 0.04 percent at $69.44/bbl while WTI crude rose 0.1 percent to $65.21/bbl.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com