8 things you need to know before Tadawul opens

Here’s what you need to know before the opening bell rings at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Wednesday.

1) Asian stocks weakened on Wednesday as a drop in oil prices impacted investor sentiment. Most US and Euro markets ended yesterday’s session in negative territory. Brent crude last traded 0.14 percent lower at $49.69.

2) Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering selling $15 billion worth of bonds this year, in what would be the first time the kingdom taps international bond markets for cash.

3) Saudi banks’ investments in Treasury bonds increased by SAR 19.3 billion month-on-month to SAR 139.9 billion in April, new figures released by Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the kingdom’s central bank, showed.

4)  Saudi Arabia will unveil its National Transformation Plan (NTP) on Thursday, June 2, which will shed more light on strategies outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030 program.

5) L’Azurde Company for Jewelry has set the price for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at SAR 37 per share, after completing the book building process of the institutional tranche.

6) Saudi Arabia’s Bank Aljazira has priced a SAR 2 billion sukuk issue that will boost its supplementary Tier 2 capital level.

7) Jabal Omar Development Co. has started commercial operations of Conrad Makkah Hotel on Wednesday.

8) Hail Cement Co. has restarted operations at its production line after completing annual maintenance of its kiln and raw materials mill.