10 things you need to know on Tadawul today

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

1) Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said it has completed the acquisition of Shell Chemical Arabia’s 50 percent stake in Saudi Petrochemical Co. (SADAF) for SAR 3.08 billion.

2) Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) has signed a syndicated loan worth $1.75 billion (SAR 6.56 billion). The tenure of the five-year loan will expire on August 16, 2022.

3) Al Hammadi Development & Investment Co.’s Q2 2017 net profit increased by 24 percent YoY to SAR 25.7 million due to a 28 percent jump in revenue on improved contract terms.

4) Gulf Union Cooperative Insurance Co. reported net profit before Zakat of SAR 5.8 million for Q2 2017, a decline by 10 percent YoY due to higher net premiums earned and increased gross claims.

5) Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. (Atheeb Telecom) reported a net profit of SAR 55.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 compared to a net loss of SAR 58 million in the same period last year.

6) Northern Region Cement Co. has received a cement export license, valid for one year, from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment, the cement producer said.

7) Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Co. (KHC), has expressed interest in buying a stake in Bank Jugra, which has recently gone bankrupt.

8) Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has allowed the office of Saudi Mobile Telecommunications Co. Saudi Arabia (Zain Saudi) in Riyadh to reopen.

9) Saudi Arabia plans to launch the second round of its riyal-denominated sukuk program next week, the finance ministry said in a statement.

10) Oil prices swung up on Thursday, recovering slightly from previous session losses. Brent crude was last up 0.5 percent at $50.52/bbl and WTI crude rose 0.3 percent to $46.91/bbl.

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