10 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority's (SAMA) increase in two key interest rates are "credit positive" for the banking system and will benefit banks’ margins in the next 12 months, Moody's Investor Service said in a report.

2) Yanbu Cement’s revenue from the newly-announced export deal is forecast to reach SAR 150 million through until March 2019, general manager Ahmed Zugail told Argaam.

3) Nama Chemicals reported a net loss of SAR 1.5 million for the fiscal year 2017, compared to a loss of SAR 811 million in 2016. In Q4 2017, the company recorded a net profit of SAR 7.1 million.

4) Saudi Marketing Co. (Farm Superstores) has inked a SAR 100 million loan facility with Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF). The loan tenure extends from March 21, 2018 to June 29, 2018.

Separately, the firm said it has received a six-month binding offer from chairman Hazem Al Aswad for the purchase of its entire stake (99.5%) in Lebanese subsidiary, Saudi Marketing and Trading Company.

5) Riyad Bank’s shareholders have approved a 3.8 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2017, at SAR 0.38 per share, amounting to SAR 1.14 billion.

6) Bawan Co.’s Algerian joint venture, Utec Algeria, is expected to start commercial production by Q2 2019, instead of Q2 2018.

7) Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co. (GO) said it will appeal before Riyadh’s Administrative Court a decision on rejecting its request to retrieve a SAR 50 million bank guarantee.

8) Derayah REIT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Riyad Bank to obtain SAR 600 million Shariah-compliant bank facilities, fund manager Derayah Capital said.

9) OPEC is working on a plan to have a long-term agreement on oil output controls with Russia and other non-OPEC producers, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Reuters.

10) Crude oil prices declined on Wednesday, with Brent crude last down 0.7 percent at $69.64/bbl while WTI crude fell 0.8 percent to $64.74/bbl.

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