7 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) The Capital Market Authority approved Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Company's request to increase its capital from SAR 557.81 million to SAR 1.02 billion through debt conversion. Separately, company CEO Fawwaz Al-Khodari said the capital increase was a strong step that will help boost the firm forward.

2) Saudi Cement Co.’s board of directors declared a 15 percent cash dividend for H1 2018, at SAR 1.50 per share, amounting to SAR 229.5 million.

3) The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) foreign exchange reserves rose by $13.3 billion month-on-month to $498.9 billion in April.

4) The total trading facilities granted by brokerage firms to clients on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) fell 11 percent to SAR 8.97 billion in Q1 2018, compared to SAR 10.05 billion in the year-ago period, the Capital Market Authority said.

5) The Saudi banking sector saw a 12 percent drop year-on-year in the corporate segment’s net profit to SAR 3.93 billion in Q1 2018 on higher provisions, according to data compiled by Argaam.

6) Tourism Enterprise Co. (Shams) is evaluating available investment opportunities with regards to its capital increase.

7) Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharma Serve, signed a SAR 125 million worth of a sharia-compliant facility agreement with Samba Financial Group.