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) Arab National Bank's (ANB) Q1 2018 net profit was bolstered by a decline of 1 percent year-on-year and 54 percent quarter-on-quarter in credit provisions to SAR 174.9 million, data compiled by Argaam showed.

2) Sadara Chemical Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Paris-based Veolia Middle East group to construct a sustainable central utilities facility in PlasChem Park.

3) Al Tayyar Travel Group Holding Co. has paid early installments worth SAR 307 million of long-term loans due in 2019-2020 as well as H1 2021.

4) Companies listed on GCC markets issued $37.3 billion in cash dividends by the end of 2017, a 7 percent year-on-year increase compared to $34.8 billion in 2016, a survey conducted by Argaam showed.

5) Saudi Arabia’s real GDP is projected to grow by 1.8 percent this year, supported by a 2.8 percent annual increase in non-oil GDP, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) said.

6) Saudi Arabia’s banking sector saw a 32 percent increase year-on-year in the retail segment’s net profit to SAR 4.84 billion in Q1 2018, data compiled by Argaam showed.

7) AJA Pharma Co. Ltd, subsidiary of Saudi Chemical Company, signed an agreement with global pharmaceutical firm Novartis to manufacture pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diabetes and blood pressure in the Kingdom.

8) Moody's Investors Service assigned an A3 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) and a stable outlook to Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company (Chubb Arabia).

9) National Commercial Bank appointed Faisal Omar Alsakkaf as chief executive, effective from Friday, June 1.

10) Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co.’s (Walaa) shareholders approved the board’s recommendation on increasing capital from SAR 400 million to SAR 440 million.