9 things to consider as Tadawul starts trading

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

1) Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is planning to begin operations at the third phosphate facility at Waad Al-Shamal in 2018, Reuters reported, citing the company’s chairman and Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih.

2) Saudi Industrial Export Co. (SIECO) shareholders on Saturday approved a 90 percent capital cut, allowing a reduction from SAR 108 million to SAR 10.8 million through writing down 9.72 million shares. The number of shares will be slashed to 1.08 million from 10.8 million.

3) Arabian Cement Co. said its initial talks regarding a potential merger with Al Safwa Cement Co. have been terminated due to lack of agreement. There is no financial impact, the firm said in a bourse statement.

4) Halwani Bros Co.’s board of directors has recommended a 25 percent cash dividend for the fiscal year 2017, at SAR 2.5 per share, amounting to SAR 71.43 million.

5) Herfy Food Services Co. opened its first branch outside Saudi Arabia with a new launch in Bangladesh, according to a tweet by the company on its Twitter account.

6) Al-Thager land plot of Sheikh Saleh Al-Rajhi estate was sold for SAR 429.4 million in the sixth auction of property held on Saturday in Riyadh, according to the council responsible for the settlement of the succession (Tsfya Al-Rajhi).

7) Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to be supported in 2018 by higher government spending and off-budget expenditure through the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund, Moody's Investors Service said in a recent report.

8) US-based Boeing has won a $480.4 million defense contract to provide repair support services to the Royal Saudi Air Force, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said.

9) Oil prices closed last week with gains. Brent crude added 0.5 percent to reach $65.25/bbl, while WTI crude rose 0.2 percent to $58.47/bbl.

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