Ziad bin Mohammed Al-Shiha, who has been appointed as new CEO of Saudi Electricity Co., has called for greater efforts to make the Kingdom’s power generation more efficient.
Al-Shiha, who replaces Ali bin Saleh Al-Barrak, was a manager with oil giant Saudi Aramco.
SEC’s board of directors announced the new appointment on Monday, adding that Al-Shiha would take charge on Jan. 1, 2014.
Saleh Al-Awaji, chairman of SEC, said the board accepted Al-Barrak’s resignation. He praised Al-Barrak’s contributions to SEC’s progress during the past seven years.
Under Al-Barrak, Saudi Electricity aggressively expanded its generation capacity and capital spending to meet surging domestic power demand, which has been growing at annual rate of nine percent.
The company, which is majority state-owned, implemented a number of independent power producer (IPP) projects involving the private sector.
Al-Awaji expressed his hope that the highly qualified new chief executive would take the company to greater heights, realizing its future development plans.
Al-Shiha has been working as executive director for power systems at Saudi Aramco. He has promoted cogeneration plants, which seek to operate efficiently by simultaneously generating electricity and useful heat.
“Between reducing or increasing the efficiency of the supply and enhancing the efficiency of the demand, I think the Kingdom can save thousands and hundreds of thousands of (barrels of) oil equivalent," Al-Shiha told an industry conference in May 2011.
Nearly 40 percent of the country's electricity is still produced by burning oil; the government has become increasingly concerned that rising domestic consumption could eventually limit oil supplies available for export, though it has shied away from taking tough action to promote energy efficiency such as slashing domestic energy price subsidies.
Al-Shiha holds a master’s degree in executive business management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another master’s degree in engineering (control systems) from Rice University in Houston and a bachelor degree in electrical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
He has held several important Aramco positions inside and outside the Kingdom, dealing with oil, gas and pipeline sectors. He began his career with Aramco as an electrical engineer before becoming vice president for planning.
Other positions held by him at the oil company were: Development manager; public relations manager; and infrastructure planning manager. He has been a member of SEC’s board of directors as well as a board member of Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.
Al-Shiha replaces Al-Barrak as CEO of Saudi Electricity Co.
Al-Shiha replaces Al-Barrak as CEO of Saudi Electricity Co.
Closing Bell: Saudi main index extends gains as market opens wider to foreign investment
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Monday, gaining 153.61 points, or 1.38 percent, to close at 11,321.09.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.85 billion ($1.56 billion), as 207 of the listed stocks advanced, while 55 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index increased, up 21.20 points or 1.41 percent, to close at 1,524.18.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 278.13 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 24,013.03. This comes as 43 of the listed stocks advanced, while 29 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR28.94.
Other top performers included Rasan Information Technology Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.51 percent to SR144, and Knowledge Economic City, which saw a 6.25 percent increase to SR13.09.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Najran Cement Co., whose share price fell by 2.11 percent to SR6.49.
Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. and Saudi Cable Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 2 percent and 1.88 percent to SR103.10 and SR166.80, respectively.
On the announcement front, Riyad Bank has announced its annual financial results for 2025, with the total income from special commission of financing reaching SR24.1 billion, while net income from special commission of financing amounted to SR12 billion.
In a statement on Tadawul, the bank said: “Net income increased by 11.7 percent mainly due to an increase in total operating income and a decrease in total operating expenses.”
The bank further noted that the rise in total operating income was primarily driven by increased revenue from fees and commissions, trading activities, special commissions, gains on non-trading investments, and other operating sources. This growth was partially tempered by declines in exchange and dividend income.
“Net provision of expected credit losses and other losses decreased by 15.8 percent due to a decrease in impairment charge of credit losses and impairment charge for other financial assets, partially offset by an increase in impairment charge for investments,” it added.
RIBL’s share price closed at SR18.18 on the main market, marking a 1.43 percent increase.
