ATHENS/BRUSSELS: Greece and its euro zone creditors reached a preliminary deal on Saturday on reforms Athens needs to roll out under its bailout program, a move that could pave the way for the country to leave the aid plan in August.
The agreement on a range of often politically sensitive measures — covering fiscal issues, energy and labor market reforms, bad loans and privatizations — could open up fresh loans and push Greece further along the path toward a return to full market financing.
“The institutions’ visit is completed, we closed the staff level agreement,” Greece’s Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters on Saturday.
“The European institutions have reached a staff level agreement with the Greek authorities on the policy package supporting the ESM (European Stability Programme) program,” an EU statement said later on Saturday.
The agreement between Greek officials and EU and IMF representatives on the country’s compliance with reforms and future commitments must be approved by euro zone finance ministers, scheduled to meet on December 4.
Under the deal, Athens will need to implement a broad set of reforms as part of the so-called third review of its bailout program.
Once concluded, the review is expected to release about €5 billion in loans from the current €86 billion bailout program, its third since 2010. EU officials said this could be done before the end of January, if all proceeded smoothly.
At least another review of agreed reforms will be necessary before the end of the program in August.
Athens and its lenders had been exchanging drafts on agreed and proposed reforms for days. After seven years of austerity and rescue loans amounting to about €270 billion, Greece hopes its third bailout will be its last.
The government has been keen to swiftly conclude the review, which started in October, to begin talks on debt relief and the terms of the country’s exit from the bailout program.
“The speed with which this deal was reached is a signal that Greece is fully committed to conclude the program,” an EU official said.
The IMF’s full participation to the bailout program is still subject to the IMF assessment of the agreed reforms.
On Friday Greece’s energy minister finalized a deal with creditors on the coal-fired plants the country will sell to comply with an EU court ruling.
Greece, lenders reach deal on reforms under bailout review
Greece, lenders reach deal on reforms under bailout review
Closing Bell: Saudi main index slips to close at 11,228
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slipped on Sunday, lost 23.17 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,228.64.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR2.99 billion ($797 million), as 170 of the stocks advanced and 82 retreated.
On the other hand, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 449.38 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 24,093.12. This comes as 43 of the stocks advanced while 27 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index lost 6.07 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,511.36.
The best-performing stock of the day was Obeikan Glass Co., whose share price surged 7.54 percent to SR27.66.
Other top performers included Alamar Foods Co., whose share price rose 6.80 percent to SR47.10, as well as Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price climbed 6.79 percent to SR5.66.
Saudi Investment Bank recorded the steepest drop, falling 3.21 percent to SR13.56.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology also saw its share price fall 3.15 percent to SR13.55.
Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. declined 2.78 percent to SR7.34.
On the announcements front, Tanmiah Food Co. reported its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the company recorded a net loss of SR18.8 million, compared with a net profit of SR95.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss was mainly due to ongoing market challenges that resulted in continued pricing pressures in fresh poultry, inflationary cost pressures, higher financing expenses, and depreciation and ramp-up costs from new facilities, partially offset by increased production volumes and cost-optimization initiatives.
Tanmiah Food Co. ended the session at SR58.20, up 3.72 percent.
United International Holding Co., also known as Tas’heel, announced its annual financial results for the period ending Dec. 31. A bourse filing showed the company recorded a net profit of SR273.64 million in 2025, up 23.05 percent from 2024, primarily driven by a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. The revenue growth helped lift gross profit by 23.7 percent.
Tas’heel ended the session at SR146.80, down 0.28 percent.
