Saudi stock market climbs post-budget surplus forecast: Closing bell

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Updated 13 December 2021
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Saudi stock market climbs post-budget surplus forecast: Closing bell

16.17 Saudi time: RIYADH: Elevated investor appetite following the budget surplus estimate of SR90 billion ($24 billion) led to a stronger bourse performance in the Kingdom.

Saudi Tadawul’s main benchmark TASI climbed 0.46 percent to 11,019.86 points, with approximately 232.28 million traded shares. Turnover stood at SR8.9 billion.

The parallel index Nomu was up 0.66 percent, reaching a three-week high of 24,146.34 points.

When compared to other indexes in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, Tadawul led the gains earlier today. At closing bell, UAE’s main index DFM was up by 0.46 percent, Abu Dhabi’s index ADI lost 0.4 percent, and the Qatari index QSI went up 0.31 percent.

The top movers in the Saudi bourse were AlSagr Insurance, Lazurde Co., and Sadr Logistics. The former two advanced almost 10 percent in today’s trading session.

Shares of Sadr Logistics hit a record high of SR132.4.

One of the market’s biggest players, Al Rajhi Bank was up 1 percent.

Batic Investments and Logistics Co. and Zahrat Al Waha for Trading Co. weighed the index down, declining 3.17 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.

Saudi Telecom Co. was the most traded stock in terms of value, with nearly 602.5 million worth of shares traded intraday. 

The company saw a 2.43 percent rise in share price after consecutive losses in the previous week.

 

10.51 Saudi Time: Positive budget response by the Saudi stock market, TASI, Nomu up: Opening bell

RIYADH: Following the Saudi budget surplus estimate at SR90 billion ($24 billion), the stock market started the trading session in green territory as investors’ level of confidence in the market rose.

Tadawul’s main benchmark index TASI was up 0.78 percent to 11054.45 points while parallel market Nomu increased 0.25 percent to 24047.05 points in early trading.

The top gainer of the session was Eastern Province Cement Co., up 7.89 percent.

Al Sagr Insurance and Development Works Food were among the five highest-performing stocks in morning trading, rising up by almost 4.5 percent.

Losses were relatively trivial with shares of the top faller, Saudi Industrial Export Co., declining 1.58 percent.

Wafrah for Industry announced the resignation of its chief executive officer Maqid Alotaibi.

Bonyan REIT fund announced a 3.2 percent cash dividend at SR0.32 per share for the six-month period ending Oct.13, 2021.

Tourism Enterprise Co., shams, narrowed accumulated losses to SR56.9 thousands, representing one percent of capital.

Al Yamamah Steel Industries Co. declared the distribution of a 10 percent dividend at SR1 per unit for the six-month period ending Sept.30, 2021.

Suliman Al Habib Medical Group signed a SR94.5 million construction contract with Masah Construction Co. for its subsidiary Sehat Al Kharj Hospital.

Batic Investment and Logistics Co.’s SR300 million rights issue trading started today, Dec.13, and will end on Dec.23.

The subscription period to Saudi Economic and Development Securities Co.’s capital REIT fund will end on Dec.16.

Saudi Real Estate Co., Al Akaria, revised its capital increase recommendation to SR1.593 billion from SR1.6 billion.


Lebanese social entrepreneur Omar Itani recognized by Schwab Foundation

Updated 23 January 2026
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Lebanese social entrepreneur Omar Itani recognized by Schwab Foundation

  • FabricAID co-founder among 21 global recipients recognized for social innovation

DAVOS: Lebanon’s Omar Itani is one of 21 recipients of the Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators of the Year Award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Itani is the co-founder of social enterprise FabricAID, which aims to “eradicate symptoms of poverty” by collecting and sanitizing secondhand clothing before placing items in stores in “extremely marginalized areas,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

With prices ranging from $0.25 to $4, the goal is for people to have a “dignified shopping experience” at affordable prices, he added.

FabricAID operates a network of clothing collection bins across key locations in Lebanon and Jordan, allowing people to donate pre-loved items. The garments are cleaned and sorted before being sold through the organization’s stores, while items that cannot be resold due to damage or heavy wear are repurposed for other uses, including corporate merchandise.

Since its launch, FabricAID has sold more than 1 million items, reached 200,000 beneficiaries and is preparing to expand into the Egyptian market.

Amid uncertainty in the Middle East, Itani advised young entrepreneurs to reframe challenges as opportunities.

“In Lebanon and the Arab world, we complain a lot,” he said. Understandably so, as “there are a lot of issues” in the region, resulting in people feeling frustrated and wanting to move away. But, he added, “a good portion of the challenges” facing the Middle East are “great economic and commercial opportunities.”

Over the past year, social innovators raised a combined $970 million in funding and secured a further $89 million in non-cash contributions, according to the Schwab Foundation’s recent report, “Built to Last: Social Innovation in Transition.”

This is particularly significant in an environment of geopolitical uncertainty and at a time when 82 percent report being affected by shrinking resources, triggering delays in program rollout (70 percent) and disruptions to scaling plans (72 percent).

Francois Bonnici, director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee, said: “The next decade must move the models of social innovation decisively from the margins to the mainstream, transforming not only markets but mindsets.”

Award recipients take part in a structured three-year engagement with the Schwab Foundation, after which they join its global network as lifelong members. The program connects social entrepreneurs with international peers, collaborative initiatives, and capacity-building support aimed at strengthening and scaling their work.