Closing Bell: Saudi main index inches up to close at 11,101

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.87 billion ($1.30 billion) as 108 of the listed stocks advanced, while 103 declined. Shutterstock
Short Url
Updated 28 November 2023
Follow

Closing Bell: Saudi main index inches up to close at 11,101

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rebounded on Tuesday, as it gained 20.18 points or 0.18 percent to close at 11,100.92.

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.87 billion ($1.30 billion) as 108 of the listed stocks advanced, while 103 declined.

Saudi Arabia’s parallel market Nomu also performed well on Tuesday, with the index gaining 371.89 points or 1.53 percent, closing at 24,631.21.

The MSCI Tadawul Index too edged up 0.36 percent to close at 1,430.79.

The best-performing stock of the day was Wafrah for Industry and Development Co. The company’s share price soared by 5.36 percent to SR41.30.

Other top performers were Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group and Yamama Cement Co., whose share prices surged by 3.73 percent and 3.53 percent, respectively.

The worst performer in the main index was Alamar Foods Co., as its share price dipped by 3.90 percent to SR113.20.

The positive performance of Nomu was driven by Fad International Co., which debuted on the market today. The company’s share price surged by 30 percent to SR109.20.

In the parallel market, Future Care Trading Co.’s share price edged up by 10.10 percent to SR25.50.

On the announcements front, the Saudi exchange said that Armah Sports Co. will be listed and start trading on Nomu on Nov. 30.

Al-Moammar Information Systems Co., also known as MIS, revealed that it was awarded a contract worth SR81.6 million by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice to offer technical support.

In a Tadawul statement, MIS said that there were no related parties involved in the deal.

Meanwhile, Knowledge Tower Trading Co. announced that it purchased land that spans 1,148 sq. meters in Riyadh’s Malaz neighborhood at a value of SR6.3 million.

In a statement to Tadawul, the company said that the purchase would be financed through company sources and added that the land would be developed as an income-generating investment.


Saudi Arabia aims to become world’s largest AI token exporter: Humain CEO

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Saudi Arabia aims to become world’s largest AI token exporter: Humain CEO

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is aiming to become the world’s largest exporter of artificial intelligence tokens as it accelerates efforts to position itself as a regional and global technology hub, according to a senior executive.

Speaking at the PIF Private Sector Forum, Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, said the Kingdom has the necessary resources including abundant energy supplies and strong geographic connectivity to establish itself as a global AI powerhouse.

His remarks align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to transform the Kingdom into a leading regional technology hub by the end of the decade.

Humain “is a company that has an ambition to become a global player in this important space. We are an AI total value chain company. Focussed from Humain core, which is our data centers. These are not small data centers. We are talking about gigawatt capacity,” Amin said.

He emphasized the critical role of energy in artificial intelligence development, adding: “AI is an energy game. We have power, energy affordability and abundance, connectivity, land, and water. We have all that it needs to translate Saudi Arabia to the world’s largest AI token exporter.”

Amin also revealed that Saudi Arabia plans to launch and commercialize its own operating system in the coming months, potentially becoming the third country after the US and China to do so.

“One thing I was deciding, whether to show you this here, but we have a big event coming in LEAP and we will commercialize this. In the last meeting that we had with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he was referring to operating systems, whether using Windows or Mac,” he said.

“Saudi Arabia will be the first country outside the US and China that will commercialize its own operating system,” Amin added.

In January, Humain agreed to a financing framework of up to $1.2 billion to expand AI and digital infrastructure across the Kingdom. The non-binding agreement outlines financing terms to develop up to 250 megawatts of AI data center capacity to serve Humain’s local, regional, and global customers.

In December, the company partnered with Saudi Telecom Co. to form a joint venture focused on developing and operating AI-driven data centers in Saudi Arabia. According to a Tadawul filing, Humain will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture, while stc will own the remaining 49 percent.